Alabama - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Greg Sankey was asked to halt SEC’s 2020 season before kickoff

Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey thinking the league's football season would succumb to the complexities surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

By David Paschall August 5, 2021

AP photo by Butch Dill / Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to reporters during SEC Media Days on July 19 in Hoover, Ala.

SEC welcomes future members Oklahoma, Texas after boards accept invitations

A whirlwind week of official moves, after who knows exactly how long the schools worked behind the scenes, came to a conclusion when regents at both Oklahoma and Texas unanimously jumped at the chance to join the SEC.

By PAUL WEBER / The Associated Press July 30, 2021

AP file photo by Eric Gay / Texas football fans will have some new destinations to visit as soon as the 2025 season, when the Longhorns and Oklahoma will become official members of the SEC.

SEC vote is unanimous to invite Oklahoma, Texas to conference

It's official: The SEC has invited the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns onboard a championship juggernaut that would swell to 16 schools with their membership, which could happen as soon as July 2025.

By RALPH D. RUSSO / The Associated Press July 29, 2021

AP photo by Michael Ainsworth / Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington, with ball, tries to break a tackle attempt by Oklahoma defensive back Pat Fields during overtime of their rivalry matchup on Oct. 20, 2020, in Dallas. Oklahoma defeated Texas 53-45 in four overtimes.

Alabama’s Phidarian Mathis ready for defense to step up in a ‘whole new year’

All Alabama needed was last September's opening kickoff.

By David Paschall July 24, 2021

Crimson Tide photos / Alabama fifth-year senior defensive end Phidarian Mathis is ready for a strong finish to his Crimson Tide career after amassing 31 tackles and five tackles for loss for last season's national champions.

Alabama doesn’t foresee potential NIL imbalances creating a jealous locker room

Very little has stood in the way of Alabama football since the start of the 2008 season, with a 163-17 record and six national championships reflecting that.

By David Paschall July 22, 2021

SEC photo by Jimmie Mitchell / Alabama football coach Nick Saban speaks Wednesday morning during Southeastern Conference Media Days in Hoover, Alabama.

SEC Media Days: Alabama’s Saban the veteran, Vols’ Heupel one of the newbies

With SEC Media Days set to return, how do the league's 14 football coaches and their programs stack up?

By David Paschall July 17, 2021

AP photo by Lynne Sladky / Alabama coach Nick Saban leaves the field after his Crimson Tide beat Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national title game this past January. Saban's Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs are expected to be picked to win their divisions at SEC Media Days next week in Hoover, Ala.

Wiedmer: It’s the end of college athletics as we now know it

NCAA president Mark Emmert has finally thrown in the towel. Or is it the white flag of surrender?

By Mark Wiedmer July 17, 2021

AP file photo by Charlie Neibergall / The imbalance of power in college sports has only been made more messy by NCAA president Mark Emmert, writes columnist Mark Wiedmer.

NCAA president believes it’s time to ‘rethink’ college sports

Mark Emmert believes the time is right to consider a decentralized and deregulated version of college sports, shifting power to conferences and campuses and reconsidering how schools are aligned.

By RALPH D. RUSSO / The Associated Press July 15, 2021

AP file photo by Mark J. Terrill / NCAA president Mark Emmert said recent developments have made clear that restraints on college athletes should be "the bare minimum."

College Football Playoff considers expanding to 12 teams

There was a time not so long ago, 2012 to be exact, when the big news in college football was conference commissioners simply using the word playoff when talking about the future of the sport's postseason format.

By RALPH D. RUSSO / The Associated Press June 10, 2021

AP photo by Ross D. Franklin / Alabama's Ronnie Harrison (15) breaks up a pass intended for Clemson's Artavis Scott during the College Football Playoff title game in January 2016 in Glendale, Ariz. Alabama and Clemson each has made the four-team playoff six times in the seven years it has been held, but the bracket would multiply to 12 teams under a proposal released Thursday by the CFP.

Alabama’s Saban agrees to contract extension through 2028 season

Nick Saban isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

By David Paschall June 7, 2021

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