The Battle Plan
9/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | General
Our Fans Deserve This Week's Game Ball
After a successful trip to Atlanta with a victory over West Virginia, it was nice to return to Bryant-Denny Stadium last Saturday for the first of three straight home football weekends. Saturday was hot, humid, and, ultimately, rainy and stormy. But, overall, I thought it was a great day.
We had more than 100,000 of our loyal fans in the stands and they stayed engaged throughout the game. I think everyone was excited to see both quarterbacks in action and I thought both performed very well. They were also excited to see our younger players at all positions get to play and to watch how our much-needed depth materializes. Getting as many players ready to play as possible is a critical element in getting through a tough SEC schedule. I hope our fans enjoyed our improved connectivity in the stadium, our new TVs and point of sale signage in the concourses, and improved food service.
When the rains and lightning came, we had to suspend the game to comply with SEC regulations. I know both players and coaches wanted to continue to play, but it appeared the game would need to be delayed for a significant amount of time. In the interest of player and fan safety, I met with Florida Atlantic Director of Athletics Patrick Chun and we decided to call the game.
I am very impressed with the resilience of our fans. You weathered the heat and rain and were enthusiastic until the end. You deserve a game ball for your efforts!
This week brings the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to Bryant-Denny Stadium. Hopefully, it will be another week to play hard, improve in all phases of the game, and continue to build depth. With kickoff set for 5 p.m., and the forecast calling for slightly cooler weather, I am hopeful that we will have more comfortable playing conditions.
Woodrow Lowe and Ricky Davis, both All-Americans, will serve as honorary captains for this game. They were members of the 1974 SEC championship team that we will honor prior to kickoff.
We are also proud to honor the late Derrick Thomas, who was recently named to the 2014 Class of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Derrick will be inducted into that prestigious fraternity in December at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and we are looking forward to hosting his family this weekend, as they will be here collectively to represent him. His mother, Edith Morgan, will be accepting the Hall of Fame plaque in Derrick's honor.
At halftime this Saturday, our 2014 SEC champion gymnastics team will receive their championship rings. It will provide one more occasion to thank Sarah and David Patterson for their amazing 36 years of service to the University of Alabama. It will also enable us to welcome our new head gymnastics coach, Dana Duckworth, as we show her our belief that the future of our gymnastics program is in very capable hands.
And, finally, we will honor one of our best, brightest, and most highly decorated student-athletes of all time as we recognize and thank Kim Jacob for her four years of excellence at the University of Alabama. She will receive the prestigious Honda Award. We look forward to Kim's service as a graduate assistant on this year's gymnastics team and hope it leads her into coaching as a career. The coaching profession needs more people like Kim Jacob.
Career Development and Leadership Center
We are proud to kick off our newest academic and life skills initiative this fall. Thanks to the generous support of Dr. Gaylon and Susan McCullough, and the "A" Club, we have brought in Ms. Jessie Gardner as director of this very important program.
The mission of the Crimson Tide D.R.I.V.E. for Success Program is to actively support professional and leadership growth of current and former Crimson Tide student-athletes through practical education and comprehensive programming in preparation for success in life.
Jessie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Central Florida, along with Master of Business Administration and Master of Sports Business Management degrees. She served as an intern for two years in the University of Central Florida's Department of Student Services, and spent the last two years as Life Skills Coordinator in the University of Nebraska Athletics Department.
The "A" Club and the First and Ten Club will come together to support and expand this program. The University of Alabama currently has students enrolled from every state in the nation and 77 foreign countries.
Our goal is to form an international network of former letterwinners that can stay connected to the University through technology, as well as personal visits to the campus. We want them to enjoy fellowship with their teammates, past and present; to actively follow their sport; and to support the Mission of the University and the Athletic Department. If we can bring all former letterwinners together and continue to attract our recent graduates, we can build a network that can forever influence careers and lives in a major way.
