There will be a new name associated with Alabama’s football stadium.
The field at Bryant-Denny Stadium will officially be dedicated as “Saban Field” before Alabama’s game against USF on Sept. 7 after receiving unanimous approval from the University of Alabama Board of Trustees on Friday morning to move ahead with the project.
Nick Saban already has a statue outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium, along with all of the Crimson Tide’s other national-championship winning coaches, but he will now have an even more permanent legacy at the stadium.
The board of trustees showed renderings of updated and new signage with the new name. There would be new signs both inside and outside of the stadium, and the name “Saban Field” hanging over the Walk of Champions tunnel and the tunnel leading out to the field.
Saban announced his retirement in January after 17 seasons as the Crimson Tide head coach, where he won six national titles, nine SEC championships and 205-29 record. Over those 17 seasons, Saban only lost nine home games inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. In his final eight seasons, he lost just two home games (LSU 2019 and Texas 2023.)
The Board of Trustees acknowledged not just his football accomplishments, but the impact Saban and his family have had on the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa community including millions of dollars donated to charities and scholarship funds. The enrollment at the university grew from 25,580 in 2007 to 39,623 in 2023.
The stadium was named Denny Stadium in 1929 after university president George H. Denny. It was officially re-named Bryant-Denny Stadium in April 1976 for Paul “Bear” Bryant, who was still actively coaching the Crimson Tide at the time. Alabama still played some games at Legion Field in Birmingham until 2003. All the home games of the Saban era from 2007-2023 were played at Bryant-Denny in Tuscaloosa on the campus of the University of Alabama.
This story will be updated.
Source link : https://www.si.com/college/alabama/football/saban-field-at-bryant-denny-stadium-receives-unanimous-approval-01j35t28cygc
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Publish date : 2024-07-19 12:24:27
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