A Day Game and the Nick Saban Statue (finally!)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Nick Saban in bronze: Alabama to unveil statue of coach Saturday</p>

<p>Associated Press</p>

<p>Tuscaloosa, Ala.— The University of Alabama will add more history to campus Saturday when a statue of Nick Saban is unveiled beside likenesses of other Crimson Tide football coaches who won national titles. </p>

<p>The 9-foot bronze statue will be revealed at the annual A-Day spring scrimmage. Saban’s statue will stand in a plaza outside the football stadium near statues of Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings, Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas. </p>

<p>Athletic director Mal Moore said the statue is “a fitting tribute to the accomplishments of our entire football program under his leadership.” The statue depicts Saban in game gear, clapping his hands in encouragement, rather than formally standing in a suit like other statues on campus. </p>

<p>The statue was designed by Alabama student and artist Jeremy Davis of West Blocton, who still hasn’t seen the finished product. </p>

<p>“I didn’t know that any opportunity like this would ever come my way,” said Davis, 27. </p>

<p>The athletic department commissioned Davis to do the statue. Davis quickly got to work, making several sketches of Saban in the pose the department had chosen. </p>

<p>Once the final sketch was approved, Davis began sculpting the 3-foot sculpture that the 9-foot statue would be cast from. The mold of the sculpture was shipped to MTM Recognition, an awards manufacturing company in Oklahoma, where it underwent an expansion process involving a 3D scanner and was cast in bronze. </p>

<p>While Davis might not have expected to create such a high-profile work of art, relatives always expected big things from him. </p>

<p>“From a young age I knew he was very, very talented, especially without taking any classes growing up,” said Davis’ mother, Wanda Brewer. “When he was about 3 years old, he drew a squirrel on a stump. After that, every time we went somewhere, he brought his pencils and papers with him.” </p>

<p>The unveiling of the statue will be shown live on video screens inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. </p>

<p>[Nick</a> Saban in bronze: Alabama to unveil statue of coach Saturday | detnews.com | The Detroit News](<a href=“http://www.detnews.com/article/20110413/SPORTS0203/104130430/1133/sports0203/Nick-Saban-in-bronze--Alabama-to-unveil-statue-of-coach-Saturday]Nick”>http://www.detnews.com/article/20110413/SPORTS0203/104130430/1133/sports0203/Nick-Saban-in-bronze--Alabama-to-unveil-statue-of-coach-Saturday)</p>

<p>[Nick</a> Saban statue to be unveiled on A-Day; artist describes process | al.com](<a href=“http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/nick_saban_statue_to_be_unveil.html]Nick”>http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/04/nick_saban_statue_to_be_unveil.html)</p>

2

<p>This is such exciting news! I wish I was attending the A-day game and the unveiling. Congratulations to Nick Saban for earning the honor. I hope he likes his statue. Congratulations to the sculptor Jeremy Davis and to Bama for rewarding a former student with the honor.<br>
Roll Tide!</p>

3

<p>I like that the depiction with be of Coach Saban at a game, instead of a suit. </p>

<p>And, yes, congrats to the artist…what a wonderful accomplishment to put on his resume…and his work will be in thousands and thousands of photographs.</p>

4

<p>Coach Saban was on ESPN last evening and spoke of the statue. He mentioned that one requirement that he had in regards to the statue was that there be a plaque below the statue with all the players names from the championship team listed. He talked about how it was a team effort and that years from now, he wanted those players to be able to return to campus and point out their names to their families. </p>

<p>Pretty class guy!</p>

5

<p>How wonderful! That’s a great idea…they need to do that for the other statues, too.</p>

6

<p>mom: They will be going back and adding those plaques for each of the other 12 National Championship teams relative to their respective statue.</p>

7

<p>Realistically, how many more years do we think Nick Saban will stay at Alabama? He has a history of jumping around and I know it bothers him that he didn’t have more success in the NFL. I’m hoping he has a Paterno-like run at UA, but I wonder.</p>

8

<p>I don’t think he’ll ever go back to the pros…he really just didn’t like it.</p>

<p>Saban is a hands-on teacher…and when you’re a pro head coach, you don’t get to be that hands-on. From what I heard, he didn’t like all the office work he had to do in the pros while the players were at practice… He likes to be on the field with the players.</p>

<p>At the college level, the head coach can do the “office stuff” and “coach meeting stuff” while the players are in class. When classes end and practice starts, he can be right there with them. </p>

<p>I think they are putting down roots in T-town. They’re investing in their church there (pledging their money towards building a new building).</p>

<p>I just don’t think he’ll be leaving Bama anytime soon. I think he’d like to have a string of National Championships at Bama. He’s in his late 50’s, so I just think he’ll end up retiring at Bama sometime in the next 10 - 20+ years. </p>

<p>Since I can’t see him going to the pros, I also can’t see him going to another school. I don’t think he’s ever expressed a “dream school” to coach for (like Urban Meyer used to say about Notre Dame.) </p>

<p>I don’t see him wanting to become one of those “color commentators” for a sports channel either…a la Lou Holtz and others.</p>

9

<p>Saban will NOT be going back to the NFL. He’s made that perfectly clear in recent interviews. He said his wife would kill him if he even thought about it. Most all coaches have dreams of plying their trade on the biggest stage. Some make it and some don’t, for various reasons. Saban hated the NFL as he couldn’t teach. He’s said on multiple occasions he likes to be able to influence kids. He can do that in college, not so much in the NFL.</p>

<p>People say he jumps around a lot but look at his resume. All of his moves have been to take a step up the ladder. He went from Toledo to be D coordinator with the Cleveland browns in the NFL. Then he left there to be head coach at Mich St, left there to go to LSU, and then tried his hand with the Dolphins. Now he’s back in the college game which he loves and he’s at a school where there is no step up. What possible college job could he leave us for? Nobody can offer more money, better fan support, better facilities, and more tradition than Bama. Not to mention his daughter is a student at UA.</p>

<p>The man has said several times over the past few years that UA is it. When he’s done here he’ll be on his boat in Lake Martin. I’d bet dollars to donuts that as long as he remains healthy he’ll be here at least through the end of his contract which lasts for 7 more years.</p>