Thursday, January 21, 2016

16th National Championship Celebration Is Saturday; Women's Basketball At Florida Tonight; LB Keith Holcombe To Add Baseball To Resume; Football Commit Trevon Diggs Makes Unofficial Visit; 15th-Ranked Women's Tennis At Home This Weekend


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Alabama Football

16th National Championship Celebration

Photo Credit: RollTide.com



Just another reminder of the big celebration planned for this weekend!

The 2015 National Championship Alabama Crimson Tide football team team will be honored this Saturday, January 23rd with a parade and other activities. Everyone is invited to enjoy the fun and festivities.

The parade will begin at Denny Chimes, where a ceremony will also be held, on the north steps of Bryant-Denny Stadium at the Walk of Champions. The parade will feature head football coach NICK SABAN, the 2015 national champion football team, the staff, Director of Athletics BILL BATTLE, Chancellor DR. STUART BELL, Chancellor DR. ROBERT WITT, Executive Director of the College Football playoff Bill Hancock, Associate Executive Director for the AFCA Gary Darnell as well as other dignitaries and special guests.

The festivities will begin at 11 a.m. CT with the parade on University Boulevard at Denny Chimes. (Originally the start time was set for 10 a.m. but was a change was announced yesterday.) The parade will then conclude at the Walk of Champions with the ceremony being held on the top steps of the Bryant-Denny Stadium North End Zone. The ceremony itself will be emceed by the Voice of Alabama Football, ELI GOLD. It is here that the Crimson Tide will be presented with their College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, the AFCA Amway Coaches Trophy and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Trophy.

Just because the parade and ceremony won't be scheduled until 11 a.m. don't think you'll be left high and dry up to that point. Concessions will be available beginning Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. CT in and around the parade route and Walk of Champions. This will include food, hot beverages and hand warmers. Two areas will also be available for fans to purchase a vast assortment of national championship merchandise around the Walk of Champions.

Those fans wishing to take photographs with the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy as well as the AFCA Amway Coaches Trophy may do so at locations along the Walk of Champions, also beginning at 8:30 a.m.

The national championship parade and celebration are sponsored by Academy Sports, AT&T, BBVA Compass and the Supe Store. Giveaways this year will include 10,000 championship posters and 5,000 national championship promotional items.

 This is the fourth national championship for the Crimson Tide in seven years under Saban. This lastest one was a victory over Clemson, 2012 came with a victory over Notre Dame, 2011 was a victory over LSU and 2009 was a victory over Texas.

Alabama football has 16 national championships in all.

The weather forecast is for clear skies but cold temperatures, so bundle up if you plan to attend.

If you can't make it to the fun and festivities don't panic. The celebration will be televised live on the SEC Network Alternate and streaming live on the SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN and ESPN apps, as well as the Crimson Tide Sports Radio Network from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. CT.

Other sporting events will be taking place that day. The women's tennis team has a match that starts at 10 a.m. CT, and the men's basketball team will be hosting LSU at 1 p.m. a few blocks away in Coleman Coliseum. 



Photo Credit: RollTide.com


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Women's Basketball Takes On Florida Tonight


Photo Credit: RollTide.com



Tonight the University of Alabama women's basketball team (13-5, 2-3 SEC) must navigate the swamp in an SEC battle with the No. 22/23 Florida Gators (15-3, 3-2 SEC) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

This will be the 56th meeting between the Crimson Tide and Gators, and the 23rd to be played in Gainesville. Alabama holds a 29-26 series lead, but Florida has won the last five consecutive games against the Tide. Bama's last win against the Gators came in February of 2010 by a score of 66-61.

Game time tonight is 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Adam Schick will handle play-by-play duties with Brittany Davis as the analyst. 

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Bama Linebacker Keith Holcombe To Play Baseball

Photo via Bing.com

University of Alabama football linebacker KEITH HOLCOMBE has decided to play baseball this spring at UA, according to BamaOnLine. What a lot people don't realize is, the young Holcombe was a center fielder and pitcher at Hillcrest High School in his home state of Alabama, and a lot of people don't realize he was selected in the 37th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was pick number 1,110 overall. He decided he wanted to play football for the Crimson Tide.

The Tide baseball season isn't very far away. Alabama will host Maryland in a three-game series for its 2016 season opener at the newly-renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium on February 19th.

Holcombe did say that head football coach NICK SABAN said that "it's perfectly fine" as long as it didn't interfere with anything concerning the football program and commitments to it.


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 Football Commit Trevon Diggs Makes Unofficial Visit

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports/Jim Halley


Last weekend was a big weekend for official visits at the University of Alabama. 2016 recruits, both committed and uncommitted, came in to see what Alabama championship football is all about. But those recruiting prospects on campus weren't all there on "official" visits. The Tide had a very important commit that made the visit to get "a plan together" for his collegiate career at the Capstone. 

Top athlete prospect TREVON DIGGS made his way to the Capstone last weekend to spend some time with Crimson Tide offensive coordinator LANE KIFFIN as well as wide receivers coach BILLY NAPIER.

Diggs said, "Mainly, I was just talking to the coaches and getting a plan together. Seeing the coaches made my trip, that's what I wanted to see. Basically, they're looking at me as another wide receiver on the other side of CALVIN (RIDLEY). They're trying to put me in to play a role and contribute to the team. I wasn't too fond on the jerseys and the field, I've seen that many times, I was more fond off the field.

"It was fun," he continued. "It was a great atmosphere, it was great talking to all of the coaches. It felt cool, it felt good to be back."

Diggs had made his commitment to the Tide back on November 7th, after having visited. So far he hasn't wavered from that commitment.

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Women's Tennis Ranked 15th
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Hosts 4-Team Match This Weekend



Photo Credit: RollTide.com


The University of Alabama women's tennis team held on to it's No. 15 ranking in the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's Team Rankings according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The announcement came yesterday.

A total of eight teams from the Southeastern Conference were ranking among the 25 best in the nation which included four in the top 10. Vanderbilt remained at No. 1, with Florida at No. 3, Georgia tied for fourth and Texas A&M coming in 10th.

This weekend Alabama will host No. 40 Texas, No 45 Purdue as well as Penn at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility as a part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Bama opens with Penn on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. The winners of Saturday's matches will then play on Sunday at 2 p.m CT, with the losers playing at 10 a.m. CT on Sunday.

The team coming out on top will qualify for the 2016 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship hosted by the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin to begin February 5th.