This is obviously a significant day for UAB Baseball,' said Shoop. Coach Ron Polk is a legend in college baseball and having him on our staff will make everyone of us a better coach and everyone one of our kids a better player and person.'

Having worked for Coach for seven years, I have seen first hand the impact he has on young men. I know that our players will be thrilled with this announcement and will reap incredible benefits from being around Coach on a daily basis.'

Polk takes over the volunteer assistant coach from the newly appointed Director of Baseball Operations Jared Walker.

Polk retired from Mississippi State in March after 29 years of service. His 1,373 wins in Starkville are the most in league history, and ranked as number seven in all-time wins in NCAA history.

I came to UAB for one reason, Coach Shoop,' Polk said. I know his philosophy of working with the players, and it's the same as mine.'

Shoop and Polk have been good friends since 1983 when Shoop joined the staff at Mississippi State as an assistant coach. During Shoop's tenure in Starkville, 1983-1989, the Bulldogs won three SEC championships and made it all the way to Omaha in 1985.

Shoop stated the positive impact of Polk's arrival on the Southside.

We've worked together for seven years and have known each other for 20 something [years],' Shoop said. Everyone's thrilled, and how can you not be. It's Ron Polk.'

He has led three different schools to eight College World Series. His first was with Georgia Southern in 1973, and he led the University of Georgia to Omaha in 2001. He guided Mississippi State to the College World Series in 1979, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1997, and 2002.

He's coached some of baseball's greats at Mississippi State including Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Jonathan Papelbon, Jeff Brantley and MLB single season saves leader (57), Bobby Thigpen.

UAB's players should reap the benefits of having a legendary baseball icon with the team.

Coach has obviously recruited and developed many great players over the years. We are thankful that he will now be helping to develop young Blazer baseball players. Coach is a man who truly cares about people and our players will gain so much from simply being around this exceptional man,' Shoop said.

Polk expressed his excitement to be at UAB, but says he will always be a Bulldog at heart.

1'm going to be a Mississippi State person all of my life, but 1'll be here six days out of the week,' Polk said.

Polk was asked about the different facilities at UAB and Mississippi State, but he said he has handled it before, and it will not be a problem. He referred to his situation at Georgia Southern earlier in his career as proof.

1've dealt with those things. I can handle those things without a problem at all,' Polk said.

Not many schools can claim that legends grace their universities, but UAB has struck gold in this regard. Not one person in college baseball has had the impact like Coach Polk,' Shoop said. The players will be greatly impacted as players and people by interacting daily with Coach Polk.'

The addition of Polk has put UAB's baseball program on a roll this summer with players being drafted in MLB, playing in summer leagues and winning the Conference USA Sport Academic Award.

1'm really proud. Two years ago we had two 3.0 GPA players. 1'm really proud of them,' Shoop said. It speaks volumes about Josh [Watson] and Dannez [Marrable] at academic support services. We recruit kids who are serious about academics.'

With the impact of Polk and the award, and the strong showing in the Conference USA tournament, it may truly be the calm before the storm as UAB climbs the ladder of success in Conference USA.