1978 Football National Championship
The 1978 University of Alabama football team won the 10th National Championship for the school, and was Paul "Bear" Bryant's fifth as a coach.
The Crimson Tide had a regular season record of 10-1-0, with it's only blemish being to Southern Cal. Bama defeated the 10th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers 20-3 and 11th-ranked Missouri Tigers 38-20 during the regular season. Alabama won the Southeastern Conference championship, and was then invited to play the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the January 1, 1979 Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide won that game 14-7, finishing the season at 11-1-0.
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Basketball Team Needs Work
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
University of Alabama head basketball coach Avery Johnson addressed the media this week and said the current team needs a lot of work. According to AL.com, Johnson says there's "a lot of bad habits to break." He says the fundamentals of the way to play offense and defense need to be instilled in the players, but that they are "very engaged and enthusiastic."
Johnson said plans are to add one or two more players to the roster. An official announcement is still to come on Avery Johnson, Jr. who is to enroll July 1st.
He also mentioned some injuries that he was going to allow some more healing time by taking it a little easier on them.
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Mike Piserchio New Assistant Soccer Coach
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Not only does the University of Alabama have a new head soccer coach in Wes Hart, but now Hart has hired a new assistant. UA welcomes Mike Piserchio as the new assistant coach for soccer. He comes to Bama via the Colorado Rush, where he spent 10 years as a Director of Coaching, according to RollTide.com.
Hart said, "I am ecstatic to have Mike join our staff at Alabama. It is important that I surround myself with quality coaches and quality people, and Mike certainly encompasses both. I had the pleasure of working alongside him for close to nine years at Colorado Rush. Mike is one of the best. I am confident that he will play a key role in helping this program reach new heights."
Piserchio is a native of Littleton, Colorado. In addition to his time with the Colorado Rush, he was at Florida State and an assistant for the 2008 U18 Girls National Championship team.
Piserchio said, "I want to thank Coach Hart and the University of Alabama for this incredible opportunity. I am thrilled to once again work with Coach Hart and am excited to join Coach Roh as we all work to build a championship program in Tuscaloosa. I am honored to be a part of the University of Alabama with its rich athletic history. I look forward to getting to know the team and working with each player as we set out to achieve our goals."
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OSU Wide Receiver Transferring To Bama
Oregon State graduate Richard Mullaney has committed to the University of Alabama. The 6' 3", 209-pound wide receiver has received his release from Oregon State and will be enrolling at UA in July. Mullaney committed during his visit on Monday.
Mullaney had 83 receptions for 1,160 yards and five touchdowns during his career at OSU. He was a 3-star recruit out of Thousand Oaks, California back in 2013.
The acquisition will go a long way in helping Alabama's pass offense. The Tide lost their top three receivers to graduation as well as another, Cam Sims, to a knee injury in the spring.
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New SEC Commissioner Hires Alabama Native
The new Southeastern Conference commissioner, Greg Sankey has made his first hire. Yesterday Sankey hired William King as the league's Associate Commissioner for Legal Affairs and Compliance. He will serve as an advisor, according to AL.com, for the league's 14 institutions on NCAA regulatory matters as well as acting at the SECs first-ever internal legal counsel.
The 51-year old is an Alabama native, and has practiced with Lightfoot, Franklin & White in Birmingham since it's founding in 1990. He has represented numerous conferences in NCAA compliance and legal issues. King is a graduate of Washington and Lee, and received his law degree in 1989 from Vanderbilt.
