Alabama, a blueblood football school, is navigating a new era.
Even in the wake of the retirement of coaching legend Nick Saban, the city of Tuscaloosa still buzzes with the excitement of gameday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the fall. Lately, however, winter hasn’t been much different on campus.
Hackberry Lane and Paul W. Bryant Drive have been bumper to bumper with traffic some weekday evenings and Saturdays while bundled-up droves make their way to Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama’s football dynasty under Saban, which brought six national championships to Tuscaloosa in 17 seasons, is over, underscored by the Crimson Tide failing to make the expanded College Football Playoff in its first season after his retirement.
Could Alabama, with a 100-year tradition of championship football, become a basketball school? Does last season’s trip to the Final Four and coach Nate Oats’ four combined SEC regular-season and tournament championships in five seasons mean Crimson Tide basketball can take a place alongside football in national perception and in the hearts of fans?
A lot of folks around the sport already think it has.