Saban retiring could possibly mark the end of an era of college football by itself. But amid massive conference realignment with the collapse of the PAC and the start of the 12 team playoff next...
Saban retiring could possibly mark the end of an era of college football by itself. But amid massive conference realignment with the collapse of the PAC and the start of the 12 team playoff next year this isn't even the biggest change and maybe that's part of why he's doing it now.
This is a huge deal in the world of college football. Those of us who aren't Alabama fans have been waiting for it for years, but I'm still shocked by this. I had no idea he was even considering...
This is a huge deal in the world of college football. Those of us who aren't Alabama fans have been waiting for it for years, but I'm still shocked by this. I had no idea he was even considering retiring this year. This is the first time since he's been at Alabama that a graduating class has gone all four years without a national championship (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020). They haven't finished a season outside of the top 10 since 2010 when they finished 10/11 in the AP/Coaches polls, and that was also the last time they lost more than 2 games in a season.
They have been probably the greatest dynasty in college football history, with the only other contender being Bear Bryant's tenure at Alabama.
As someone who attended the University of Alabama (from out of state, though not far off) during coach Saban's tenure, it's difficult to describe--even having witnessed it live--the impact he's...
As someone who attended the University of Alabama (from out of state, though not far off) during coach Saban's tenure, it's difficult to describe--even having witnessed it live--the impact he's had not just on the sport, but the University itself, the city of Tuscaloosa, and the lives of countless people like me who would not have attended Alabama if not for the indirect effects he had on the school.
The amount of new construction that occurred before I got to campus, while I was there for my degrees, and after I left, cannot be overstated. Chancellor Whit, a former chancellor of the school and one of the folks in charge when Saban was brought in gave a talk to my graduate school cohort and estimated the financial impact of this one man's hiring to have had a billion+ dollar impact on the school and surrounding community.
It's hard to believe that a person I've never even met (though I did get to stand next to him by merit of being in the marching band, which was cool) has had such an outsized but traceable impact on my life and the lives of so many others.
Doing school sports so seriously is one of the more foreign things America does. And that's a pretty high bar. I'm not making any judgement about it being good or bad, it's just odd. My university...
Doing school sports so seriously is one of the more foreign things America does. And that's a pretty high bar.
I'm not making any judgement about it being good or bad, it's just odd. My university was probably one of the top 20 in the UK and I'm not sure we even had a football team. The rugby team definitely existed because they were always in the bar doing stupid drinking games. I assume they played rugby sometimes too but it was never mentioned. Sports just wasn't a thing that mattered all that much. Meanwhile y'all have freakin' stadiums and a PE teacher (albeit it a very good one) retiring makes the national news.
I'm not a huge football fan, but Stephen Fry's report on American college football (filmed at the all-important Iron Bowl showdown between Alabama and Auburn) is a fantastic take on this topic,...
I'm not a huge football fan, but Stephen Fry's report on American college football (filmed at the all-important Iron Bowl showdown between Alabama and Auburn) is a fantastic take on this topic, and on America in general, from a non-US perspective.
Yes, I pretty much agree with him. It's certainly one of the more... adorable things the US does. It's nice all those people are having a good time. Just for comparison, here is a UK university...
Yes, I pretty much agree with him. It's certainly one of the more... adorable things the US does. It's nice all those people are having a good time.
Yeah...he's a 72-year-old head coach... Edit: I see someone blindly added the "athletes" tag, so I've removed it. Hopefully that will prevent further assumptions.
Yeah...he's a 72-year-old head coach...
Edit: I see someone blindly added the "athletes" tag, so I've removed it. Hopefully that will prevent further assumptions.
I saw a few articles about this one and liked this the best: https://www.theringer.com/college-football/2024/1/12/24035493/nick-saban-retired-legacy-alabama-college-football
I saw a few articles about this one and liked this the best:
Saban retiring could possibly mark the end of an era of college football by itself. But amid massive conference realignment with the collapse of the PAC and the start of the 12 team playoff next year this isn't even the biggest change and maybe that's part of why he's doing it now.
This is a huge deal in the world of college football. Those of us who aren't Alabama fans have been waiting for it for years, but I'm still shocked by this. I had no idea he was even considering retiring this year. This is the first time since he's been at Alabama that a graduating class has gone all four years without a national championship (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020). They haven't finished a season outside of the top 10 since 2010 when they finished 10/11 in the AP/Coaches polls, and that was also the last time they lost more than 2 games in a season.
They have been probably the greatest dynasty in college football history, with the only other contender being Bear Bryant's tenure at Alabama.
As someone who attended the University of Alabama (from out of state, though not far off) during coach Saban's tenure, it's difficult to describe--even having witnessed it live--the impact he's had not just on the sport, but the University itself, the city of Tuscaloosa, and the lives of countless people like me who would not have attended Alabama if not for the indirect effects he had on the school.
The amount of new construction that occurred before I got to campus, while I was there for my degrees, and after I left, cannot be overstated. Chancellor Whit, a former chancellor of the school and one of the folks in charge when Saban was brought in gave a talk to my graduate school cohort and estimated the financial impact of this one man's hiring to have had a billion+ dollar impact on the school and surrounding community.
It's hard to believe that a person I've never even met (though I did get to stand next to him by merit of being in the marching band, which was cool) has had such an outsized but traceable impact on my life and the lives of so many others.
Yeah, it's pretty insane the number of kids from suburban Chicago, for example, who go to Alabama these days.
Doing school sports so seriously is one of the more foreign things America does. And that's a pretty high bar.
I'm not making any judgement about it being good or bad, it's just odd. My university was probably one of the top 20 in the UK and I'm not sure we even had a football team. The rugby team definitely existed because they were always in the bar doing stupid drinking games. I assume they played rugby sometimes too but it was never mentioned. Sports just wasn't a thing that mattered all that much. Meanwhile y'all have freakin' stadiums and a PE teacher (albeit it a very good one) retiring makes the national news.
I'm not a huge football fan, but Stephen Fry's report on American college football (filmed at the all-important Iron Bowl showdown between Alabama and Auburn) is a fantastic take on this topic, and on America in general, from a non-US perspective.
Yes, I pretty much agree with him. It's certainly one of the more... adorable things the US does. It's nice all those people are having a good time.
Just for comparison, here is a UK university football match featuring probably the third most prestigious university in the country (at least one of the Royal Family went to Durham). The crowd is nearly three deep in places!
Yeah...he's a 72-year-old head coach...
Edit: I see someone blindly added the "athletes" tag, so I've removed it. Hopefully that will prevent further assumptions.
I saw a few articles about this one and liked this the best:
https://www.theringer.com/college-football/2024/1/12/24035493/nick-saban-retired-legacy-alabama-college-football