Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore Deserves Accolades as a Great Director

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer)—Simply put, no pair of feet that walk the campus at Alabama has gone more miles and done as much for the University of Alabama as Mal Moore. At an age when most men start resting on their past achievements, Moore continues to add to his legacy.

The people who comprise the Alabama Nation owe this man a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. I am proud to call this man my friend, but even if I were a fan of a rival school, I could not deny what he has done for the university. Far from just the physical improvements of the facilities, he has set the tone of leadership that has been directed to all of the various sports.

Though I assure you I do not write Mal Moore's speeches, were Mal to give a "State of the Union" speech on the athletic department at the University of Alabama, parts of it might go like this:

"I am proud to report that the athletic department has finished yet another great year success across the board, that our department made money for university, that our financial house is in wonderful order and that there have been no problems with any sport with the NCAA, and there are no indications that any of these achievements will not continue into the future," he might say.

"We continue to be a campus of champions, as this year our girls' gymnastics team won yet another national title, their fifth. Coach Sarah Patterson is one of the best coaches in the United States, and we are confident that they aren't finished winning titles any time soon.

"Even our cheerleading team won a national championship this past year, and no one can deny the hard work they do each year for our school and our fans.

"The men's golf team made the NCAA championships this year and went in as the third seed in the tournament. The future is bright for this team, and they should be in contention this year as well.

"The men's track team was in disarray when we hired coach Harvey Glance away from Auburn to come and straighten out our track team 14 years ago, and he responded by taking an unranked team on probation and turning it into a team that has been nationally ranked 12 of his 14 years here. This year is no exception, and we presently have members of the track team in three events this week at Des Moines at an NCAA championship meet.

"While Coach Glance has announced his retirement as coach of the men's track team, we look forward to our new coach, Dan Waters from Texas A&M, coming in and keeping our team in national contention for years to come.

"When we hired coach Anthony Grant to come in and invigorate the men's basketball program, we knew he had a big task ahead of him, but he's responded, and this year our team made a great run through the NIT tournament. With the recruits he's brought in, we are poised to make a run in the NCAA tournament this coming year. We are happy with the results that he's brought and only see better days ahead for that program.

"We are now getting ready to invigorate our women's basketball program by moving them into their own facility at Foster Auditorium, and we feel that they will take that arena and make it a place that opposing teams will come to fear.

"Also in ladies' sports, we have one of the nation's top ladies softball teams year in and year out, and this year was no exception, with our ladies winning yet another SEC championship, blowing through the regionals and super regionals and being just one team away from going to the NCAA championships.

Though we're losing a great coach for those girls, we will find the best coach out there and I assure you, that the great play is far from over, and we expect great things from the team again next year.

"Likewise, in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for our baseball team, our men stepped up after losing many players who went to the super regionals last year and still managed to make it back to the SEC tournament this year as well as the regionals. Those young men are now seasoned veterans, and this year they will be shooting for higher goals.

"And in football, we are once again a preseason pick to play in the national championship game and coach Nick Saban continues to bring the best recruits to our campus to assure us that this team will always be one that has national title implications. We expect our team to be poised to win it all again this year.

"Our team now plays in a stadium that is finally completed and is considered one of the top football arenas in the country, and it is our hope and ambition to make all our facilities reach such a goal.

"Despite an economic downturn across this state and the nation, our athletic department has no financial problems, and we are on solid footing. We expect attendance and ticket sales of all sports to be higher this coming year than ever before, and if we could print more football tickets, we could sell several thousand more.

"Let me thank this year's group of athletes across all sports for keeping vigilant and not transgressing any NCAA rules. We are proud of our student-athletes and not just on their sports achievements, but their sportsmanship and the way you represent our school to the world.

"We have everything to be proud of here at Alabama. Graduation rates among athletes here are right at the top of the spectrum nationally, and we continue to have not just All-Americans at their sporting positions, but many Academic All-Americans too.

"Lastly, let me thank not only all the coaches and support staffs, but the office staff of the athletic department who make sure that all the little things as well as the big ones are done on time and done right. We are proud of them and the work they do, from the clerical staff to the compliance office. Everyone is working hard and making you proud of our school.

"Let me end by saying that the University of Alabama's athletic department's state is rock solid, that we have laid and are continuing to lay solid foundations for the future of all of our programs here. Let me assure you that your athletic department is just as excited as you, the students, administration and fans, are in seeing what the future has in store for us.

"Thank you very much and Roll Tide!"

No, thank you, Coach Moore—we may never see the likes of you again.