Battle for the Bones

The Battle for the Bones is a sports rivalry between the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers and the University of Memphis Tigers. The two NCAA Division I schools compete in various sports, with men's basketball and college football in particular being prominent.

Memphis–UAB rivalry

Memphis Tigers UAB Blazers
Sport	Football, basketball, others
First meeting	1984

150km
100miles

Memphis

UAB

  

Locations of Memphis and UAB

The rivalry began in 1984, when the two schools first met in men's basketball. Memphis currently leads the series at 39–11. The football rivalry began in 1997. Since 2006 it has been known as the "Battle for the Bones" due to its trophy, a bronze rack of ribs.

The future of the rivalry was unclear as Memphis joined the American Athletic Conference in 2013 during the 2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment. However, the series continued semi-regularly in basketball after the Tigers departure from Conference USA. However, in October 2021, the UAB Blazers accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference, thus renewing the rivalry and trophy as regular conference match-ups.^[1][2]

Men's basketball

See also: Memphis Tigers men's basketball and UAB Blazers men's basketball

Memphis–UAB men's basketball rivalry

Memphis Tigers UAB Blazers
Sport	College basketball
First meeting	February 2, 1984 No. 9 Memphis 53 – UAB 51
Latest meeting	March 3, 2024 Memphis 106 – UAB 87
Next meeting	January 26, 2025 Memphis, Tennessee
Statistics
Meetings total	52
All-time series	Memphis, 37–12
Largest victory	Memphis by 38* (March 8, 2008)
Longest win streak	Memphis, 17* (January 26, 2006–December 10, 2016)
Current win streak	Memphis, 1 (March 3, 2024–present)

The Memphis–UAB men's basketball rivalry has the longest history of all their sports, and tends to be the most intense and heated affair. The first matchup between the Memphis Tigers and UAB Blazers was played in 1984, when the teams first met in basketball. The two teams have played at least twice a year since 1992, when they both moved to the Great Midwest Conference and later to Conference USA.

Head coach Gene Bartow was influential in both programs. He coached Memphis (then Memphis State) from 1970 to 1974, and in 1978 he became the first head coach of UAB's new program, which he led until 1996. His long tenure and success with the Blazers have led to him being known as the "Father of UAB Athletics".^[3]

Notable games

March 17, 1985†: In only the second meeting between two schools, 2nd-seed Memphis took on 7th-seed UAB in the Second round of the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Blazers, led by former Memphis coach Gene Bartow in their fifth consecutive NCAA appearance, played the Tigers closely in a game that had to go into overtime. Despite the best effort from UAB, Memphis would win 67–66 and go onto the Final Four.

March 10, 2006: After splitting the regular season series, the Blazers and Tigers met in the 2006 Conference USA men's basketball tournament final hosted at FedExForum. The John Calipari lead Tigers ultimately would win the game 57–46, clinching the first Conference USA title for Memphis.

February 16, 2008†: The #1-ranked Memphis Tigers were nearly upset before pulling out a 79–78 win. As the Tigers were down by 8 points with 2 minutes left, they went on a 9–1 run. After the conclusion of the game, an altercation between Memphis players and UAB fans occurred. Ultimately, people in the stands began booing the Memphis players off the court and throwing drinks and shakers at them as the players were escorted off the court by local police officers.^[4]

† Denotes game vacated by Memphis

Game results

Rankings are from the AP poll (1936–present)

UAB victories

Memphis victories

Tie games

Vacated wins[n 1]

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 February 4, 1984 Mid-South Coliseum No. 9 Memphis State 53–51 2 March 17, 1985A Hofheinz Pavilion No. 5 Memphis State† 67–66OT 3 March 14, 1991 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis State 82–76 4 January 1, 1992 UAB Arena Memphis State 67–63 5 February 22, 1992 Pyramid Arena Memphis State 63–58 6 March 12, 1992B Chicago Stadium Memphis State 79–67 7 January 16, 1993 UAB Arena UAB 50–47 8 January 30, 1993 UAB Arena Memphis State 69–53 9 January 16, 1994 UAB Arena No. 22 UAB 85–57 10 February 12, 1994 Pyramid Arena Memphis State 58–53 11 March 10, 1994C Shoemaker Center Memphis State 91–86 12 January 21, 1995 UAB Arena UAB 80–63 13 January 28, 1995 Pyramid Arena Memphis 74–67 14 January 24, 1996 Pyramid Arena No. 12 Memphis 86–77 15 January 25, 1997 Bartow Arena UAB 51–48 16 January 22, 1998 Pyramid Arena Memphis 86–70 17 February 8, 1998 Bartow Arena UAB 88–77 18 January 2, 1999 Pyramid Arena UAB 91–83 19 February 11, 1999 Bartow Arena Memphis 78–75 20 January 26, 2000 Pyramid Arena Memphis 84–70 21 February 16, 2000 Bartow Arena UAB 102–75 22 January 27, 2001 Bartow Arena Memphis 76–73OT 23 February 19, 2001 Pyramid Arena Memphis 86–69 24 January 23, 2002 Pyramid Arena Memphis 102–81 25 February 8, 2002 Bartow Arena UAB 64–46 26 February 15, 2003 Pyramid Arena Memphis 94–70 27 March 8, 2003 Bartow Arena No. 18 Memphis 90–79 No. Date Location Winner Score 28 February 21, 2004 Pyramid Arena No. 23 Memphis 73–66 29 January 22, 2005 Bartow Arena UAB 73–70 30 January 26, 2006 FedExForum No. 3 Memphis 73–66 31 March 2, 2006 Bartow Arena UAB 80–74 32 March 10, 2006D FedExForum No. 5 Memphis 57–46 33 January 16, 2007 FedExForum No. 17 Memphis 79–54 34 February 8, 2007 Bartow Arena No. 8 Memphis 70–56 35 February 16, 2008 Bartow Arena No. 1 Memphis† 79–78 36 March 8, 2008 FedExForum No. 2 Memphis† 94–56 37 January 17, 2009 FedExForum Memphis 81–68 38 February 26, 2009 Bartow Arena No. 5 Memphis 71–60 39 February 3, 2010 FedExForum Memphis 85–75 40 March 3, 2010 Bartow Arena Memphis 70–65 41 January 22, 2011 Bartow Arena Memphis 76–73OT 42 February 16, 2011 FedExForum Memphis 62–58 43 January 7, 2012 Bartow Arena Memphis 62–59 44 February 11, 2012 FedExForum Memphis 79–45 45 January 12, 2013 Bartow Arena Memphis 69–53 46 March 9, 2013 FedExForum No. 25 Memphis 86–71 47 December 10, 2016 FedExForum Memphis 62–55 48 November 30, 2017 Bartow Arena UAB 71–56 49 December 8, 2018 FedExForum Memphis 94–76 50 December 7, 2019 Bartow Arena No. 15 Memphis 65–57 51 January 29, 2024 Bartow Arena UAB 97–88 52 March 3, 2024 FedExForum Memphis 106–87 Series: Memphis leads 37–12[7] † Vacated by Memphis

