Byrne Notice presented by Mercedes-Benz
12/6/2021 1:11:00 PM | General
Winning Weekend for the Tide
What a weekend to be a fan of the Crimson Tide! Our football team had an incredible performance in Atlanta to beat the then-top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game to bring home another conference championship to Tuscaloosa. On the trip back home, we were then all tuned in to watch our men's basketball team take down another set of Bulldogs with a 91-82 victory over No. 3 Gonzaga in Seattle making Alabama the first school to beat AP top-5 teams in college football and men's basketball on the same day. Those two wins were bookended by women's basketball's successful outings against Houston on Friday and at Chattanooga on Sunday. We are so proud of our teams and everyone involved in Alabama Athletics to help make these memorable weekends happen. Also can't help but think of what our dear friend Cecil Hurt, longtime sportswriter for The Tuscaloosa News who passed away on Nov. 23, would have crafted up for the masses on Twitter and written in his Sunday column following this series of events. We sure do miss him!
CFP Bound
It was another exciting Bowl Selection Sunday as we saw Alabama pop up on the screen as the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff heading to the Semifinal Game at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on New Years Eve. We look forward to returning to Arlington and AT&T Stadium where we will face No. 4 Cincinnati at 2:30 p.m. CT. For those counting, this is our seventh appearance in the eight years of the CFP's existence. Pretty impressive!
Upcoming Basketball in Tuscaloosa
There are several opportunities to catch our men's and women's basketball teams here in Coleman coming up before the holiday beginning with another ranked matchup between our men's team and Houston on Saturday. From there, we have women's basketball on Monday, Dec. 13 vs. Sam Houston and Monday, Dec. 20 against Winthrop. Following a game at Memphis on Tuesday, Dec. 14, the men take on Jacksonville State at home on Saturday, Dec. 18 and Colorado State in Birmingham on Tuesday, Dec. 21 in the C.M. Newton Classic. For those interested in ticket information, feel free to visit our ticket page or call our ticket office at 205-348-2262.
Football Hosts Annual Awards Banquet
Our football team held its annual awards banquet on Sunday evening, this time in a decked-out Coleman Coliseum. Congratulations to all of our award winners, including Will Anderson Jr., Phidarian Mathis, Evan Neal and Bryce Young, who were named team captains for the 2021 season.
Swimmers and Divers Competing Internationally
Swimming and diving has five athletes and a coach taking part in international competition in December. We shared earlier that Rhyan White and Ozzie Quevedo had been named to the 2021 U.S. FINA World Championships team, and we're excited to announce that they will be joined in Abu Dhabi Dec. 16-21 by Kalia Antoniou (Cyprus), Diana Petkova (Bulgaria) and Kaique Alves (Brazil). In addition, rookie diver Mohamed Farouk (Egypt) are competing at the 2021 FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine Dec. 2-9. We wish them all the best of luck and look forward to following along as they compete on the world stage.
Swimming and Diving Enjoys Big Weekend at Tennessee Invitational
Our swimming and diving squads closed November in a big way with a strong showing at the Tennessee Invitational. Margo Geer's crew came away from the three-day event with six new school records, 20 gold medals and 14 automatic berths to the 2022 NCAA Championships. In addition, two of our relays are ranked No. 1 in the nation coming out of November and we posted 78 NCAA provisional cuts during the weekend. It was the last collegiate meet of the 2021 for our swimmers, while the divers will compete at the Auburn Diving Invitational December 15-18.
SEC Career Tour
In addition to taking part in the SEC Championship Game this Saturday, we also had two student-athletes taking part in the fifth-annual SEC Career Tour, which was back in Atlanta after a virtual event in 2020. Luisa Blanco (gymnastics) and Owen Diodati (baseball) represented the Crimson Tide at this fantastic event put on by the conference office.
Cross Country Closes Another Strong Season
Led by Mercy Chelangat's second-place individual finish, our women's cross country team took 15th at the NCAA Championships to place in the top 15 for the second year in a row, while the men, led by Eliud Kipsang, took 27th. Mercy, who was named the SEC and NCAA South Region Runner of the Year, and Flomena Asekol earned All-America honors. In addition to Mercy earning her second SEC Runner of the Year honor in a row, Eliud was named the Men's SEC Runner of the Year, while Victor Kipsang was named the SEC Freshman of the Year. Mercy, Flomena and Esther Gitahi along with Eliud, Victor and Hillary Cheruiyot also earned NCAA All-South Region honors. Following another amazing season, Mercy is one of four finalists for the coveted Honda Award for Cross Country for the second year in a row after winning it following last season. With the cross country season behind them, Dan Waters' teams are continuing to gear up for the indoor season, which gets underway in mid-January.
Give a Gift That Gives Back
This holiday season, honor friends and family with a gift that gives back! Make a donation of any amount to the Crimson Tide Scholarship Fund, the annual scholarship fund for Alabama Athletics, in honor of the Bama fan in your life. Your contribution will provide much needed scholarship support for deserving student-athletes, you'll earn three (3) Tide Totals points per $100 donated, and we'll send a holiday card to your honoree to announce your gift.
University Spotlight
Congratulations to Alabama senior Nicholas Hayes, who was selected as one of 32 Americans to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. With that, he will have the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom after graduating from UA in May.
#RollTideFriday
This week, we've got a pair of #RollTideFriday features full of crimson. First, is Darell Mills in Yazoo City, Miss. and secondly, we have Jhay-R Hackworth in Colorado Springs.
Darell Mills
Jhay-R Hackworth
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. Let's keep these great photos coming!
Schedule of Events
View the list of scheduled 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.
