The news of the death of the UAB football program reached far and wide. One person who heard the bad news, 5-year-old Bennett Williams of Dublin, Ohio, wanted to offer some help.
Though Bennett’s favorite team is Ohio State, he loves college football in general and asked his parents to print out logos of teams from across the nation. UAB caught his eye. When he heard that the program was ending, Bennett “was devastated” and asked his parents to send his allowance to the athletic department.
Bennett's parents tried to explain what had happened. Last week, Bennett asked his dad how much money UAB needed to save its football program. His dad told him, "More than mommy and daddy will ever see." Bennett asked if the dollar he just got as an allowance would help. His dad said he might be a few million dollars short, "but he insisted," his dad said.
The Williamses sent the dollar along with a handwritten note from Bennett to UAB’s athletic department. The note read:
“DEAR UAB. I LOVE OHIO STATE, BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE FOOTBALL TOO. HERE IS ONE DOLLAR TO HELP! – Bennett”
My five year old son feels bad for @UAB_Football so he wrote this tonight and is sending it to them #FreeUAB http://ift.tt/1C0Id0i
— B-Will (@BWill614) December 10, 2014 A few days later, Bennett received a care package from UAB that included “an official game ball, two shirts, a hat, bumper sticker, some tattoos, buttons and a signed picture of the team mascot.”
Big thanks @UAB_Football @UABathletics for the pkg! Bennett was so happy! Check out your #1 fan from Ohio #FreeUAB http://ift.tt/1C0Id0g
— B-Will (@BWill614) December 15, 2014 He also got a thank you letter from Reid Adair, a member of the athletic department.
“The best thing he got was a letter written to him from the contact in the athletic department,” said Bennett’s father, Brad. “It thanked Bennett and said he made some people happy down there. He also went on to say they all agreed that Bennett was UAB's No. 1 fan in Ohio. This, in Bennett's mind, was better than any gift."
Adair followed up with an email that said Bennett’s note and dollar would be framed and displayed in the athletic department’s conference room.
Great job, Bennett.
For more UAB news, visit BlazerSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - 5-year-old boy tried to help UAB football with allowance money
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