Fall Sports Season Hitting Its Stride
Last Friday night was a tremendous night for our women's SOCCER program, as we hosted a national power in front of the second-largest crowd in the history of the Alabama Soccer Complex. While we didn't come out on top, losing to third-ranked Virginia by a 3-0 score, our ladies played very well and stayed with the 2013 national runners-up for much of the match. The match was scoreless until the 38th minute and the Cavaliers didn't clinch the game until late in the second half. The atmosphere that our outstanding crowd of 1,308 fans created provided an excellent backdrop for the game. Our team played valiantly, staying in the game despite being outshot 23-6 and having to compete without one of our top offensive threats as senior forward Pia Rijsdijk missed the game with a leg injury. Many times in sports it is difficult to bounce back and play at your best following a big game, regardless of how that game turns out. But I was proud to see our ladies come back Sunday night with a strong performance in a 2-0 win over Jacksonville State. The Tide dominated play from start to finish while outshooting the Gamecocks, 30-3. With the win, we are 3-2-1 overall this season heading into this Friday night's contest against UAB scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Alabama Soccer Complex.
Our women's VOLLEYBALL team is off to a 5-2 start this season after completing play in the Cavalier Classic last weekend at the University of Virginia. Our team began the tournament last Friday with a win over Navy to move to 5-0 on the season before dropping matches on Saturday to LIU-Brooklyn and Virginia. Action continues this weekend in Montgomery with three games at the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2, hosted by Alabama State University. Action begins on Friday, Sept. 12, against Southern Miss (1 p.m. CT) and concludes on Saturday, Sept. 13, against Alabama State (8:30 a.m.) and Towson (1:30 p.m.). Be sure to circle Tuesday, Sept. 16, on your calendar as the Tide has its first home match slated for that evening starting at 7 p.m. at Foster Auditorium.
Our two-time defending national champion MEN'S GOLF team opened its fall season last weekend with a fifth-place finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Dalton, Georgia, ending up the 54-hole event at 11-under par 853 (286-283-284) on the par-72, 7,012-yard course at The Farm Golf Club. Coach Jay Seawell's team is retooling a bit this year, but he was pleased that his team showed tremendous promise in its first outing with a new lineup. Sophomore Robby Shelton finished second overall to lead the Tide after carding rounds of 69-68-69 to finish at 10-under par 206. Robby has shot in the 60s in 19 of his 39 career rounds played at Alabama, an incredible statistic. He will be a catalyst for this young team next year and his level of play sets a fine example. Sophomore Dru Love, the son of pro golfer Davis Love III, played well in his first tournament for the Tide as he shot three rounds below par and finished in a tie for 10th overall at 4-under par 212 (71-70-71). Our team finished just five shots back of tournament winner South Carolina. The Tide continues action this Friday through Sunday at the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational, at Olympia Fields Country Club just outside of Chicago.
Junior Emma Talley of our WOMEN'S GOLF team finished among the top 50 in a field of almost 150 golfers last weekend at the 2014 Women's World Amateur Team Championships in Karuizama, Japan, shooting a final round of 2-over par 74 to finish at 3-over par 291 for the four-day tournament. Emma helped the United States team to a fifth-place finish, tying with Sweden at 19-under 557. Australia won the team title just two strokes ahead of Canada. Coach Mic Potter and the Crimson Tide women's golf team will start the fall portion of the 2014-15 season on Friday, Sept. 19, at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tennessee.
Upcoming Action
Our swimming & diving team hosts its season-opening dual meet this Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., at the Alabama Aquatic Center, then our soccer team has a home match against UAB at 7 p.m. Here's a summary of athletics events over the next several days (times listed are for the location of the event):
Friday, September 12
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 p.m. | Volleyball | Southern Miss | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 4 p.m. | Swimming & Diving | Delta State | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| 7 p.m. | Soccer | UAB | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| All Day | Men's Golf | Olympia Field Fighting Illini Inv. | Olympia Fields, Ill. |
Saturday, September 13
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m. | Volleyball | Alabama State | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 1:30 p.m. | Volleyball | Towson | Montgomery, Ala. |
| 5 p.m. | Football | Southern Miss | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| All Day | Men's Golf | Olympia Field Fighting Illini Inv. | Olympia Fields, Ill. |
Sunday, September 14
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Day | Men's Golf | Olympia Field Fighting Illini Inv. | Olympia Fields, Ill. |
Tuesday, September 16
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | Volleyball | UAB | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
If you are in Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, or the Chicago area, please make an effort to come out and support our teams. A rising tide lifts all boats and it's up to all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
Players Mentioned
