Saban Center kicks off public portion of 'Set the Foundation' fundraising campaign

News of Nick Saban's retirement flared so brightly this month, from sports pages to front pages to watercoolers and back, it's a wonder it didn't outshine every other story. But of all those the coach wouldn't wish to draw attention from, his wife of 52 years, Terry — Miss Terry, as she's popularly known ― has got to be the world champ.

On the same day shockwaves rolled out across the Bama faithful, another major Saban announcement went out, one that hopes to draw the public into the family business: education.

NICK SABAN COMMEMORATIVE BOOK: Relive Nick Saban’s epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book! Preorder her

Specifically it's about a public capital campaign for the Saban Center, the coming immersive STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) campus, blending recreation and education, interactive and hands-on experiences, and arts performances and exhibits for children of all ages, intended to spur creativity and innovation.

And it's at least one major way the Sabans will continue to be a force in Tuscaloosa, regardless of where retirement might take them.

"The main thing we want to say is how happy we are for Nick and Terry on this journey," said Audrey Buck, the Saban Center's director. "We are so excited for them and this next step, and so thrilled we are able to honor them with this legacy project.

"This STEM center just checks all the boxes, with Miss Terry and her background in teaching and education, and the fact that they met in science camp," a YMCA-sponsored function in West Virginia.

Nick Saban and Terry Constable met in seventh grade, though she didn't agree to go out with him until high school. Nick quarterbacked a state championship team, the Monongah Lions, in 1968, while she was drum majorette at East Fairmont High. Nick and Terry married Dec. 18, 1971.

After college, Miss Terry taught school as Nick worked his way up the coaching ladder, starting as an assistant at his alma mater, Kent State. Along the way, she's coached him on image with the press, among other things, and co-created and run their Nick's Kids Foundation, named for her late father-in-law. They have two adopted children, a daughter Kristen and son Nicholas, and celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary last month after the Tide beat Georgia for the SEC championship.

During his coaching career, Saban stressed not just building teams and players, but good people. Under his leadership, UA football raised its GSR (graduation success rate) into the 90th percentile, second only to Vanderbilt in the SEC. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, while admitting to the press mixed feelings about the coach's retirement, lauded the family for 17 years of philanthropic work, and leadership that has helped re-shape UA, and the city of Tuscaloosa.

And with the Saban Center, Maddox said, their influence will be felt for decades to come, helping hundreds of thousands. The center bears more than their names: It carries forward their lives' missions.

The Sabans' ongoing legacy will include the first State of Alabama STEM hub: Teachers will be able to receive support and training, and and those looking to enter STEM-related fields could find guidance.

Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre and the Children's Hands-On Museum, which is rebranding as IGNITE, will make their new homes within the center, bolstering the arts component.

Ground will be broken by the end of 2024 on the site of the former building of The Tuscaloosa News, a roughly 9-acre spot across from Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater. A newly-opened pedestrian walkway connects that front yard to the fancifully lit 4-acre Parker-Haun Park. Doors at the Saban Center are expected to open by late 2026.

While both Sabans are heavily invested in the project, both through Nick's Kids financial support, and personal passions, Miss Terry has been guiding the "Set the Foundation" capital campaign since last summer. It's been tremendously successful, said Brandt LaPish, director of development for the Saban Center, and now is moving into the public portion, seeking investment from organizations, businesses and community members.

"The campaign has been in the silent phases since August 2023," LaPish said, with several significant partnerships gained, including Mercedes-Benz, the University of Alabama, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, Alabama Power Foundation and Parker Towing. Nick's Kids early on made a $1 million donation.

Last March, Gov. Kay Ivey announced in her state-of-the-state address a partnership between Alabama and the Saban Center that Maddox said could amount to a $25 million-plus donation, in addition to about $2.6 million more per year in operating funds.

The Saban Center isn't yet releasing figures, but LaPish said the first phase of "Set the Foundation" was looking to raise upward of $10 million, and they've exceeded that.

"We thought 'Where can we go next, to be more immersive?' " she said. "So this week we've launched the public portion, inviting the community to be a part of the foundation.

"We want everyone in West Alabama to feel ownership of this. This center will be for everyone."

With the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater, Parker-Haun Park and its outdoor recreational activities linked by the pedestrian walkway, the Saban Center atop the hill will complete that section's transformation into a jewel of Tuscaloosa, Buck said.

"This project has been very special from the start, with the Sabans being involved in the development all the way," she said.

It will not only be a showpiece, and an attraction for visitors and locals alike, but with support from public and private sectors, state and local governments and more, could "shift the narrative," and bring educational transformation to West Alabama, she said. The STEM focus could provide pipelines into the workforce. Gov. Ivey has estimated Alabama will have more than 850,000 STEM-based jobs by 2026, so "We've got to be ready," Buck said.

Even if retirement plans take the Sabans physically out of Tuscaloosa, they'll always be at home here.

"Miss Terry makes site visits to meet with exhibit designers and architects" Buck said, as the center continues in its design phases, "I know she'll continue to be a huge asset for us, moving forward. We expect no less than for Nick and Terry to be a huge part of this process."

To learn more about the Saban Center, and how to donate to its creation and foundation, see www.sabancenter.org/donate.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Saban family spearheads fundraising for interactive learning hub