The Battle Plan
11/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | General
The Playoff Run Begins
Another playoff weekend in college football has passed (at least that's how I see it) and the "shaking and baking" in college football continues. Great teams find ways to win, even in the toughest of circumstances. Resilience and resolve are characteristics that decide close, hard-fought contests and allow one team to move on while the other falls back. It is that special time of year in college football when the air is cool and crisp and many teams have separated themselves from the pack. There is still more separating to do. As the season progresses, the stakes get higher and the margin for error gets lower.
It has been fun to watch our team mature and progress to our current 7-1 status. After the Arkansas game, many "experts" wondered if we could get to six wins and make a bowl game. After the Texas A&M game, those same "experts" declared Alabama the favorite to win it all. Through it all our team has stayed focused, dealt with inexperience and injuries, learned from SEC road games, and improved in every area. The team chemistry seems to me to be very good. They worry about the right things - getting better every day in practice, and preparing to play the next game. The leadership is outstanding. We face arguably the toughest four-game stretch of anybody in the country. But we are where we want to be, with a chance to get to the top, and our fate is in our own hands. I don't know what the odds are of winning out, but I really like this team, and believe that whatever the outcome, they will play their hearts out and make us proud.
I, for one, look forward to this week's game with LSU. They are a very good team with the potential of being great. They lost a lot of players from last year to graduation and the NFL Draft, but they have also improved every week and currently occupy a No. 14 ranking. Games like this are what makes big-time college football so special, and the reason outstanding student-athletes come to Alabama. Our teams have played very well in Baton Rouge over the years and I am excited that I will be there to watch this one. I hope there will be a strong presence of Crimson Tide fans there with us. And, for those that can't make it, I hope you all will send positive vibes our way on Saturday night.
Deserved Recognition for Academic Success While Building the Total Program
A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (Oct. 28) focused on the challenges faced by athletic departments not only in producing quality graduation rates, but - as part of that process - also placing a priority on providing student-athletes with a quality academic experience that prepares them for life after leaving college. The article notes that the graduation-rates methodology has evolved over the years into a more legitimate barometer of the success with which schools are educating their student-athletes. The University of Alabama registered the sharpest increase in graduation rates over the period from 1998 to 2006, rising 34 percent, after going from 39 percent in 1998 to 73 percent in 2006. That improvement is the largest in the nation over that timeframe.
It was very nice to see Alabama featured in the article in a deservedly positive light. It was pleasing, but not surprising, for me to see that. I would venture to guess that there aren't many universities that enjoy the positive relationship between athletics and academics on campus that we have at Alabama. That's a tribute to everyone involved. Jon Dever and his staff do an amazing job every day to help our student-athletes in their journey through college and to help prepare them for life after graduation. I can't imagine any place with a more positive emphasis on academics from all of our coaches than I have seen at Alabama. Add to that the high level of competence of our academic support staff and our resources for academic assistance, life skills, career development and leadership staff. The outstanding support from our President, Dr. Judy Bonner, our Chancellor, Dr. Robert Witt, and our Board of Trustees is what makes it all possible.
An excerpt from the article:
After a series of coaching changes in the early 2000s, the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa hired Nick Saban as its head football coach. Since taking over, in 2007, the football graduation rate has climbed steadily.
Last year the Crimson Tide's six-year rate reached 73 percent. Less than a decade ago, it was 39 percent.
More Resources
Alabama's rise has helped boost the Southeastern Conference, the Chronicle analysis showed. Over a recent eight-year period, the SEC's average graduation rate in football increased 25 percent, more than any of the big-five conferences. (The Big Ten, another of the wealthiest leagues, was No. 2.)
In the early 1990s, when Jon Dever, Alabama's director of academic services for athletics, was hired, the university had just five academic-support staff members, including a secretary, he says. Now it has 15. During the football season, he says, the university hires up to 100 tutors. And its academic facilities for athletes have grown exponentially, from about 2,000 square feet when he started to 40,000 today.
Those resources can help, but Coach Saban wields another stick.
"All players here want to play, and they know they can't practice or play unless they do what they're supposed to do in school," he said. "I hope they all want to go to school, but I know they all want to play.
