**********************************************************************************************************
OSU Wide Receiver To Transfer 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Bama Running Back Jones Signs With HCC
Former University of Alabama running back Tyren Jones, dismissed from the team this spring, has signed with Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College. Word had been circulating, but AL.com received a confirmation email from coach Rion Rhodes.
After an arrested for marijuana possession Jones was dismissed from the team. He was already on an indefinite suspension when the infraction occurred.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1973 Alabama Football National Championship
We are taking a brief look at each of the 15 football national championships claimed by the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.
National championships in NCAA Divsion I FBS has most every year been debated. While Bama claims 15, the NCAA documents 20 in its list of Past Division I National Championships. (UA does not claim the five additional listed from the years 1945, 1962, 1966, 1975, 1977.)
Prior to 1945, national championships were selected by a rather large group of organizations and associations. Some of the championships were even named retroactively, something that was eventually stopped. These organizations include the National Championship Foundation (NCF), Dunkel Index, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate, Spalding's Football Guide, Litkenhaus, and the College Football Reasearch Association (CFRA).
The AP Poll has been the most widely-circulated and recognized selector of national championships since 1936. In addition, the AFCA Coaches Poll has been widely recognized since 1950. The BCS, or Bowl Championship Series, was instituted in 1998 to determine the national champion and lasted up until 2013. Then in 2014 a four-team playoff system was instituted to determine the national champion in Division I football. (Alabama was a participant in the first-ever playoff system.)
The ninth National Championship claimed by the Crimson Tide came for the 1973 season. It was the fourth national title for Bama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. UA completed the regular season 11-0-0, winning the Southeastern Conference championships before being invited to play Notre Dame in the December 31, 1973 Sugar Bowl. Bama lost to the Irish 24-23, finishing the 1973 season at 11-1-0. Alabama was selected as the national champion by the Coaches Poll, and was the last time this poll would make its selection prior to the bowl games because of the controversy.
