<p>Alabama’s steady rise in the rankings has left the Crimson Tide with a clear view of No. 1 Florida.</p>
<p>Alabama jumped Texas into second-place behind top-ranked Florida in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, giving the Southeastern Conference the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country.</p>
<p>The Crimson Tide moved up one spot after rolling over Mississippi 22-3. Texas, which had been No. 2 all season, slipped a spot after sputtering early in a 38-14 victory against Colorado.</p>
<p>Oops, thought you guys were talking academics. I’m guessing it was football.</p>
<p>I do think that Bama’s heavy recruitment of NMFs is very reminiscent of UT’s, back in the day. Both brothers went to UT as NMFs and got excellent education, went on to med and law school. They rave at how top notch their facilities and teachers were, thanks to the money the sports brought in.</p>
<p>Hoping that Bama will do the same, use the money from sports to increase its academics. </p>
<p>With Texas dropping its NMF program, expect to see more gifted students head to Bama rather than Texas. Of course, that won’t affect UT, because it has more than enough gifted students in their home state to fill their classrooms.</p>
<p>I was really happy to find out that bama is now #2 and maybe #1 very soon? However, I’m not that excited at the prospect of playing Florida for the SEC championship. </p>
<p>Montegut, I’m sure that the athletic programs are a major reason that people donate to the university. The university has at least 4 non-profit organizations (Athletics, Allumni, Law, and 1831 foundations) that accept donations and actually run some of the university. Obviously some donations do go towards the expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium and other athletic facilities, but a lot of money does go to other things like scholarships. Interestingly enough, some or all of the dorms (at least all the Ridgecrest ones) are legally owned by the 1831 Foundation, which is fully controlled by the University but noted on financial statements and via little stickers on all the dorm furniture.</p>
<p>While it is not everybody’s cup of tea, football is an important part of Alabama (both the University’s and the state’s) culture. Just one home game in Tuscaloosa will bring 14.2 million dollars to the area, which is $165 a second (we have signs posted reminding of this). A good season will bring even more money due to licensing and increased donations. I too am excited that Bama may win it all (also knocks on wood). For me, having great athletic teams has been the icing on the cake. </p>
<p>While football may not be everyone’s cup of tea, you can’t help catch the spirit at UA. DS1 was not a football person before going to Bama, but he is now. He’s totally paying attention. After the UA game, he also watched the Florida/LSU game just to keep an eye on the competition. LOL</p>
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<p>Wow…I didn’t know that! (and where are these signs? By Bryant Denny??)</p>
<p>And…UA hit the jackpot this year…it has 7 home games and only 4 away games. I don’t know how the VTech game got counted since it really wasn’t a home game for either; maybe the profits were split???</p>
<p>I <3 Nick Saban…He’s been worth every cent!</p>
<p>Looking into it, the signs are advertisement’s for the Crimson White’s (student newspaper) online magazine, Changing Tides, which is focusing on Football’s emphasis on the university. It’s a university website, so I think I can link the homepage [Crimson</a> White - Changing Tides](<a href=“http://www.cw.ua.edu/changing-tides]Crimson”>Changing Tides earns journalism grant – The Crimson White) .</p>
<p>Yes, Alabama is very lucky to have Nick Saban. We have a place set aside for a statue of him should we get that 13th National Championship.</p>