Will there be a riot in Alabama?

Several hundred UAB supporters from across Alabama will meet for a rally Tuesday on the steps of the statehouse in Montgomery.

Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, has been an outspoken opponent of the decision to end the football, bowling and rifle programs since President Ray Watts made the announcement Dec. 2.

In January, Williams outlined a package of bills he plans to introduce this legislative session. One proposal would restructure the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, which oversees operations at UA, UAB, and UAH.

It would add 11 trustees, including two at-large members; the mayors of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville; county managers or county commission presidents from Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, and Madison counties; and one alumnus from each school. It would also eliminate one board member from the 7th Congressional district.

Another proposal would require annual training in accreditation standards for board members. The bill will also allow for board members to be removed if they violate SACS guidelines.

A third bill would reinstate the football, bowling and rifle programs.

Williams plans to give copies of the bills to legislators on Tuesday. Some have shown interest in signing on as co-sponsors of the legislation, and others have said they support the bills.

Kris Findlay, a lifelong UAB supporter, is coordinating the group's lobbying efforts. He is drawing on previous experience as part of a grassroots group lobbying for the Pre-paid Affordable College Tuition plan in 2010. They were successful because "people went down there who had skin in the game," he said.

In December, he began recruiting volunteers using social media, and they now have a pool of several hundred people who plan to contact legislators and visit the statehouse throughout the session.

In January and February, volunteers attended city council meetings throughout central Alabama and took any opportunity to speak with local legislators.

On March 3 - the first day of the legislative session - several dozen volunteers who went to Montgomery to speak informally with legislators.

The group has two main goals: fair representation on the board of trustees and reinstatement of the football, bowling and rifle programs.

"While this involves more than football, that's what has people's emotions," Findlay said. "We're using football to open up the door to the rest of the discussion."

He believes their efforts will be successful for several reasons: their interests aren't party-aligned, they aren't asking to increase funding, and changes like the proposed SACS training for board members are "just common sense."

His connection with and passion for UAB go back several decades. As a child, he spent time on campus because his father worked there, and he later graduated from the school then worked there himself. He and his wife met at UAB.

"I have a perspective from having been down there so long," he said. "I have an appreciation for what an unfettered UAB could be."