BAMA among teams with the most grads

Here come the Alabama Crimson Tide. The "A" on Nick Saban’s cap might as well stand for Always at the top of the polls. Always among the leaders in graduates on the field, too. Twelve this season, including six starters for the top-ranked team. When the Tide played for the national championship game last January, they had 21.

“I think we’ve had 101 players in the last four years play in their last game, whether it was a playoff or a bowl game, with a degree,” Saban said via email. “That means we have a lot of guys that are graduating in three-and-a-half years, which I think is a real positive for them, whether it’s to go to graduate school or graduate so they can continue a career in football if they have an opportunity to do that.”

A lot of graduates have done the heavy lifting in the Saban Empire. The guys on the field for the Tide from 2008-2016 won 112 games – and had already earned 116 degrees. In the 2014 Orange Bowl, there were 28. Since 2010, 14 master’s degree holders have played for the Tide.

“The key to the drill is that we want to help players be more successful in life,” Saban said, “so it’s very important that they develop the right character as people, but it’s also important they develop a career off the field. The No. 1 thing is that when they graduate, that stays with them forever. That’s a 40-year career.

“Academics are important to us and also important to our players. We sell that part in recruiting so I think we get players here that are serious about going to school.”

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