Coach Jerod Haase pays $46K funding stipends for UAB basketball teams

When Alabama-Birmingham coach Jerod Haase asks his players to dig a little deeper at times this season, he might get a better response than other coaches in the same position.

Who wouldn't want to give their best for a coach who paid $46,000 so that members of the UAB men's and women's teams could enjoy the benefits of full-cost-of-attendance stipends many of their peers around the country and Conferencen USA  are now receiving?

[Look: Veterans help Buzz Williams and Virginia Tech players practice national anthem]

The UAB athletic department decided it couldn't afford the stipends this year. So Haase and his wife decided to take money out of their pockets to keep the Blazers on a level playing field with their competition.

Full-cost-of-attendance stipends were approved earlier this year and are meant to assist student-athletes with expenses that aren't covered under their scholarships.

The selfless move turned what would have been a massive negative on the recruiting trail into a something the program and Haase's assistant coaches can use as evidence of the coaching staff's commitment to players. It's no small development for a program that is trying to build on the momentum of winning the conference tournament title and a NCAA tournament upset over Iowa State last season.

The donation is acceptable under NCAA rules because the department is in control of the money and how it is spent. It's not as if Haase is writing checks to his players.

[Check out The Dagger on Facebook for more cool stuff from college basketball]

Haase makes $1 million annually so donating $46,000 to help his program and the women's team at UAB is not going to have him eating ramen for lunch this season. Athletic director Mark Ingram told ESPN the department plans to begin playing full cost of attendance for all student-athletes beginning next year when it can be worked into the budget.

- - - - - - -

[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo