The Crimson Column presented by Mercedes-Benz
2/28/2019 3:22:00 PM | General
New Procedures and Enhancements to Football Season Ticket Waiting List
To better serve our football season ticket waiting list members, we are introducing new procedures and enhancements to the existing TIDE PRIDE waiting list. These changes are intended to ensure we have up-to-date contact information on our prospective season ticketholders, provide a clear path to the goal of obtaining TIDE PRIDE season tickets, introduce a mechanism for improving your standing on the TIDE PRIDE waiting list and allow TIDE PRIDE waiting list members the ability to begin accruing Tide Totals priority points prior to becoming a TIDE PRIDE season ticketholder. Over the last decade, our waiting list has continued to accumulate, however with our current system we have no way of knowing if the contact information or if interest in obtaining season tickets has changed. Existing TIDE PRIDE waiting list members will be asked to renew memberships on the waiting list annually for a $25 administrative fee, which assists in covering the costs associated with maintaining the list. This is a great opportunity for us to get our list organized and not only show existing waiting list members where they stand, but also allow those with interest to be added on. Current waiting list members will receive email correspondence on March 1 with detailed information. In the meantime, you are welcome to visit our TIDE PRIDE page or call 205-348-2262 for additional information.
Final Home Events for Basketball and Gymnastics
Our regular season events at Coleman Coliseum will come to an end over the next few days as our basketball and gymnastics teams gear up for their final home competitions. Women's basketball faces Ole Miss February 28 at 7 p.m. to close out its home slate before gymnastics does the same March 1 versus Auburn at 6:30 p.m. where it will honor its senior class. Men's basketball has two remaining home games including a March 2 tip against LSU at 11 a.m. and March 5 game versus Auburn at 8 p.m. Our seniors will be recognized at Saturday's game, and Tuesday's contest will feature the presentation of the Foy ODK Trophy for football's win over Auburn last season. I encourage you to come out and join us in supporting our student-athletes, especially our seniors, as they compete for the final time in Tuscaloosa. If you have tickets and are unable to use them, please consider donating the tickets to family, friends or to one of our local charitable organizations.
Softball, Men's Tennis and Rowing also in Action at Home the Weekend
In addition to basketball and gymnastics, our softball, men's tennis and rowing teams are in action at home this weekend. Softball hosts the Easton Crimson Classic, welcoming Michigan State (March 1 at 4 p.m., March 3 at 1:30 p.m.), Southern Miss (March 1 at 6 p.m., March 2 at 4 p.m.) and Saint Francis (March 2 at 1:30 p.m.) to town, while our men's tennis team opens SEC play with LSU on March 1 at 6 p.m. and follows with a match against Texas A&M on March 3 at 12 p.m. Rowing hosts its first home event of the season on March 2 when it takes on Eastern Michigan beginning at 9 a.m.
Titles Are Won and Records Fall at SEC Swimming and Diving Championships
Our swimmers and divers came away from a week in Athens, Ga., for the SEC Championships with an impressive outing that included six SEC titles, including three individual and three relay championships, two SEC records and seven school marks. Senior Robert Howard, who won two of those individual titles and was part of three SEC-champion relays, came away with our first Commissioner's Trophy since 1991 as the meet's high-point scorer and was named SEC Swimmer of the Meet, our first since 2015. Our men's 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays both won SEC titles in SEC record time, and we closed out the championships with the men's 400 freestyle relay title. In addition to Robert's wins in the 50 and 100 freestyles, junior Zane Waddell won our fourth 100 backstroke title over the past five years. On the women's side of the meet, freshman Kensey McMahon posted our highest individual finish, taking third in the mile, while fellow freshman Ryan White broke school record in the 100 backstroke on the way to a top-eight finish, which shows the future is bright for the Tide women's team.
Alabama Has SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Again
As good as he has been in the pool, senior Robert Howard has been equally impressive in the classroom. In addition to all the medals, records and honors he picked up last week, the Alexander City, Ala., also extended the Crimson Tide's streak of SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Robert, who carries a 4.0 grade point average in accounting, earned our fourth-consecutive honor on the men's side of things, following Connor Oslin (2016 and 2017) and Luke Kaliszak (2018). We're very proud of all Robert has accomplished while wearing the crimson and white and look forward to cheering him on to even greater heights as he closes out his career next month at the NCAA Championships.
