The University of Alabama features 19 varsity sports teams. Both the male and female athletic teams are called the Crimson Tide
. They participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of the Southeastern Conference Western Division. In 2002, Sports Illustrated
named Alabama the #26 best collegiate sports program in America. [1] Athletics facilities on the campus include 92,138-seat Bryant-Denny Stadium, named after legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and former University President George Denny, and 15,043-seat Coleman Coliseum.
Main rivalries for the program include those with Auburn University and the University of Tennessee. The rivalry with the Auburn Tigers is especially heated, as the two compete annually in nearly all sports. The annual football meeting, nicknamed the Iron Bowl, is considered among the most intense college football rivalries, as well as one of the top rivalries in all sports—behind the New York Yankees–Boston Red Sox baseball rivalry according to Sports Illustrated
and ESPN. [2]
Other rivalries include those against Mississippi State University (baseball and basketball)- (Alabama-Mississippi State rivalry), Louisiana State University (football)- (Alabama-LSU rivalry), the University of Mississippi- (Alabama–Ole Miss rivalry), and the University of Georgia (women's gymnastics).
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ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE TICKETS
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Football
University of Alabama law student William G. Little learned how to play
American football while attending school in
Andover, and began teaching the sport to fellow Alabama students in early 1892.
[3] [4] Later in the year, the school formed an official team of 19 players, with Little as captain and
E. B. Beaumont as head coach. Since then, the program has won 21
SEC championships and 12
national championships. In addition to the 12 championships claimed by the university, the NCAA recognizes Alabama as National Champions for the
1945,
1966,
1967, and
1977 college football seasons. However, those championships are not claimed by Alabama.
[5] [6]
The team has also made 55
bowl appearances throughout their history, beginning with the
1926 Rose Bowl to, the most recent,
2009 Sugar Bowl. In those 55 bowls, Alabama has a 31–21–3 record. Since 1913, Alabama has 92 first team All-Americans, 29 consensus.
[7]
National championships
| Year
| Coach
| Record
| Bowl
|
| 1925
| Wallace Wade
| 10–0–0
| Won Rose Bowl
|
| 1926
| 9–0–1
| Tied Rose Bowl
|
| 1930
| 10–0–0
| Won Rose Bowl
|
| 1934
| Frank W. Thomas
| 10–0–0
| Won Rose Bowl
|
| 1941
| 9–2–0
| Won Cotton Bowl
|
| 1961
| Bear Bryant
| 11–0–0
| Won Sugar Bowl
|
| 1964
| 10–1–0
| Lost Orange Bowl
|
| 1965
| 9–1–1
| Won Orange Bowl
|
| 1973
| 11–1–0
| Lost Sugar Bowl
|
| 1978
| 11–1–0
| Won Sugar Bowl
|
| 1979
| 12–0–0
| Won Sugar Bowl
|
| 1992
| Gene Stallings
| 13–0–0
| Won Sugar Bowl
|
| Total National Championships
| 12
|
Men's basketball
Alabama's men's basketball program has been overshadowed for most of its history by football. However, in recent years, the men's basketball program has risen in stature nationally, achieving a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2002. UA has become a regular conference basketball contender much as it was in the '80s under the direction of Coach
Wimp Sanderson. Under head coach and former point guard
Mark Gottfried, the Tide advanced to postseason play for six consecutive years, culminating with the team's advancement into the Elite Eight of the
NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2004, where the team lost to eventual champion
Connecticut in the Phoenix Regional Final.
In
2005, the program received a minor setback when the team lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual Sweet Sixteen participant
Milwaukee, led by now-Tennessee coach
Bruce Pearl.
In the
2006 NCAA Tournament, Alabama beat
Marquette and advanced to the second round where they lost to heavily favored #2 seed
UCLA. Heading into the
2006 season, the
Ronald Steele-led Tide were ranked as high as #5 in preseason polls, but suffered a loss on the road at Notre Dame early in the season.
Baseball
Alabama also has a winning tradition in baseball. The Crimson Tide is tied with LSU for the most SEC titles with 14 regular season titles. Alabama also leads the conference with 7 SEC Tournament Championships.
[8] Tide baseball teams have participated in the NCAA
College World Series five times (
1950,
1983,
1996,
1997,
1999), finishing second in 1983 and 1997. Home games are played at
Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Softball
In its brief 12 year history, the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team has become one of the elite
college softball teams in the United States. The team's current overall record stands at 603–204 (.750). Alabama has made it to six
Women's College World Series and has participated in every NCAA tournament since 1999. Alabama has won the
SEC Softball Tournament three times (1998, 2003, 2005).
