Nick Saban is continuing his philanthropic efforts in retirement. The legendary former Alabama head coach had another in his offseason run of charity events on Tuesday, appearing at the Old Overton Club in Birmingham. He began his annual Nick Kids Golf Tournament and announced a new venture with the University of Alabama.
Saban and Miss Terry Saban, are “in the process” of launching a career development program for former Alabama football players, Saban told reporters.
“We are funding that to some degree. You know, when players get finished with playing, they aren’t done with me. We have so many great resources to help these guys move on to the next career. That’s something we want to get organized and do a better job of. Projects like that, I’ve never had a chance to do that,” Saban said.
Previously, the school helped launch the 1st and Ten Club of Alabama under Bear Bryant in 1981. That program paired alumni and former players with networking opportunities. This new program will be run by the Saban’s and UA associate athletics director of football student services Molly Dowd. Saban cited her as the person who will “head up” effort on the school’s side.
Part of the program will include reaching out to former athletes. Former Tide defensive back Eli Ricks graduated this spring, the most recent player to return to school for his diploma.
“One of the things we wanted to do with the program was, you always want the players to have a better chance to be more successful in life because they’re involved in the program. So that’s helping them develop as people, helping them develop a better career off the field which means graduating from school, and see if we can help them develop a career on the field and maybe play at the next level someday,” Saban said.
“But that last one doesn’t last long, so eventually you’ve got to have that next career. … You’re preparing yourself for when you can’t play football when you go to college. We have great resources at Alabama.”
Nick Saban said he and Terry Saban are funding the newest program “to some degree.” They are also soliciting donations for the new Saban Center STEM building. Their Nick’s Kids Foundation, which has supported local teachers and families, has generated more than $13 million since its founding in 2007.
Saban’s role in Tuscaloosa will be unclear this fall, his first not spent coaching the Tide in 17 years. The school has announced Saban will have an office in Bryant-Denny Stadium and advise multiple administrators and the athletic program. His successor Kalen DeBoer has also stated that Saban will have an open invitation to UA’s upcoming football practices.
“To have Kalen here and the current Alabama coaching staff support this is also pretty significant because this is a community effort,” DeBoer said. “This is not about us. All these people support Nick’s Kids, so to have the university continue to do that is an important part of it.”
