The Battle Plan presented by Mercedes-Benz
12/30/2016 12:05:00 PM | General
A Great Week in Atlanta Leading Up to a Monumental Game
We are delighted to be playing in our first-ever Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl tomorrow. It is even more special, as Alabama is playing in its third straight College Football Playoff semifinal game, and we are the only team in America to do so. This a credit to Coach Saban and his staff, who have recruited and developed players to successfully compete at the absolute highest levels of collegiate football. The fact that 21 players dressed for the game will have their degrees, including three who have master's degrees, is also a credit to Coach Saban and his staff, as well as Jon Dever and his academics support staff.
Gary Stokan and his Atlanta Sports Council team have made this week a positive experience for our team. They have had some fun competing against Washington in several events this week, including a contest to make Chick-Fil-A milkshakes the fastest, and most complete, and with less spillage in the process. Our team won that one! They have also experienced some community service activities including visiting patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Hospital and making many young boys' and girls' days much brighter through that visit. One of the most meaningful learning experiences enjoyed by our team was attending the historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church, and listening to Andrew Young talking about present day issues, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King's vision and accomplishments during his lifetime. But our players have spent most of their time this week preparing for a very tough and well-balanced Washington Huskies team.
Our team is in good physical condition. They have healed up pretty well from the bumps and bruises of the regular season. Jeff Allen, our trainers, and doctors do an amazing job of preventing injuries and, when they do occur, managing them very effectively.
Our fans will have their usual responsibility tomorrow to help create a home field advantage for our team by coming early, staying late, and enthusiastically supporting our players and coaches. You provide the winning edge in most of our big games and there are none bigger so far this year than this game tomorrow. I still believe our best game is ahead of us and tomorrow would be a great time for it to come.
A Reminder of the Beginning of Alabama's Football Tradition
Yet another reminder of the special nature of the era we are experiencing in the history of our storied football program is the fact that we enter this Saturday's College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl as favorites to defeat Washington and advance to the CFP National Championship Game against the winner of the Clemson-Ohio State game. The fact that so many pundits and observers are so certain we will emerge victorious is not something to be taken lightly.
It is both a supreme compliment of our past successes and a warning that we need to be at the top of our game because complacency is the surest way to guarantee defeat. I know our coaching staff, our players and our entire organization is not taking anything for granted. As an organization we know that every victory must be earned, particularly when a team reaches this stage. The Washington-Alabama series consists of just a few meetings, but the first game between these two schools some 90 years ago remains the cornerstone of Alabama football as a national power.
That Rose Bowl matchup, played on New Year's Day 1926, is not only instructive historically but, also, can provide an ironic lesson in how pregame expectations, prior success and reputation do not put points on the scoreboard. A few days ago I read an interesting piece by Andrew Beaton of The Wall Street Journal that brought all of this to mind. I hope you will enjoy looking back at a recounting of our monumental victory over Washington in the 1926 Rose Bowl, the game that earned us our first football national championship and, many agree, catapulted Southern football to preeminence.
Fulfilling the Mission, Part I: Nationally Elite in the Classroom and on the Field
Just as there are a number of different ways to measure success on the football field, there are numerous ways to gauge success in the classroom, such as the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR) and its Graduation Success Rate (GSR). The folks at New America, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., have come up with a metric of their own and applied it to the teams in the final top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings. New America's formula starts with a team's GSR score and combines it with several other factors. I'm happy to say that Alabama football has fared very well in this ranking all three years of its existence, coming in at No. 7 this season. The only team to earn a berth in each of the College Football Playoff's first three years, the Crimson Tide is one of only two teams to place in the top 10 academically in all three years that New America has released its rankings. All of this speaks extremely well of the job that our student-athletes, coaches and staff are doing in striving for excellence in all areas of the collegiate experience.
Fulfilling the Mission, Part II: 22Â Graduates Suiting Up Tomorrow
One of the more obvious ways to measure academic success is having your players graduate, and that's another area where Alabama stands at the forefront of college football. The Crimson Tide team that will take the field Saturday against Washington features 22 players who already have earned a degree going into the CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Three of those young men – Alphonse Taylor, Dakota Ball and Brandon Greene – earned master's degrees. The 22 graduates leads the SEC for the most graduates on a bowl roster and ties us for second nationally among all bowl teams this season. We have also had an impressive 14 players since 2008 earn a master's degree before stepping foot on the field for a bowl game. This season marks the fourth consecutive year that our football team has ranked in the top three among all bowl teams in terms of graduates on their roster. We should be very proud of Crimson Tide football's success on the field, but we can also be every bit as proud of what our student-athletes have accomplished in the classroom, including the 22 men who will dress out Saturday with a degree (or two!) already in hand.