"I can really get our players to do academically what I want them to do," he said, "more easily than what I could get my own kids to do."
That may not always translate into more graduates, he acknowledges. But the nudges help get them closer to their degrees.
The efforts of our Athletic Student Services staff, along with the commitment of coaches like Coach Saban, have made a meaningful difference. However, it is the effort and dedication of our student-athletes that has made our progress over the last 15 years possible.
Fall Sports Update
Here are brief updates on our fall sports teams. You can follow the links provided to read more in-depth information about these teams.
- Our men's and women's CROSS COUNTRY teams hosted the 2014 SEC Championships (recap here) last Friday morning in perfect conditions at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa. The Tide women's team finished third, marking a three-spot leap for the women in the standings from last year's championship. The Tide men finished sixth, an improvement of five places from their 11th-place showing last year. Alabama was led by sophomore Katelyn Greenleaf in the women's race as she finished 11th overall with a 21-second improvement from her time at last year's championship. The men were led by senior Matt Airola, who finished 12th overall with the finest performance of his career in his final home appearance. Coach Dan Waters, assistant coach Adam Tribble, and all of our support staff did an excellent job conducting the championships last week. And it was great to see our student-athletes put together their best combined performances of the season in a championship event. Our women's team has a realistic shot at qualifying for the NCAA Championships later this month if they do well at the NCAA South Region meet in Tallahassee, Fla., on Nov. 14. Our men's team, while still in a developmental phase, showed its potential at the SEC meet.
- Coach Todd Bramble's SOCCER team ended up as the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament after a 2-1 loss at Kentucky last Thursday night (recap here). On Monday afternoon we lost a tough 3-2 match with 10th-seeded Tennessee in the opening round (recap here) of the tournament in Orange Beach after the Tide had a 2-0 halftime lead. Coach Bramble's team showed marked improvement this season after being picked to finish 10th in the SEC in the preseason polls. With the loss, Alabama closed the regular season with a 10-7-3 overall record, going 5-4-2 in SEC regular season action. Still, the Tide is in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth and will learn its fate when the field is announced on Monday, Nov. 10.
- Senior forward Laura Lee Smith was named the SEC Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year and was one of three Crimson Tide players to earn All-SEC second team honors. Midfielder Merel van Dongen and junior goalkeeper Emily Rusk joined Smith on the second team. Laura Lee became the second player in Alabama history to earn soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year honors, joining Libby Probst (1995) as the only Crimson Tide honorees. With a 3.98 grade-point average over her four years, she has already been accepted to medical school. Laura Lee was a National Merit Finalist, was twice named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was on the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a freshman in 2011. Last week, Laura Lee was selected to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District 4 First Team for her academic and athletic achievements.
- In competition, Laura Lee has scored a team-leading seven goals, ranks among team leaders in minutes, and has been a major contributor to an offense that has accumulated 338 shots, the second-most in Alabama history. Emily led the SEC in save percentage (.817) and helped lead the Tide to nine shutouts, tying for the league lead in that category. She became the first player in Alabama history to earn two SEC Defensive Player of the Week accolades and her seven shutouts tied for the most in a single season at Alabama (third in SEC history). Merel set a school record with nine assists this season and added three goals to rank third on the team in points (15) while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. She was recognized with a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District 4 First Team honor earlier this season.
- Coach Ed Allen's VOLLEYBALL team is 19-5 overall and 7-3 in SEC action after an impressive 3-2 win over No. 24 Texas A&M last Friday night (recap here) in Foster Auditorium. Freshman Kat Hutson was crucial to the victory and she was recognized by the Southeastern Conference as they named her the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday (read about it here). Kat had 25 kills in the win, the Tide's first win over a top-25 team since 2007 and our first win over a top-25 SEC opponent since 2006. With the win, Alabama moved past A&M into fourth place in the SEC standings. The Tide now faces crucial road matches at league-leading Florida (18-3 overall; 12-0 in the SEC) this Friday night in Gainesville and at South Carolina (15-9; 5-6 in the SEC) currently tied for sixth place in the SEC) on Sunday afternoon. This team is definitely in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth.