Gymnastics
Alabama's women's
gymnastics team, compete in Coleman Coliseum. Coached by
Sarah Patterson, the team regularly competes for the NCAA National Championship, having won the NCAA team title in 1988, 1991, 1996, and most recently in 2002. The Crimson Tide have appeared in 28 NCAA Regionals winning 23 of them. The Tide have placed in the top six at the
NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship 24 of the 28 years the championship has existed. Alabama has also won six SEC Championships including 1988, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2003 and are the reigning conference champions after winning the 2009 SEC Championship.
Women's Basketball
Alabama's women's
basketball team, compete in
Foster Auditorium. The team played its first game in 1974 and has been a varsity sport ever since. The team has had eight head coaches, including Rick Moody, who guided the club to the
1994 NCAA Women's Final Four. Wendell Hudson was named head coach on March 15, 2008, replacing
Stephany Smith.
Other sports
In addition to the four major sports on campus, the University of Alabama has had success in a number of other sports.
Women's Soccer
was a varsity sport from 1986 to 1988, and was revived in 1994. Former Head Coach Don Staley had been with the program since 1994, but stepped down at the end of the 2007 season. He was replaced with former
Clemson University head coach Todd Bramble. The team has won the SEC West three times and participated in the
NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 1999. In 2005, senior
Libby Probst
earned third team All America honors and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award after breaking almost every major offensive record in her career at "The Capstone."
Volleyball
is coached by
Judy Green and has been at the University since 1974. Although successful in the 2004 season, finishing with a 21-9 overall record and finishing 2nd in the SEC West, the team still failed to win a place in the
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. However, The Tide has since made three straight post-season appearances, losing in the first round each time.
Women's Rowing
is the most recent addition to Alabama's list of varsity athletics.
Mal Moore announced the addition of Alabama's 21st varsity sport in October 2005. The women's
rowing team became the newest varsity sport at The University of Alabama in Fall 2006. The team was added due to the
NCAA's
Title IX and allows for 20 full scholarships.
[9] Taking only girls who had previously rowed for the Alabama
Crew Club (est. 1987) and other walk-ons, Head Coach Larry Davis built the program from the ground up. In the first year of competition (2006-2007), the Tide defeated the
University of Cincinnati,
Creighton University, and
Murray State University and also won medals at the Head of the Chattahoochee and the Head of the South.
The second year (2007-2008) of competition surprised many as the Varsity 8 went on to win silver medals at the prestigious
Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA and also the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oakridge, TN. The Tide again medaled at the Chattanooga Head Race and the Head of the South and recorded several match race victories against
Southern Methodist University, Creighton, Murray State,
Drake University, and the
University of North Carolina. The team also landed three boats in the top 10 of their categories at the
Dad Vail Regatta in
Philadelphia, PA.
[10]
Within two years, the team has had 25 athletes earn SEC Academic Honor Roll honors and 16 earn Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete awards. For the 2007-2008 school year, Women's Rowing won the team service award by posting the most number of community service hours (over 1500) out of all women's sports at Alabama.
Additional Varsity Sports
at the University include tennis, golf, cross country, swimming and diving, and track and field. The University supports both men's and women's programs in all of these sports. The school has had individual success in all of these sports, including
Vladislav Polyakov winning national titles in the 200-meter men's breaststroke in 2005 and 2007, and the men's golf program finishing 6th in the nation in 2007 while being consistently ranked in the top three in the 2007–2008 season. The University also has two cheerleading squads (The "Crimson Squad" and "White Squad") and a dance team known as the Crimson Cabaret.
Club sports
The University of Alabama through University Recreation also fields a number of club sports of varying degrees of competitiveness, though most compete only with other teams from the southeastern part of the country. The club sports include
men's rowing (crew),
cricket,
cycling,
disc golf,
ice hockey,
lacrosse,
racquetball,
rugby,
men's soccer,
team handball,
table tennis,
triathlon,
ultimate frisbee,
wheelchair basketball,
water polo,
water skiing,
bass fishing, and
wrestling.
Athletic Academics
Alabama consistently fields student-athletes who excel in the classroom as well as on the field. The University of Alabama is tied for fifth in the nation for the number of Academic-All Americans since 2000 from all Universities. Amongst BCS conference schools in this category, Alabama trails only Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Penn State.
References
- America's Best Sports Colleges
- The 10 greatest rivalries
- History of Alabama Football
- Football's Origin at Alabama
- NCAA History
- Past Division I-A Football National Champions
- Awards and the NFL
- 2006 Media Guide
- http://www.rolltide.com/sports/w-rowing/spec-rel/031208aaa.html
- http://www.rolltide.com/sports/w-rowing/alab-w-rowing-body.html