Tide Tidbits – July 19, 2009

Tide fans, coaches optimistic about 2009 season
Summing up spring: Alabama coach Nick Saban said he was “very pleased with the progress our team has made this spring.” Injury updates: Three players were held out of the spring game. Sophomore running back Mark Ingram, senior running back Roy Upchurch and wide receiver Earl Alexander. In addition, tight end Colin Peek, a transfer from Georgia Tech, has been slowed with a foot injury. Over the limit: Two “problems” with signing great talent: 1.) Having enough scholarships to go around. 2.) Keeping everybody happy. Lessons from Utah: He uses it an example of what happens when mental preparation doesn’t meet the physical preparation. McElroy out front: The coach has gone out of his way to avoid handing the quarterback job to Greg McElroy. Instead, the Texan has all but won it himself.

Scholarships and the NCAA Bylaws
There’s been a lot of talk lately about Alabama’s scholarship situation. Virtually all of it relies on un-sourced guesstimates of how many scholarships the Tide is obligated (or “obligated”) to give out this coming season, and there is much concern (mostly feigned) about how how Coach Saban is going to get the team under the NCAA-mandated 85 player cap. Perusing the NCAA Handbook on athletic grants-in-aid opened my eyes to a number of things that have been seriously overlooked. Here are a few:

• Section, 15.3.2.3, states that each financial aid recipient has to be given “a written statement of the amount, duration, conditions and terms of the award.” In other words: there’s no slick-talking going on here.
• Universities aren’t just allowed to give one year scholarships that can be renewed (or not), they are mandated to operate that way.
• 15.3.2.4 Hearing Opportunity: An athletic department cannot unilaterally cancel (or not renew) a player’s scholarship. It requires the thumbs-up from the university’s financial aid department.
• 15.3.5.1 Institutional Obligation:  The renewal of institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability shall be made on or before July 1 prior to the academic year in which it is to be effective.

The costs, culture and infatuation of recruiting in the Southeastern Conference
Mal Moore sits in the plush corner office of a building named in his honor and laughs about how recruiting used to be. He recalls a time, as a football assistant coach and not Alabama’s athletic director, when prospective players would tour that same building and shuffle through trash cans positioned to catch rain leaking from the ceiling. From 2005 through 2008, SEC schools combined to spend more than $17.1 million for the sole purpose of recruiting football players, according to records obtained through open records laws. “When Coach (Saban) came in here, we were trying to get our program back on the national stage,” Moore said. “We support them every way we can, and I think we support all of our coaches in their recruiting efforts. That’s the lifeblood.”

How about an update on the construction at Bryant-Denny Stadium?
The UA feed just posted some good pictures showing Bryant-Denny Expansion.

Roll Tide!

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