LIVE | Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium Unveiling Celebration

great great do you want to that where's where's Terry you [Applause] w hi [Applause] [Music] [Music] heard char I start to get up your e Serv e [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] w got [Music] go [Music] [Applause] sh spe a go go [Music] good afternoon everybody my name is Chris Stewart it's my honor to be with you today and to begin this historic ceremony here at the University of [Applause] Alabama coer even a few more people here than there were at the airport 18 years ago but it's uh is pretty close pretty close indeed at this time I'd like to acknowledge several of our special guests and I apologize in the interest of time we won't be able to name everyone but do want to recognize first of all our Board of Trustees who are present today thank you Sab family and many of their close friends who are here as well we thank you we have numerous other special guests of the university the athletic department the Sabin as well and we appreciate your presence but probably most fitting with all due respect to everyone else that we've acknowledged most importantly the thousands of fans that are here to represent and be a part of this today as I said before it is obviously a historic day for the University of Alabama as we bestow this welld deserved recognition for a coach and family that has meant so much not only to the game of football but also this campus and our community the first speaker that we will hear from today would you please welcome the president of the University of Alabama do Stewart Bell [Music] Ro that's pretty good well it is great to be with you all and and what a crowd what a gathering um we do things at the University of Alabama like no one else and today we gather to honor a legacy that certainly transcends winds and titles in this field field [Applause] Nick sabin's influence has defined what grit and success look like in football his leadership vision and commitment to Excellence have shaped generations of young men and many student athletes pushing them to succeed on their fields earlier at a board of trustees meeting you may have heard me and many of our trustees individually speak about the impact fact that this family has had certainly on our institution but much far beyond that because their impact extends further and much Beyond just the sport Terry and Nick have become an integral part of our community leaving a lasting imprint on Tuscaloosa and Beyond through their philanthropy service dedication to improving the lives of those around us their contributions through the Nick Kids foundation and various initiatives have touched countless lives supporting Education Health Care local programs that continue to strengthen our community the Sabin family influence is not just felt in this Stadium although it is great within this Stadium but also throughout Tuscaloosa through the state and I think I can say the nation making their leadership in service is legendary as coach sabin's success on the grid iron by naming this field we recognize not only the Championships the victories but also the profound Excellence indifference that Nick and Terry Sabin have made on all of us their legacy will endure here at the University of Alabama for generations to to come and fans will remember the infamous process and the values that Define both their leadership their contributions and the broader Community every time we F these stands and we do F these stands coach and Miss Terry you kept us cheering but more importantly you made us better on behalf of the University we are honored to celebrate you and your family today thank you for your extraordinary dedication to UA and the broader Tuscaloosa Community thank you all and well [Applause] tied our next speaker is a gentleman you know well it's again an honor to welcome our director of Athletics Greg Bur roll T it's great to see everybody out here thank you Chris Stewart for the introduction um thank you Dr Bell for presenting and name this naming and to the Board of Trustees who give us just wonderful support for approving this well-deserved honor for the Sabin it goes without saying that we have a tremendous amount of football history here as well as significant history in many of our other programs when Regina and I first arrived in Tuscaloosa one of the first conversations that coach Sab and I had you may be surprised by this he challenged me he said many of our programs have done really well however are we taking advantage of the historical success on the football field as well as we can for the rest of the athletic department meaning are we taking advantage of to positively impact all of our teams and student athletes what a great challenge through his actions meeting with recruits for All Sports meeting with other teams attending games he did everything he could to help us achieve success across the board no doubt he and Miss Terry cared about football but they also cared about the entire department and the university I remember one time coach s Miss Terry Regina and I were in Florida together in the spring for an event we actually had an entire hour free and we ended up watching Alabama softball together in that free hour they knew exactly where the team was how the season was going and much of the roster on the team as well that wasn't unique to softball efforts like these from coach sa and Miss Terry that benefited our entire department not just those in football but across the board I also tell you from my firsthand experience just how much coach saving cares about the game of football I served on the NCAA football oversight committee for four years when the committee would have different issues that we were discussing and debating about the structure of college football I would often go to Coach to discuss his thoughtfulness and transparency made you understand that he wanted what was best for the game of college football not just Alabama he made so many people better including myself coach Sabin and Miss Terry made Regina me see just how important is our community We Are Forever grateful for all they've done and will continue to do in Tuscaloosa and Beyond Today is a celebration of you coach Sabin and Miss Terry and we're thrilled to honor you at this time please join me in welcoming to the podium Nick and Terry sa first of all thank each and every one of you for coming here today so much to us our family is excited and grateful for this historic honor the past 17 years haven't felt like work rather it has felt like teamwork players coaches staff and our incredible fans have made it happen love our fans I just hope that we can continue supporting Alabama supporting children students teachers and education through the football platform as well as our ncks kids Foundation thank you again and Roll [Applause] Tide thank you so much for being here today uh this is this is no surprise to me or us because your support has always been the best in the country in terms of how You' supported Alabama Athletics and how you've supported the football program and how You' supported us so I thank you so much we appreciate it more than you know but this is a great honor to have the Field named after the Legacy that we've been able to create here but I want this Legacy to represent every player who played who worked hard uh every coach who helped those players develop our Administration who set a foundation where we had a chance to be successful by by providing all the resources that we needed to be to have the best program in the country and to you the fans who are always positive in terms of the way you supported our players our program and all the things that we did you've given more to me than we've given to you you made us a part of this community 18 years ago which we appreciate it's our home now you you've given us the opportunity to be the coach at one of the great universities in this country and I can't tell you how much that means to me that malore and Dr wit gave us an opportunity 18 years ago now to come here and try to elevate Alabama football to be one of the nationally respected programs in the country and it was a great team that did it not me uh my family made great sacrifices you made had great impact with your support and creating one of the best atmospheres in college football to play in at Bryant Denny Stadium uh this community embraced us when we came here and I'm also proud of the fact that because we had such great support we created a program that helped players be more successful in life we could develop better people people uh we have 668 degrees in 17 years which I'm very proud of which is going to help those guys have a better quality of life and the number of wins and championships is all a reflection of the team which is the Players the coaches you the fans our Administration and everybody who represents the program so I can't thank you enough for being here today but I can't thank you enough for the support support that you've given us in good times and in bad in terms of helping our program be successful and we want to continue to make Alabama one of the outstanding football programs in the country but also one of the outstanding athletic programs in the country because I think it's the window that people look at this great University and the impact that we were able to have by having successful program has elevated our University and I'm proud of the fact that we were able to contribute to do that in so many ways so thank you very much and roll time thank you [Applause] the power of your voice elevated a program estate and even brought down a side before we ever touched it with Dr Bell coach Sabin Miss Terry Greg in their places we're going to bring it down officially now to count of three one two 2 three ladies and gentlemen for the first time welcome to saving field at bot Dy [Applause] Stadium while this concludes our ceremony one more fitting pie PE to today coach Miss Terry would you please take one more walk down the Walk of [Applause] Champions e e e e e e for