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Celebrating Life On Anniversary Of Death
Just one month after coaching his last college football game, PAUL WILLIAM "BEAR" BRYANT died of a massive heart attack on this date, 33 years ago.
Bryant was born on September 11, 1913 in Moro Bottom, Arkansas. Though he coached at Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M he is best remembered as the head football coach at the University of Alabama. Oh, he had attention as the man who took the boys to the Junction at A&M...and brought Kentucky their only Southeastern Conference football championship, but he's still best known as the man that won six national championships at Alabama.
At the time of his retirement, Bryant had the record for the most wins in college football at 323. Yes, that number has been eclipsed, but his legend has not.
Bear was the 11th of 12 children born to William Monroe and Dora Ida Kilgore Bryant. As all his fans know, he earned his nickname from agreeing to wrestle a bear in a traveling circus.
Bryant returned home to mama, the University of Alabama, in 1958 as head coach and athletic director. He won national championships in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978 and 1979. It is said that in some years he also coached the second best team in the nation with the second string of Alabama's dominating football teams.
The Bear retired in 1982, and less than one month later died of a heart attack at Tuscaloosa's Druid City Hospital on January 26, 1983. President Ronald Regan posthumously awarded Bryant the Presidential Medal of Freedom the following month.
Bryant was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986, and the College Football Coach of the Year Award was renamed in his honor. In 1999 he was named the coach of the Sports Illustrated all-century college football team.
Gone.
Certainly not forgotten.
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Bear Quotes
Here are several of the numerous quotes made popular by Alabama's Paul William "Bear" Bryant:
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2016 A-Day Set
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2016 A-Day Set
The University of Alabama today announced the date and time for the 2016 Alabama football spring game. A-Day is now scheduled for April 6th, with the game scheduled to begin 1 p.m. CT in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Admission will remain free to everyone. The last A-Day had an attendance of 65,175.
Television coverage for the 2016 A-Day game will be determined at a later date.
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Men's Basketball Hosts Vols Tonight
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama men's basketball team is hoping to snap a three-game losing streak tonight in Coleman Coliseum when the Crimson Tide hosts the Tennessee Volunteers in Southeastern Conference action.
The Tide lost its third straight game in the loss to LSU this past Saturday, 72-70. Alabama had more than one opportunity to tie or win the game but were not able to get it together. In terms of opponents played thus far in the SEC season, Alabama has played the second-toughest schedule in the league.
Alabama has played five ranked opponents during the 2015-16 season with a 3-2 record. Additionally, Bama has face two more opponents who were receiving votes to be ranked at the time they played, bringing the total to seven to be ranked or receiving votes.
Alabama head coach AVERY JOHNSON and the Crimson Tide are once again stirring interest in the men's basketball program. In his first season as the Tide's head man, Bama has had two sellouts in nine home games this season. UA men's basketball currently ranks fourth in the SEC in attendance, averaging 12,940 fans per game. Reports are that the upcoming game with Auburn in Coleman Coliseum on February 27th is also a sellout.
Tonight's Alabama-Tennessee contest can be seen on the SEC Network at 8 p.m. CT.
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
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Women's Basketball Defeated 67-52
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The lead changed hands...from Bama to Vandy and back to Bama. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. The lead and the win changed back to Vandy as the Vanderbilt Lady Commodores defeated the Lady Tide 67-52 in women's basketball action in Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee last night. The Tide falls to 13-7, 2-5 SEC while the Commodores improve to 14-5, 3-3 SEC.
Alabama head coach KRISTY CURRY commented, "You have to credit Vanderbilt. I thought Rachel Bell was unbelievable down the stretch. She shot the ball really well and countered whatever we were taking away. We've got to have someone step up and defend every possession. You have to fight so hard to get back in, and I wonder sometimes how much we have left in the tank to continue to get over the hump. I thought we fought so hard defensively to get back in the game that it affected us on the offensive end. Conditioning will be important as we continue to work on those things."
Leading the Tide in scoring with 13 points was sophomore HANNAH COOK, followed by sophomores QUANETRIA BOLTON and MEOSHONTI KNIGHT with 12 each.
Alabama shot 38.2 percent (21-55) as compared to 45.0 percent (27-60) for Vanderbilt. Bama was outrebounded 44-24.
This Thursday the Tide will host Texas A&M in Foster Auditorium at 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network+.
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Men & Women Track & Field Nationally Ranked
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Both the Alabama men's and women's track & field teams are ranked in the top 20 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Nation Team Computer Rankings. The men are ranked No. 17, and the women jumped to No. 15.
The USTFCCCA also released its first Regional Team Index rankings this season. Both the Alabama men's and women's teams are ranked No. 3 in the South Region. The men follow Tennessee and Georgia, while the women trail Auburn and Miami.
The Southeastern Conference is the top-rated conference for both men's and women's teams. The SEC places eight women's teams and seven men's teams in this week's top 25.
The Crimson Tide is scheduled to travel to Bloomington, Indiana to compete in the annual Indiana Relays January 29-30.
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Prospect Korey Banks Considers Alabama
Photo: Korey Banks Twitter Acct.
Three-star wide receiver prospect KOREY BANKS tweeted "Another great weekend. Had the time of my life #RollTide until next time Ttown" from his Twitter account.
It seems that Banks, a North Carolina commit since July, is interested in the Crimson Tide. After leaving Georgia to become the offensive coordinator at Alabama, JEREMY PRUITT contacted the Banks family to gauge their interest in Alabama.
According to AL.com, Alabama head coach NICK SABAN told Banks during his official visit that Alabama is recruiting him as an athlete. The determination as to whether to play him as a wide receiver or defensive back would be made upon a commitment.