Crimson Tide Foundation Update: Creating Student-Athlete Opportunities
"What opportunity are you forever grateful for that was provided by becoming a student-athlete at the University of Alabama?" This was the question posed to some of our student-athletes over the past couple of weeks. Please take a couple of moments to watch this video where they reveal the ways participating in Crimson Tide Athletics has been most meaningful to them. I hope you are as moved as I was when I watched this video. It shows that our student-athletes leave here ready to compete at the highest levels in life after graduation and, as Krystal Rivers said, "To impact the world in a positive way."
One thing strikes me when I watch this video of our student-athletes or the recent video the CTF released of our coaches: the immeasurable impact our donors have on the lives of these young people. Because of the generosity of our donors, there are students receiving an education who wouldn't otherwise be in college. They can focus on their academic endeavors and in developing athletic skills that include time management, competing at the highest levels, leadership, teamwork, and communication skills necessary to be tomorrow's leaders. One of the greatest benefits you provide is their ability to face the world on their own with no student debt.
Right now through the end of tomorrow (December 31), we are competing against the other universities playing in the College Football Playoff Semifinals in a Giving Challenge. The school with the most gifts during the four-day challenge (December 28-31) wins. If you haven't done so already, I hope you will make your gift to the giving challenge to help us win. More importantly, I hope you make a gift to help create opportunities for our student-athletes today and in the future. As you can see from the comments our students made in the video, your gift makes a difference to them and to Alabama Athletics. Help us win the challenge, and help us create opportunities of a lifetime for every student who participates in Crimson Tide Athletics. Thank you for your support.
Sports Updates
Men's Basketball
Coach Avery Johnson and his team will open SEC play with a pair of contests next week, first traveling to Starkville, Miss., to take on Mississippi State on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. CT (televised by The SEC Network), then we welcome Vanderbilt to Coleman Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 7, for our SEC home opener, slated for a 6 p.m. CT tip on ESPNU. In the lone game this week, redshirt freshman guard Dazon Ingram recorded his first career double-double to lead a dominant 83-60 victory over Stetson Thursday night in Coleman Coliseum. Dazon matched his career high with 16 points and set a career best with 10 rebounds, the first double-double by any of our players this season. On December 21, senior forward Jimmie Taylor scored a season-high 12 points to lead a 67-52 victory over Arkansas State in the first Rocket City Classic in Huntsville. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd at the Von Braun Center as we played in the Rocket City for just the second time in program history. The Tide spent some extra time in Huntsville doing work in the community. On Dec. 19, the team arrived and participated in "Liftoff Day" for the Rocket City Classic. Following a welcome reception, our student-athletes, coaches and staff joined children and staff from the Boys & Girls Club of North Alabama for a tour of the Space & Rocket Center. Once the tour concluded, the team took a group photo with the children, as well as autographed posters for the entire group. On Dec. 20, members of the team spent time at the Boys & Girls Club where they played games and interacted with the kids.
Women's Basketball
Coach Kristy Curry and her team closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule Wednesday night with an 81-46 victory over Florida A&M to improve to 12-1 this season. That's our best record in non-conference play since the 2000-01 season. Four of our student-athletes are currently averaging double-figures in points per game, led by junior Meoshonti Knight with 13.2 points per game. Sophomore Shaquera Wade leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 per contest, while freshman Jordan Lewis dishes out a team-best 4.4 assists per game, ranking her fifth in the SEC. Fellow freshman Ashley Knight is well on her way to becoming one of the best shot-blockers the program has ever seen as she averages an SEC-high 2.6 blocks per game. Through 13 games, Ashley needs only five more blocks to enter the school single-season top 10 list. Jordan and Ashley have also combined to earn three SEC Freshman of the Week honors already, the most the Tide has earned in a single year in the history of the program. Alabama will open conference play on Sunday, Jan. 1, when it visits sixth-ranked South Carolina on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. CT. The Tide then returns to Tuscaloosa for its SEC home opener against Ole Miss on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.
