UWA football team remains close through COVID struggles

For West Alabama University head football coach Brett Gilliland, the COVID-19 shutdown wasn’t just a disappointment for a lost season. It was a “scary time” because he knew what some of his players were returning to when the campus was closed.

Now beginning his eighth year as the UWA coach, Gilliland has always had a goal of keeping the team connected. The coronavirus created a challenge, but with a little ingenuity and a lot of buy-in, he feels his team this fall is a close group.

Speaking at the Demopolis Rotary Club Wednesday, Gilliland said he kept the players connected by putting the entire team in a group text. He would challenge them each week through the spring and summer of 2020 with different goals, and players enjoyed keeping up with each other. Zoom meetings also were held, but not all the players had computers or had connection to the internet.

 In the fall, the team returned to campus and had 11 practices before COVID shut them down again. They held two spring games, and Gilliland said he feels “a lot more comfortable with where we are as a team because of those two games.”

He said 19 players who would have been seniors last year opted to sit out a year of school and return to play this fall. The “super seniors” are joined by 22 others who have graduated but still are eligible to play. Then he has a class that would have been juniors last year and now are the age of seniors as well.

The team plays the first of its six home games at 6 p.m. Saturday in the UWA stadium against Morehouse College from Atlanta.

“We play a tough schedule,” said Gilliland, “as we do every year.”

Because of the difficulty of finding non-conference opponents, UWA will play Mississippi College twice this season, on Sept. 25 and Nov. 13, to fill out its 11-game schedule. It also has scheduled a Thursday game on Sept. 16 against North American University.

Gilliland is excited about the additions and renovations to the UWA stadium. New turf was put down on the field last year, and bleachers now cover what used to be concrete benches on the lower level. The 36-by23-foot Jumbotron installation was completed last month and will help with the overall game experience, he said.

Materials are being delivered now for the $5 million stadium renovation and expansion, he continued, thanking the administration and fans for their continued support of the program.

Gilliland is the winningest coach in UWA history with a 45-26 record. Under his direction the Tigers won the Gulf South Conference title in 2017 and a third-round trip in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The coach set both single-season and career passing yards as a Tiger quarterback and, in 2021, was inducted into the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame.