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Mark Edwards: Could Saban answer indicate thaw in Alabama scheduling in-state football foes?

mark edwards, the anniston star, ala.
·4 min read

Jul. 19—ATLANTA — Could Alabama schedule UAB in football some day?

What about Jacksonville State?

Or any other in-state football team not named Auburn?

While appearing at Southeastern Conference Media Days in Atlanta on Tuesday, Alabama football coach Nick Saban may have cracked the ice, just barely, when asked about in-state games.

The last time Alabama played a non-Auburn in-state school? You have to go back to 1944. Alabama played at Samford and won 63-7. Yes, that was AT Samford, not Tuscaloosa. Times were different.

The school was called Howard College at the time — 21 years before changing to Samford University.

Of course, that was during the 31-year period when Alabama and Auburn weren't playing each other, which started because of various disputes surrounding the 1907 Tide-Tigers game. (That's a long story.)

The University of Alabama has had bad blood with UAB, dating back to the Birmingham school starting basketball in the 1970s. It didn't get better when UAB started football in the 1990s. Alabama wasn't a fan of either move, to say the least. (That's another long story.)

So, while Alabama tries its best to pretend UAB football doesn't exist, the rest of the state's universities pay the price. If you don't schedule anybody in-state (other than Auburn), then you have plausible deniability that it isn't just UAB you don't want to play.

In the past, whenever Nick Saban fielded questions about scheduling in-state schools, he usually stuck with a standard answer: "That's above my paygrade."

It's hard to imagine anything involving the Crimson Tide football team being above the paygrade of the Crimson Tide head football coach, who is the highest paid public employee in Alabama.

On Tuesday, he didn't dodge. When a reporter asked him about potentially scheduling Historically Black Colleges and Universities, he gave an answer that indicates a thaw in approach for all in-state schools ... at least on Saban's part.

Here's the question and response about that topic, according to a transcript prepared by the Southeastern Conference:

Question: "There's been a seismic shift with HBCUs and their popularity, but you also have FBS programs playing them. LSU is playing Southern. You have Notre Dame stepping out and playing Tennessee State. Could we ever see an Alabama playing an Alabama State or an Alabama A&M down the line?"

Saban: "I think I certainly can see ... we've tried to be very supportive. Miss Terry (Saban, the coach's wife) is on the Board of Trustees at Stillman College. I've always been an advocate of playing in-state schools because I think it sort of helps them raise their level and their ability to compete, which obviously if you do that, you also contribute to how successful the players in those organizations can be. So, I would be very much in favor of that."

Keep in mind, he was answering only about Alabama State and Alabama A&M. That's a far cry from UAB. And Jacksonville State, to a lesser extent.

Still, when he was Michigan State's head coach, he played Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. At LSU, he played Tulane, Louisiana Monroe and Louisiana.

So, why is it a big deal if Alabama will or won't schedule in-state schools?

It's the money. Last fall, the University of Alabama paid about $1.7 million to New Mexico State to come to Tuscaloosa for a football game. Alabama won 59-3 on Nov. 13.

That's an awfully good payday, and wouldn't it be nice if it had gone to an in-state school instead of one practically on the other side of the country?

Jacksonville State, for example, could use the influx of cash. JSU is shifting from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. All the school's teams are joining Conference USA in 2023.

This means more staff, more athletes on scholarship, more travel to play conference games. JSU needs more money, and athletics director Greg Seitz has said several times in the past year that the school will need to play more of those payday games.

Wouldn't it be nice if Alabama could share some of the wealth?

Of course, it will take more than an off-hand Nick Saban answer to a SEC Media Days question to create serious change. Alabama still has 12 locks on the door between the Crimson Tide and in-state schools looking to play.

But, maybe Saban just undid the first lock.

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.