Alabama Athletics Honors Champions at Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza
9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | General
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - University of Alabama President Dr. Judy Bonner and Director of Athletics Bill Battle opened a celebration of champions at the Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza on Friday afternoon.
During the ceremony, it was also announced that in addition to existing scholarships in the name of Sarah Patterson and the late Mal Moore, the A-Club - Alabama's letterwinner association - is endowing scholarships in the names of national champion coaches Jay Seawell, Mic Potter and Patrick Murphy. A-Club President Jerry Duncan presented Seawell and Murphy with plaques commemorating the scholarships. Potter, in Tennessee with the women's golf team, will receive his plaque at a later date.
Following remarks by Battle and Dr. Bonner highlighting the amazing success enjoyed by the Crimson Tide both athletically and academically over the past year, the four teams that won championships last season unveiled their additions to the plaza.
Patterson and the gymnastics team celebrated their eighth Southeastern Conference title while Murphy and the softball team celebrated their fifth regular-season SEC championship. Jenny Mainz and the women's tennis team celebrated the first SEC title for their program. Seawell and his men's golf squad closed out the celebration of champions by unveiling the recognition of their second-consecutive NCAA championships and third SEC title in a row and fifth overall.
The 2014 NCAA Men's golf title marked the Crimson Tide's ninth national championship since 2009, a stretch that includes three football, two gymnastics and two men's golf championships as well as one softball and one women's golf national championship.
On the conference level, Alabama tied its single-year best during the 2013-14 academic year by winning SEC team titles in four sports, matching the standard originally set during the 2009-10 season. Since 2009, Alabama teams have won a combined 16 SEC team championships in seven sports.