Track and Field Posts Strong Showing at SEC Indoor Championships
Our track and field teams posted strong showings at last weekend's SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., with the women finishing third and the men fourth. It was our women's best finish since winning it all in 1994, and it marked the first time since 1986 that both the men's and women's teams finished in the top four in the same season. Senior Portious Warren and sophomore Tamara Clark both brought home gold, with Portious using a school record to win the shot put by more than two feet and Tamara posting the only sub-23.0 second performance of the meet to win the 200 meters. Overall, we totaled 13 top-three individual finishes, including six by the women and seven by the men. We have this weekend off before heading up to the Birmingham CrossPlex for the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 8-9. If you're in the area, I encourage you to stop by and cheer on our men and women.
Cross Country Earns Academic Honors
Shortly before heading to last weekend's SEC indoor meet, our track and field/cross country programs learned that both the men's and women's teams earned NCAA Division I Cross Country All-Academic honors from the coaches association (USTFCCCA). Our women's cross country program ranked second in the nation in the fall by team GPA, while the men earned the All-Academic team accolade for the fifth year in a row and 16th time overall. The Tide women earned the academic recognition for the fifth-consecutive year and 13th time overall. Congratulations to our student-athletes as well as Coach Dan Waters and his staff. It's always great to see our student-athletes not only continue to rank among the nation's best athletically, but academically as well.
Alberta Head Start Supply Drive
In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Alabama Athletics continued its department-wide Unity Project with Alberta Head Start, holding a school supply drive. Student-athletes, faculty and staff came together to donate needed items to support the teachers and assist the students. I am very proud of our continued efforts to ensure the students and teachers of Alberta Head Start have the necessary resources to have a quality experience while attending the Head Start program. The drive proved to be a great success, gathering well over 4,000 pencils, colored pencils, crayons and markers, as well as 4,000+ sheets of construction paper and 1,000+ sheets of ruled paper. Thanks to everyone who took part and made a difference in our community.
TUSK Talk with Rickey Smiley
Our student-athletes, coaches and staff had the privilege of hearing from entertainer Rickey Smiley last week as part of our Black History Month educational series. Rickey did an outstanding job connecting with the audience, daring us all to be great and reminding us that the only difference between being ordinary and being extraordinary is the extra. Thanks for stopping by, Rickey!
Alabama Student-Athletes and SEC Meetings
We recently had two student-athletes take part in meetings at the SEC office in Birmingham, including sophomore Chris Owens from football and freshman Kat Rogers from soccer. The events gave our student-athletes the chance to meet with student leaders from across the other 13 SEC schools, as well as conference office staff, including Commissioner Greg Sankey. These meetings are a great opportunity for our student-athletes to discuss issues and give input into issues that affect them and their fellow Crimson Tide student-athletes, and we're proud of how Chris and Kat represented us.
Babe Ruth McAbee Hall of Fame Dedication
On February 15, Alabama baseball and the Crimson Tide Foundation had the honor and privilege of dedicating the Hall of Fame at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. In a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting prior to the season opener against Presbyterian, the Hall was named the Babe Ruth McAbee Hall of Fame. Over 60 people came together to honor the late Mrs. Babe Ruth McAbee and the generosity the McAbee family and McAbee Construction. Make sure to stop by the Babe Ruth McAbee Hall of Fame at the next Alabama baseball game to view one-of-a-kind memorabilia and history from The University of Alabama's oldest sport.
Clear Bag Policy Reminder
A reminder to fans that the Clear Bag Policy is in effect at all Alabama Athletics ticketed events. For more information on the policy, including approved bags and prohibited items, visit RollTide.com/AllClear.
Metal Detector Testing at Men's Basketball
Another reminder that we will test our walkthrough metal detectors one final time at men's basketball this season at our game against Auburn on March 5. All of this is being done as a proactive effort to evaluate improved security procedures for our fans and teams, and we certainly appreciate your cooperation!
University Spotlight
A round of applause for The University of Alabama Dance Marathon for raising over $248,000 this year for the Children's Miracle Network Hospital at Children's of Alabama. The yearlong fundraising initiative culminated with the Main Event, which saw more than 1,000 UA students participate in the 13.1-hour-long dance marathon.
#RollTideFriday
We've got two more outstanding photos for this week's #RollTideFriday features. The first was submitted to us by Carla Turner from a trip in Dubai, and the second is Paul Ehrhardt's Denny Chimes groom's cake.
From Carla Turner in Dubai
Paul Ehrhardt's Denny Chimes groom's cake
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.)
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