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The Battle Plan - October 17th, 2014
Posted on 10/17/14 at 8:16 pm
Posted on 10/17/14 at 8:16 pm
The Most Meaningful Regular Season in Sports
Hats off to the Bowl Championship Series and the College Football Playoff! To me, the BCS structure has had much to do with the playoff atmosphere that we as college football fans are enjoying every week. I know of no other sport in which every regular season game means so much. In spite of the criticism the BCS received over the years, the BCS accomplished exactly what its creators hoped for – pitting the top two collegiate teams against each other, keeping the regular season relevant, and protecting the tradition of the bowl games.
The College Football Playoff has been set up to accomplish those same objectives and will, hopefully, improve the odds of getting the best two teams into the championship game. It is my hope that the number of teams in the playoff does not expand past four. Why? Two reasons: 1) Player safety – I am concerned that playing more games presents a player safety hazard; 2) The degradation of the regular season. While adding more teams might make for a better playoff scenario, and could probably generate more post-season revenue, I believe it would take away from the regular season and hurt the game overall.
The NCAA Basketball Championship is one of the most exciting playoff experiences of any sport. But the downside is that it has made the regular season almost irrelevant. We need creative thinking to restore excitement, interest, and attendance in the basketball regular season. In my judgment, we definitely should not risk losing what we have now in football.
Savor Every Victory
I was very proud of our team and fans last Saturday in Fayetteville. The weather was ugly, the crowd was hostile (in a sportsmanlike manner), and conditions were tough. If you have never experienced the Razorback fans rocking the stadium with “Woo Pig Sooie”, you need to add that experience to your bucket list!
Arkansas had enjoyed the luxury of an open date week and the Hogs were rested and well-prepared. They have a good team on both sides of the ball, and they will get on the winning track again soon.
While our win wasn’t especially pretty, it did reflect our team’s toughness, resolve, character and resilience. Our defense shut down one of the most prolific running teams in the country. And our freshman punter did a great job of turning the field over and helping us win with old fashioned field-position football. It reminded me of the kind of games we played many times back in the 1950’s and 60’s. I was delighted to leave Fayetteville with another check in the “WIN column” and a 5-1 record.
It will be nice to return to the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium this week. Texas A&M comes to town with a high-powered offense and a much-improved defense. They shocked the world when they beat South Carolina in the first game on the SEC Network in August. They shocked us in 2012 when they came into our stadium and jumped out to a 21-0 lead and again last year in their stadium when they jumped out to a 14-0 lead. We almost came back in 2012 and did come back last year for a big road win. We will need to be at our best when the Aggies come in Saturday.
Our coaches and team are working hard and they are excited about another big SEC game. All the tickets are sold, the weather this weekend should be great, and many recruits in all sports will be on campus. We look forward to a great game on a special college football Saturday.
We are honored to have Demeco Ryans, Evan Mathis and Bob Baumhower serving as honorary captains this week. They will meet fans between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in a tent on the corner of University Boulevard and Wallace Wade.
The End of an Era
It was with mixed emotions that I spoke with Mike Slive earlier this week and he told me he was announcing his retirement. He has been a visionary leader since he joined the Southeastern Conference as its Commissioner in 2002. The league has moved light years ahead in most every category during his tenure. I admired him from afar until last year when I came back to Alabama. I admire him even more now after seeing firsthand over the last year and a half what he stands for and how he operates.
We are fortunate that Mike will continue his leadership through the summer of 2015 and will serve as a consultant to the league for an additional four years. The job of Conference Commissioner is a difficult one. It takes a smart, tough, thick-skinned person to lead an organization like the SEC and keep everyone relatively happy. We hope and pray that his health will continue to be good as he fights a difficult disease, and that he has many years ahead to enjoy life in retirement.
Hats off to the Bowl Championship Series and the College Football Playoff! To me, the BCS structure has had much to do with the playoff atmosphere that we as college football fans are enjoying every week. I know of no other sport in which every regular season game means so much. In spite of the criticism the BCS received over the years, the BCS accomplished exactly what its creators hoped for – pitting the top two collegiate teams against each other, keeping the regular season relevant, and protecting the tradition of the bowl games.
The College Football Playoff has been set up to accomplish those same objectives and will, hopefully, improve the odds of getting the best two teams into the championship game. It is my hope that the number of teams in the playoff does not expand past four. Why? Two reasons: 1) Player safety – I am concerned that playing more games presents a player safety hazard; 2) The degradation of the regular season. While adding more teams might make for a better playoff scenario, and could probably generate more post-season revenue, I believe it would take away from the regular season and hurt the game overall.
The NCAA Basketball Championship is one of the most exciting playoff experiences of any sport. But the downside is that it has made the regular season almost irrelevant. We need creative thinking to restore excitement, interest, and attendance in the basketball regular season. In my judgment, we definitely should not risk losing what we have now in football.
Savor Every Victory
I was very proud of our team and fans last Saturday in Fayetteville. The weather was ugly, the crowd was hostile (in a sportsmanlike manner), and conditions were tough. If you have never experienced the Razorback fans rocking the stadium with “Woo Pig Sooie”, you need to add that experience to your bucket list!
Arkansas had enjoyed the luxury of an open date week and the Hogs were rested and well-prepared. They have a good team on both sides of the ball, and they will get on the winning track again soon.
