The mass shooting in Birmingham’s Southside on Saturday night happened at the doorstep of UAB’s campus.

On Monday, UAB football coach Trent Dilfer said that one of UAB’s football players was impacted by the mafia-style bloodbath. According to witnesses, multiple gunmen fired into a crowd of people standing outside Hush Lounge in Birmingham’s popular Five Points South entertainment district. The scene left four dead and many others injured.

“No.1 our hearts go out with the victims and their families,” Dilfer said. “We personally had a player who was affected by it. I don’t want to share the details, so it has touched our program.

“But it also reinforces why we built this thing for something bigger than football. It’s an opportunity to talk to our players and reinforce why we’re trying to build men who make a positive impact on our communities.

“Especially, the City of Birmingham — we obviously have issues, violence, we feel like our kids here, as they grow in the program, can be role models to young kids in the city. That there’s an alternative.”

When it comes to caring about Birmingham and making a positive impact, it’s not just lip service with Dilfer. He moved into an apartment downtown to live in the city and has become friends with Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin. Dilfer also pointed towards the community service hours performed by this team this year, which he says is approaching 3,000 hours.

Dilfer said he is one of Woodfin’s biggest fans.

“Mayor Woodfin and I have developed a good relationship,” Dilfer said. “I think the world of him…I did not reach out to him after this simply because he’s got a lot bigger fish to fry than the football coach.

“These are issues he has been addressing head on for quite a while. If you follow him on social media, he’s very bold on his stance against these types of acts of violence — against [Glock] switches and all these different things that plague our community. I know that he has exhausted every effort. He has brought in other resources. He has begged for other resources. He has tried to put this in the forefront of everything, and all I can say publicly is that we lock arms with him.”

Asked about his immediate message to UAB’s football team about the effects of gun violence, Dilfer said he has addressed it.

“We’ve talked about choices, decisions and consequences,” Dilfer said. “We’ve talked about even though culturally you grow up where it’s understood and an accepted thing, that doesn’t mean that it is. Just because how you grew up and how you saw something, doesn’t mean that’s the best way.

“We’ve talked a lot about the difference between bad, good and best. And I think that’s been one of the core themes that we’ve tried to emphasize in 21 months. There are bad decisions. There are bad choices. And those come with bad consequences. There are good decisions and then there are best decisions. Let’s choose the best road. It’s the harder road, but it’s also the more impactful road.”

Dilfer said that those good decisions can help the team members be role models for the community.

“It’s about the next generation,” Dilfer said. “The best we can do is put a bandage on this generation.”

UAB (1-2) plays Navy (3-0) at Protective Stadium at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”