Bryant Society Welcomes Four New Members at Annual Induction Ceremony and Dinner
10/20/2017 4:53:00 PM | General
Charles K. McPherson can trace his love for The University of Alabama Athletics Department back to the early 1960s when he was a student on campus and would provide rides back to Albertville for a high school friend, Crimson Tide tackle Charley Pell.
He remembers a time early in Pell's career when he talked to the lineman, who thought he was being overlooked by coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, out of quitting. Pell would go on to become the starting left tackle on the 1961 national championship team (lining up next to split end Bill Battle), as well as a successful college coach and a 2012 inductee in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
McPherson got to know Battle also, a friendship the pair would rekindle 50 years later.
"I got to know him better when he became (Alabama's) athletics director," McPherson said. "I was very impressed that a guy who just sold his company for a lot of money would come back to his alma mater and serve as athletics director. Mal Moore was gone. There was going to be a huge void, but Dr. (Robert) Witt and Paul Bryant Jr., got him to come. He left his farm in Ellijay (Georgia) and came back and gave his all once again."
That spirit of giving made an impression on McPherson and his wife Ava, who were among the 2017 inductees honored on Thursday at the third Bryant Society Induction Ceremony and Dinner honoring those who have contributed at least $1 million to the Crimson Tide Foundation. The black-tie event included remarks from Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, a former All-American receiver at Alabama who is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The other 2017 inductees are Margaret and Walter Batson, R. Alan Hall and Jim Wilson III.
This year's inductees will join a prestigious group that includes 2016 inductees Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr., Suzanne and Duane Cunningham, Jean and Don Ghareeb, Susan and Macon W. Gravlee Jr., Lynn and William David Gwin Sr., Ally and Matthew Hogan, Teresa and Curt Morgan, Farid Rafiee, Genie and Michael D. Thompson, and Jamie Alexander Tisch.
Until 2015, there was not a formal recognition of the Bryant Society, except for the oil portraits hanging in Bryant-Denny Stadium's Donor Hall of Recognition Rotunda. Under then-athletic director Bill Battle, the inaugural ceremony and dinner for any donors that had reached the elite level was held on Oct. 22, 2015.
Those inductees included the A-Club Alumni Association, Battle, Paul W. Bryant Jr., Angus R. Cooper II, the late James M. Fail, John D. Johns, Edward A. Labry III, Judy Livingston, John McMahon (and The Pleiad Foundation), Beverly and Larry Morris, Carol and Thomas Patterson, John H. Plott, Ann Rhodes, the late Phil Shapiro, Steven D. Smith and the late Sarah Frances Smith, and Sallie and Warren Williamson.
Each had their own motives in donating money to The University of Alabama Athletics Department. As Jim Wilson, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees, pointed out, his biggest gift was to honor longtime friend Mal Moore when the athletic facility was renamed in his honor in 2006. But even then, the Montgomery native noted, his gift wasn't for the athletics department, it was for the student-athletes.
"The athletics department, to me, has a couple of goals and obligations," Wilson said. "If you come here as a student-athlete, male or female, then you should, No. 1, get a great education and, No. 2, if you're behind in anything you should be able to catch up. I think we need to teach these kids discipline, and that's something that athletics teaches. And that's something that they're going to have a leg up on the rest of the students here that don't have the discipline that a student-athlete has.
"To be a student-athlete at a Division I school, if you don't have discipline, you will not succeed."
Prior to 2002, the athletics department had never raised funds through donors to maintain and build new facilities or endow scholarships. That changed under Moore, who implemented a capital campaign known as the Crimson Tradition Fund that would lead to the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the renovation of Coleman Coliseum and the initiation of several capital projects for other sports on campus.
Three years later, in 2005, the Crimson Tide Foundation was established to promote and encourage a continuing interest in the intercollegiate athletic programs at Alabama and to support the athletics department in its efforts to coordinate, develop, maintain and improve its athletic programs.
All private gifts contribute directly to the needs of the student-athletes, coaches and staff. Private support helps the athletics department increase its standing both athletically and academically beyond what can be accomplished through annual revenue from ticket sales, media rights and other licensing agreements.
"There are a number of student-athletes that would have never had a chance to succeed in life without this," Walter Batson said. "I think it's very important and if you look at all the things they receive as a student-athlete in terms of health care, tutoring and things that are so important to their lives, I think it's just great."
The Lifetime Giving Society was created to recognize the generosity, loyalty, pride and passion displayed by donors to the athletics department. The Crimson Tide Foundation recognizes the lifetime contributions of donors by placing them in one of four levels in the Society – the Crimson Circle ($50,000-$99,999), the Crimson Alliance ($100,000-$499,999), the Crimson Legacy ($500,000-$999,999) and the pinnacle of the organization, the Bryant Society ($1 million and above).
"I think the connection for most alumni with the university is through athletics," Alan Hall said. "So the athletes and the teams are the ambassadors of the university to a lot of alumni. If we provide the platform for these teams and athletes to be competitive, it makes the university look good. I would think that would be one reason to be interested in supporting it."
McPherson would agree. He started a scholarship for deserving students from Albertville, has been a lifelong season ticket holder for football games and supports Nick's Kids Foundation as well. Years after talking his high school friend into continuing his lifelong dream of playing athletics, he continues to persuade people to support his alma mater's Athletics Department.
"You sit down at tax season and say what am I going to give," McPherson said. "You sit down when you write your will and say where is it going to go. I think you should move this first and foremost if you have the love and commitment we do. You've got to give in a constant, consistent manner to be a part of this and they need the money for scholarships, for what the athletes don't get (from scholarships) and what you can do for them."
