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The Standard

Following a series of interviews with coaches, student-athletes and athletics leadership personnel from various departments, we have worked over the last several months to develop a five-year strategic plan, which we've named The Standard. At the forefront of The Standard is our mission statement and core values. We've also identified several points of emphasis that include benchmarks and focus areas for the 2017-22 seasons. We've just put the finishing pieces together on the document and have now shared online, so you are welcome to view at any time.

Cross Country Hosts NCAA South Regional

Join us Friday morning at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa as we host the NCAA South Regional. The women's race gets underway at 9 a.m., while the men's race is scheduled to follow at 10 a.m. The top two teams in each race, along with the top four men's and women's individual finishers who are not members of the advancing teams, will automatically qualify for next weekend's NCAA championships in Louisville. I've encouraged our staff to head on out to support the teams, and I hope we will see some of you there as well!

Soccer Heads to Clemson for NCAA Tournament

Our soccer team's postseason rolls on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament where it will take on Clemson at Historic Riggs Field. This will be the team's first appearance in the tournament since 2011 and third overall. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.!

Basketball Tips off Friday

Both our men's and women's basketball teams will tip off the regular season on Friday with the men taking part in the Veterans Classic against Memphis in Annapolis, Md., and the women hosting Alabama A&M in Coleman Coliseum at 7 p.m. Our Beat Auburn Beat Hunger drive continues at the women's game, so stop by with a canned food item and get into the game for $1.

More Home Events Slated for the Weekend

In addition to cross country and women's basketball, rowing and volleyball will also be in action in Tuscaloosa over the weekend. Our rowing team will take on UCF at 7:30 a.m. in its final races of the fall season on the Black Warrior River, while volleyball hosts Tennessee in Foster Auditorium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Crimson Tide Foundation Receives $1 Million Gift

I am thrilled to announce that the Crimson Tide Foundation recently secured a new $1 million gift in support of future athletics facility enhancements. Gifts such as this will help ensure that we are able to keep our facilities in championship form. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a long-time supporter of our program, and we are deeply grateful for this generous contribution in support of the future of Alabama Athletics. For more information about giving opportunities of any size, or to join in the effort to build and maintain our facilities for future champions, please visit crimsontidefoundation.org.

Coach Battle Inducted into Alabama Business Hall of Fame

Join me in congratulating Bill Battle for his induction into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. Coach Battle will be formally honored tonight at the Haven in Birmingham. A well-deserved honor for a man that has meant so much to Alabama and collegiate athletics as a whole.

Student-Athlete Enhancement Highlights

Our Student-Athlete Enhancement initiative continues its work in preparing our student-athletes for their future. This week our D.R.I.V.E. for Success Career and Leadership Development program (@TIDEDrive) hosted its Major Exploration Fair at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with academic advisors from more than 30 majors speaking with more than 100 of our underclassmen. This event, along with others throughout the year, was greatly successful in helping our young people build toward success in all areas of the collegiate experience.

On a different track, our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (@UA_SAAC) and Life Skills program (@BAMALifeSkills) have been working hard to help support the campus-wide Beat Auburn Beat Hunger efforts, which benefits the West Alabama Food Bank. You'll see the red collections barrels around campus and at several of our upcoming athletics events. Please join us in helping this worthy cause by donating canned goods.

NCAA Graduation Success Rates

The NCAA released its latest Graduation Success Rates this week and, once again, the Crimson Tide's numbers were very good. Covering student-athletes enrolled at Alabama from 2007-10, seven of our programs earned a perfect score of 100, while 12 earned scores above 90. Our success in this important metric is predicated on the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and we look forward to continued success in this area.

University Spotlight

The University of Alabama's Capstone Agency was awarded Best Campaign along with Best Tactic at the 2017 Public Relations Student Society of America Student-Run Firm Awards in Boston last week. This is the third year in a row the Capstone Agency has been recognized as it won Best Tactic in 2015 and Best Student-Run Firm in 2016.

#RollTideFriday

We've got two more great photos to share this week featuring R Todd Duncan in Venice, Italy and Brianna and Barrett Robinson with their son, Bentley, in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

R Todd Duncan in Venice, Italy

Brianna and Barrett Robinson with their son, Bentley, in Carlsbad, New Mexico

Remember to use the hashtag #RollTideFriday in your social posts and tweet your photos to me at @Greg_Byrne. We will select two photos to feature in each blog and add even more to our #RollTideFriday Fan Hub.

Upcoming Schedule of Events

View the list of upcoming events, broadcast information, start times and stat links on our composite calendar. (Note: All times are listed in Central Time.)

Access live stats from your desktop or mobile device.

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