- The Tide SWIMMING & DIVING team hosted LSU and Auburn last Saturday in a triangular meet (recap here) at the Aquatics Center on campus. Coach Dennis Pursley and his staff are doing a remarkable job of turning around this program. Auburn is annually one of the nation's top teams. The last time Alabama and Auburn met in a dual meet during the regular season was in the fall of 2012, and the Crimson Tide won just two of 32 events between the men's and women's meets. It was a vastly different story Saturday during Alabama's double dual meet as Alabama won 10 races against Auburn, including a sweep of the men's sprint and distance freestyle events. The Alabama men (2-2, 1-2) defeated LSU, 220-80, while falling to Auburn 167-133. The Crimson Tide women (1-3, 0-3) fell to LSU in a close one, 155-145, while losing to Auburn 174-126. The Tide returns to action on Nov. 20-22 at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.
- Last weekend our ROWING team and head coach Larry Davis completed its fall season in Chattanooga (recap here) with two top-10 finishes in the Open 8+. The Tide had its most complete performance of the fall, collecting four top-20 finishes and a freshman boat that finished just outside of the top 20 in its race. The Tide will resume competition on March 14-15, 2015, at the Cardinal Invitational Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
- The WOMEN'S TENNIS team hosted a huge competition last weekend as our players earned a total of 33 victories at the 27th Roberta Alison Fall Classic held on campus (recap here). Twenty-five of the Crimson Tide's wins came in doubles, while the other eight victories were earned in singles play. Coach Jenny Mainz's team will take a break until starting its spring season on Jan. 16-18 when the Tide plays host to Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Yale in the Mal Moore Invitational.
Catch Alabama Athletics on The SEC Network
Here's a summary of our athletic events to be televised this weekend on The SEC Network. Volleyball's match at South Carolina on Sunday afternoon will be carried live on The SEC Network. Replays of our football game at LSU are also available multiple times via the listings below. Our volleyball match on Friday night and our volleyball match on Friday night, along with Coach Saban's press conference on Monday, can be seen via SEC Network +, which is available online via ESPN3 here.
(All times listed are Central Time)
Friday, November 7
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | Volleyball at Florida | SEC Network + |
Sunday, November 9
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 3 p.m. | Volleyball at South Carolina | SEC Network |
Monday, November 10
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. | REPLAY: Football at LSU | SEC Network |
| 12 p.m. | Football - Nick Saban Press Conference | SEC Network + |
| 8:30 p.m. | REPLAY: Football at LSU | SEC Network |
Wednesday, November 12
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 12 a.m. | REPLAY: Football at LSU | SEC Network |
Upcoming Events
Basketball hits the hardwood starting Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium as the Tide women host an exhibition game with North Alabama. Our men's team has its exhibition game on Monday night at Coleman Coliseum against Montevallo. Volleyball is on the road for matches at Florida and South Carolina as the stretch drive continues for them. Speaking of stretch drives, our football team's November gauntlet begins Saturday night at Death Valley against LSU. Here's a summary of athletics events over the next several days (times listed are for the location of the event):
Thursday, November 6
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
| All Day | Women's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
Friday, November 7
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. ET | Volleyball | at Florida | Gainesville, Fla. |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
| All Day | Women's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
Saturday, November 8
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. CT | Football | at LSU | Baton Rouge, La. |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
| All Day | Women's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
Sunday, November 9
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 p.m. CT | Women's Basketball | North Alabama (Exhibition) | Tuscaloosa |
| 3 p.m. ET | Volleyball | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
| All Day | Women's Tennis | at USTA/ITA Collegiate Indoor | Flushing, N.Y. |
Monday, November 10
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. CT | Men's Basketball | Montevallo (Exhibition) | Tuscaloosa |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
Tuesday, November 11
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
Wednesday, November 12
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 p.m. CT | Volleyball | Mississippi State | Tuscaloosa |
| All Day | Men's Tennis | at USTA10K Futures | Birmingham |
Your presence is a major factor for our teams, so your support is not only needed - it's vital. A rising tide lifts all boats and it's up to all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