Baseball
Coach Greg Goff's team had an outstanding fall semester in the classroom, accumulating a 3.212 team grade-point average (GPA). Six members of the team made the President's List, five made the Dean's List, and 12 achieved a GPA of 3.0 or better. Mike Oczypok, our lone graduate student, had a 3.8 GPA in the MBA program working towards his master's degree. Mike was one of 24 who had a 3.0 or better, 12 of which were either freshmen or transfer players. Coach Greg Goff and his team will host a "First Pitch Dinner" on Friday, Feb. 10. Details on the dinner were released prior to the holidays, and fans wishing to attend can find out more by visiting the baseball section of RollTide.com
Gymnastics
After a short break for the holidays, Coach Dana Duckworth and her team reported back to campus on Dec. 27 and are hard at work, putting the final touches on preseason preparation for their 2017 season. Our ladies will be tested early, starting their slate with defending NCAA champion Oklahoma in Norman on Friday, Jan. 6. Dana and her team will then return to Tuscaloosa for the first home meet of the season, taking on LSU, last year's NCAA runner up, on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum. If you haven't gotten your season tickets for our "Five, Fun, Family Fridays," there's still time! Just contact the Athletics Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum or go online at RollTide.com. It's going to be an exciting season and you don't want to miss a single second of it.
Swimming and Diving
Coach Dennis Pursley and our swimmers and divers are back at the Alabama Aquatic Center and training hard in what will amount to an extended training camp until classes resume on January 11. The swimmers had a week-long training camp down in Boca Raton, Fla., after final exams while the divers trained in Tuscaloosa for a few days following exams before heading to the Auburn Diving Invitational, where several of our student-athletes posted top-10 finishes against a tough field. Our swimmers and divers are banking a lot of hard work right now, putting in two practices a day from now into the New Year to get ready for the championship season which starts with the SEC Championships on February 14-18 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Upcoming Action
Here's a summary of athletic events over the next several days (times listed are for the location of the event: CT is Central Time, ET in Eastern Time, MT is Mountain Time, PT is Pacific Time). For a complete look at our upcoming calendar, go to http://www.rolltide.com/calendar.aspx: Saturday, December 31
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 p.m. ET | Football | vs. Washington in CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga. |
Sunday, January 1
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 p.m. ET | Women's Basketball | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. |
Tuesday, January 3
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:35 p.m. CT | Men's Basketball | at Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. |
| All Day | Swimming & Diving | at Tennessee Diving Invitational | Knoxville, Tenn. |
Wednesday, January 4
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Day | Swimming & Diving | at Tennessee Diving Invitational | Knoxville, Tenn. |
Thursday, January 5
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. CT | Women's Basketball | vs. Ole Miss | Coleman Coliseum |
Friday, January 6
| Time | Sport | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 p.m. CT | Swimming & Diving | at Tulane | New Orleans, La. |
| 6:45 p.m. CT | Gymnastics | at Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. |
Where to See, Listen and Follow Alabama Sports
Here's how to follow Crimson Tide teams via TV, radio, rolltide.com, Twitter and Facebook:
Men's Basketball
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/alabama/mbball/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlabamaMBB
Twitter: @AlabamaMBB
Women's Basketball
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/alabama/wbball/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlabamaWBB
Twitter: @AlabamaWBB
Football
TV: ESPN
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlabamaFTBL
Twitter: @AlabamaFTBL
Gymnastics
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmsports.com/alabama/gym/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BamaGymnastics
Twitter: @BamaGymnastics
Swimming & Diving
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlabamaSwimDive
Twitter:Â @AlabamaSwimDive
Catch Alabama Athletics on the SEC Network
Here's a summary of our athletic events to be televised over the next week on The SEC Network and its platforms. Read this schedule closely as some events can be seen via SEC Network +, which is available online via WatchESPN. If you can't make it to our games in person, catch us on radio or TV.
(All times listed are Central Time)
Saturday, December 31
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | The Process: The Story of the 2015 National Champions | SEC Network |
Sunday, January 1
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 3:30 a.m. | RE-AIR: Football vs. Washington, CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | SEC Network) |
| 6 p.m. | RE-AIR: Football vs. Washington, CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | SEC Network) |
| 9 p.m. | The Process: The Story of the 2015 National Champions | SEC Network |
Monday, January 2
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 11 a.m. | RE-AIR: Football vs. Washington, CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | SEC Network |
Tuesday, January 3
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 p.m. | Men's Basketball at Mississippi State | SEC Network |
Thursday, January 5
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | Women's Basketball at Ole Miss | SEC Network + |
Friday, January 6
| Time | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 11 a.m. | RE-AIR: Football vs. Washington, CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | SEC Network |
As the holiday season winds down, I want to extend to you my sincere wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year. We are thankful and fortunate for your continued support of our program and our Mission. YOU are the most vital component of our success.
Happy New Year, and it really does take all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
