Wade on Birmingham

The 2015 Birmingham sports preview

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James Hinchcliffe, Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

James Hinchcliffe races in the No. 27 GoDaddy car
at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Birmingham isn’t just Barons and other-city football. Take a look at the loaded calendar of sports for 2015, including a February of nonstop track and field, plus marathons, new pro football, three basketball tournaments and the Tide playing home games in Hoover.

Baseball

  • Birmingham Barons: The 2015 season begins at home on April 9 at Regions Field with a five-game series against the Mobile BayBears.
  • Crimson Tide: The University of Alabama baseball team will have its season opener Feb. 13 at the Hoover Met with 31 home games there. The Tide is spending the season off campus as Sewell-Thomas Stadium has a $35 million renovation.
  • SEC Tournament: Speaking of the Met, the conference capper returns May 19-24. Hoover has been the annual home of the tournament since 1998.

Basketball

  • AHSAA Tournament: Boys and girls high school teams from 1A to 7A converge Feb. 23-28 at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.
  • Birmingham Blitz: The semi-pro team should have games through March, with a new season starting in November.
  • Conference USA Tournament: For the first, and probably last, time, Birmingham will play host to the men’s and women’s tournament. (UAB’s Bartow Arena held the 1996 women’s tourney.) The women will play opening rounds at Bartow. The women’s semifinals on and the all the men’s games will be at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena. UAB will likely be dropped from Conference USA in 2015 after the school punted football.
  • SIAC Tournament: The men’s and women’s tournament returns March 3-7 to the CrossPlex.

Football

  • Alabama Outlawz: The minor league team’s home opener is April 11 at Bill Harris Arena at the CrossPlex.
  • Birmingham Bowl: 11 a.m. Saturday. Legion Field. Florida vs. East Carolina. $30-$50. Airing on ESPN.
  • Birmingham Freedom: The 14th try’s the charm, as a new pro league with a new local franchise. The teams kick off May 16, schedule TBD.
  • Hoover Bucs: The first defending 7A champion will open its season on the road against Oakland in Murfreesboro, Tenn., probably on or near Aug. 21. We mention it because it’ll probably be on ESPN.
  • Labor Day Golden Classic: The annual event returns after a 3-year absence, pitting Miles against the University of North Alabama Sept. 6 (the day before Labor Day) at Legion Field.
  • Magic City Classic: The nation’s largest black college football game, played since 1924, is on Halloween at Legion Field.

Golf

  • Regions Tradition: The Champions Tour returns May 11-17 at Shoal Creek with a $2.2 million purse at stake.

Hockey

  • Frozen Tide: The Alabama hockey team is off to a rousing 14-3 start, with home games at the Pelham Civic Complex throughout January, culminating in the SECHC Tournament Feb. 6-8.

Multi-sport

Racing

  • Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama: Fans will see Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Will Power and two-time defending champ Ryan Hunter-Reay go by real fast. April 24-26 at Barber Motorsports Park.
  • Triumph SuperBike Classic: Excitement on two wheels, June 21-22 at Barber Motorsports Park.

Rugby

  • Birmingham Vulcans: The first match of the year is Feb. 7 against Jackson at Krebs Field, Ramsay Park.

Running

  • Magic City Half Marathon: Benefitting the Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of Children in the Music Arts. Nov. 22.
  • Mercedes Marathon: Got what it takes to run the Boston Marathon? Prove it right here Feb. 20-22.
  • Vulcan Run: More than 1,500 runners will stream through downtown Nov. 7 in one of the most popular local 10K races.

Track and Field

  • AHSAA Indoor Tournament: High schools compete for state titles Feb. 5-7 at the CrossPlex.
  • College Tournaments: No less than five conferences will hold track and field championships over 13 days in February at the CrossPlex. Southland: Feb. 16-17; SWAC: Feb. 21-22; Sun Belt: Feb. 23-24; Conference USA: Feb. 25-26; SIAC: Feb. 27-28.
  • NCAA Division II Indoor Championship: The CrossPlex will hold the big event March 13-14; the Division I Championship will be there in 2016.

Volleyball

Which events will you see in 2015? Shout it out in the comments.

Don’t miss the 2015 Birmingham food and drink preview!

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