While our win wasn’t especially pretty, it did reflect our team’s toughness, resolve, character and resilience. Our defense shut down one of the most prolific running teams in the country. And our freshman punter did a great job of turning the field over and helping us win with old fashioned field-position football. It reminded me of the kind of games we played many times back in the 1950’s and 60’s. I was delighted to leave Fayetteville with another check in the “WIN column” and a 5-1 record.
It will be nice to return to the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium this week. Texas A&M comes to town with a high-powered offense and a much-improved defense. They shocked the world when they beat South Carolina in the first game on the SEC Network in August. They shocked us in 2012 when they came into our stadium and jumped out to a 21-0 lead and again last year in their stadium when they jumped out to a 14-0 lead. We almost came back in 2012 and did come back last year for a big road win. We will need to be at our best when the Aggies come in Saturday.
Our coaches and team are working hard and they are excited about another big SEC game. All the tickets are sold, the weather this weekend should be great, and many recruits in all sports will be on campus. We look forward to a great game on a special college football Saturday.
We are honored to have Demeco Ryans, Evan Mathis and Bob Baumhower serving as honorary captains this week. They will meet fans between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in a tent on the corner of University Boulevard and Wallace Wade.
The End of an Era
It was with mixed emotions that I spoke with Mike Slive earlier this week and he told me he was announcing his retirement. He has been a visionary leader since he joined the Southeastern Conference as its Commissioner in 2002. The league has moved light years ahead in most every category during his tenure. I admired him from afar until last year when I came back to Alabama. I admire him even more now after seeing firsthand over the last year and a half what he stands for and how he operates.
We are fortunate that Mike will continue his leadership through the summer of 2015 and will serve as a consultant to the league for an additional four years. The job of Conference Commissioner is a difficult one. It takes a smart, tough, thick-skinned person to lead an organization like the SEC and keep everyone relatively happy. We hope and pray that his health will continue to be good as he fights a difficult disease, and that he has many years ahead to enjoy life in retirement.
This post was edited on 10/17/14 at 8:20 pm
1
Posted on 10/17/14 at 8:17 pm to UAFanFromNOLA
Hoops on the Quad This Saturday
The weather is expected to be ideal this weekend and it will provide the perfect backdrop for a new event that we hope will get you excited about the upcoming basketball season.
This Saturday we officially open the 2014-15 basketball season with an event that is the first of its kind at Alabama. Our men’s and women’s basketball teams will host Hoops on the Quad presented by Alabama Power, a special fan-friendly event that is scheduled to take place beginning at 11 a.m. The hour-long event will take place on a special outdoor court and showcase both teams as they participate in a variety of activities, including team introductions, a skills competition, a three-point shootout, a brief scrimmage and more. After the event ends, both teams will remain on site following the show to sign autographs for fans. And fans will still have time to get to the Walk of Champions in the North End Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium at 12:30.
I am excited about the possibilities of this upcoming season. We have a men's team that is coming together nicely, and our women's program is definitely on the upswing. We have good leadership in both programs and these teams need – and want – your enthusiastic support. You can make a difference for our teams – and that effort starts this Saturday.
The weather is expected to be ideal this weekend and it will provide the perfect backdrop for a new event that we hope will get you excited about the upcoming basketball season.
This Saturday we officially open the 2014-15 basketball season with an event that is the first of its kind at Alabama. Our men’s and women’s basketball teams will host Hoops on the Quad presented by Alabama Power, a special fan-friendly event that is scheduled to take place beginning at 11 a.m. The hour-long event will take place on a special outdoor court and showcase both teams as they participate in a variety of activities, including team introductions, a skills competition, a three-point shootout, a brief scrimmage and more. After the event ends, both teams will remain on site following the show to sign autographs for fans. And fans will still have time to get to the Walk of Champions in the North End Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium at 12:30.
I am excited about the possibilities of this upcoming season. We have a men's team that is coming together nicely, and our women's program is definitely on the upswing. We have good leadership in both programs and these teams need – and want – your enthusiastic support. You can make a difference for our teams – and that effort starts this Saturday.
Posted on 10/17/14 at 8:21 pm to UAFanFromNOLA
Power of Pink Events This Weekend
We are pleased to enter our sixth annual Power of Pink program this week with events in soccer, cross country and volleyball. The initiative was started in 2004 by coach Sarah Patterson, and since that time the program has grown to include all women’s teams at Alabama. The start of this year’s Power of Pink events coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. An estimated 1.7 million new cases occurred throughout the world last year.
Our fall events are just the beginning of Alabama’s 2014-15 Power of Pink slate. Winter events include swimming and diving, gymnastics, and women’s basketball. Spring events include women’s tennis, track and field, softball, and rowing. We are pleased that our teams are involved in many community service initiatives that enable our student-athletes to realize their ability to contribute to causes that
We are pleased to enter our sixth annual Power of Pink program this week with events in soccer, cross country and volleyball. The initiative was started in 2004 by coach Sarah Patterson, and since that time the program has grown to include all women’s teams at Alabama. The start of this year’s Power of Pink events coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. An estimated 1.7 million new cases occurred throughout the world last year.
Our fall events are just the beginning of Alabama’s 2014-15 Power of Pink slate. Winter events include swimming and diving, gymnastics, and women’s basketball. Spring events include women’s tennis, track and field, softball, and rowing. We are pleased that our teams are involved in many community service initiatives that enable our student-athletes to realize their ability to contribute to causes that
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