The University of Alabama system board of trustees has ensured that, at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Nick Saban’s name will forever be writ in Crimson flame.
The honorary degrees and recognition committee for the board met Friday and approved the name change for Alabama football’s playing surface to “Saban Field” in honor of the man who coached the Crimson Tide to six national championships over 17 seasons.
“This is a very special honor,” Saban said while on the Zoom call of the meeting. “I don’t think there could be anything that honors the hard work and the example that we tried to set for our community, our university and our program and all the players in it as to what you all have decided to do here today. Terry and I the utmost gratitude for this great legacy type of award by naming the field for us. I can’t tell you how honored and how much appreciation we have for that.”
The new field name will be dedicated at the South Florida game on Sept. 7.
“What Coach Saban and Ms. Terry mean to The University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa community is immeasurable,” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne wrote on X. “They continue to be tremendous ambassadors, and we look forward to celebrating with them in September!”
Saban thanked a variety of people and groups including players, coaches, administrators, trustees, president Stuart Bell, Byrne, late athletic director Mal Moore and former president Robert Witt. And of course, his wife.
“This field being named is representative of all their efforts,” Saban said. “Thousands of people contributed to that.”
Saban, 72, retired in January after about a half century in coaching. He went 206-29 over his time coaching Alabama, winning nine SEC titles. Saban also won a national championship at LSU to bring his total to seven in his career, a number no coach in the history of college football has reached. After his first season coaching Alabama, Saban never had another season below 10 wins.
“This honor is representative of what a lot of people contributed to,” Saban said. “We never really ever had any signs up that said, ‘Win a championship, win a national championship, win the SEC.’ It was all about being a champion in everything that you do.”
He paired his accomplishments on the field with contributions to the community off it. For example, after the EF4 tornado struck Tuscaloosa in 2011, the Saban family funded the construction of 13 homes in the aftermath, something the Nick’s Kids Foundation continues to do to this day for each championship and then some. His foundation, named after his father, is also working toward the construction of the Saban Center in Tuscaloosa, which will be a STEM and arts campus, according to the center’s website.
“I just can’t tell you how much we appreciate the support that we’ve had for the 17 years that we were the coach so we could provide an opportunity for people to be more successful in life,” Saban said, “for the image we were able to create for the university, how it impacted the community, how it impacted the community to have a chance to influence people to come here. Quality people to come here. This is just something we never expected, and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate (it). This is an honor.”
He’s already got a statue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Now the field inside it will be named to also honor he and Terry Saban’s contributions to Alabama football, the university and the city of Tuscaloosa.
“It has been a joy for me to be part of a process and to ride this journey together with Nick,” Terry Saban said. “Sincerely from my heart, thank you and Roll Tide.”