Notes

1. Memphis has vacated all NCAA Tournament wins and loses between 1982 until 1986, including the game against UAB during that period.^[5] Memphis has also vacated all of its victories from the 2007–08 season. These 38 wins are not included in Memphis's all-time record, nor is the victory against UAB during this season counted in the series record between the two teams.^[6]

^A NCAA second round
^B 1992 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament
^C 1994 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament
^D 2006 Conference USA men's basketball tournament

Football

See also: Memphis Tigers football and UAB Blazers football

Battle for the Bones

Memphis Tigers UAB Blazers
Sport	College football
First meeting	September 6, 1997 Memphis 28, UAB 7
Latest meeting	October 21, 2023 Memphis 45, UAB 21
Next meeting	November 16, 2024 Memphis, Tennessee
Trophy	The Bones
Statistics
Meetings total	16
All-time series	UAB, 10–6
Largest victory	Memphis, 46–9 (November 17, 2012)
Longest win streak	UAB, 7 (October 14, 2000 – October 7, 2006)
Current win streak	Memphis, 2 (November 17, 2022 – present)

The Blazers and Tigers began competing in football after the Blazers football team joined Division I in 1997. The series has been played nearly every year since, and is led by UAB with a win–loss record of 10 to 5. In 2006, the schools introduced a trophy, a 100-pound (45 kg) bronze rack of ribs alluding to the two cities' reputation for barbecue, and dubbed the game the "Battle for the Bones".^[8] In keeping with the theme, a fan barbecue competition accompanies the game.^[8][9]

Game results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present)

UAB victories

Memphis victories

Tie games

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	September 6, 1997	Memphis, TN	Memphis	28–7
2	October 9, 1999	Birmingham, AL	Memphis	38–14
3	October 14, 2000	Birmingham, AL	UAB	13–9
4	October 27, 2001	Memphis, TN	UAB	17–14
5	September 28, 2002	Birmingham, AL	UAB	31–17
6	October 4, 2003	Memphis, TN	UAB	24–10
7	September 25, 2004	Birmingham, AL	UAB	35–28
8	November 1, 2005	Memphis, TN	UAB	37–20
9	October 7, 2006	Birmingham, AL	UAB	35–29
10	November 17, 2007	Memphis, TN	Memphis	25–9
11	October 2, 2008	Birmingham, AL	Memphis	33–30
12	November 14, 2009	Memphis, TN	UAB	31–21
13	November 20, 2010	Birmingham, AL	UAB	31–15
14	November 12, 2011	Memphis, TN	UAB	41–35
15	November 17, 2012	Birmingham, AL	Memphis	46–9
16	October 21, 2023	Birmingham, AL	Memphis	45–21
Series: UAB leads 10–6[10]

References

1. Bonesteel, Matt (October 21, 2021). "Finally, something good comes out of conference realignment: The ribs trophy is coming back". Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
2. Goodman, Joseph (October 21, 2021). "UAB, Birmingham breathe in the sweet smell of victory". al.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
3. Irvine, Steve (January 7, 2012). "UAB trying to treat today's game against Memphis as just another day at Bartow Arena". The Birmingham News. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
4. "C-USA officials investigating what happened after Memphis-UAB game", ESPN, The Associated Press, February 18, 2008, retrieved March 26, 2024
5. . ESPN, February 16, 2010.
6. . ESPN, March 22, 2010.
7. "Matchup Finder - UAB Blazers vs. Memphis Tigers basketball series history". Sports Reference.
8. Timanus, Eddie (October 7, 2006), "Weekend Preview: Plenty to watch in SEC games involving unbeatens", USA Today, retrieved June 4, 2012, In a tasty twist, the game will inaugurate a new rivalry trophy, a 100-pound bronze rack of ribs. The newly christened "Battle for the Bones" will also feature a barbecuing contest for fans.
9. Bryant, Walter (October 8, 2006) "Legion Field has nothing on ribs." The Birmingham News
10. "Winsipedia - UAB Blazers vs. Memphis Tigers football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved March 26, 2024.

Further reading

• Bonesteel, Matt (October 21, 2021). "Finally, something good comes out of conference realignment: The ribs trophy is coming back". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
• Goodman, Joseph (October 20, 2021). "UAB, Birmingham breathe in the sweet smell of victory". AL.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.