Terry Saban leads coaches' wives in Habitat landscaping project

Gary Cosby Jr., The Tuscaloosa News
Updated ·2 min read

Terry Saban directed the placement of each item of landscaping with meticulous care at the 20th house funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation and built by Habitat for Humanity. This home is built to honor the Crimson Tide's Sugar Bowl victory over Kansas State.

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While 18 of the homes have been funded to represent Alabama's 18 football national championships, the most recent two homes have honored the Tide's SEC Championship win over Georgia in 2021 and the K-State win in the Sugar Bowl this year.

Terry Saban directs the placement of plants and trees as she leads the crew of coaches' wives who are landscaping the 20th Habitat for Humanity home funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation on May 25, 2023.
Terry Saban directs the placement of plants and trees as she leads the crew of coaches' wives who are landscaping the 20th Habitat for Humanity home funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation on May 25, 2023.

Saban and several of the coaches' wives with help from student interns working for the Nick's Kids Foundation, landscaped the home that will belong to Richelle Harris and is at 3021 Elm St. in Tuscaloosa's West End near Kaulton Park.

Saban said of the project earlier in the year, "The reason we love Habitat is because owners here like Richelle are hard-working people, very deserving of a home, but they are also people who cannot qualify for today's conventional loans. Habitat for Humanity not only allows them to work with sweat-equity, but if they do have jobs they will be paying for the house as well."

Harris, the new homeowner, also speaking earlier this year about the new home said, "I always wanted to be a homeowner, but like Miss Terry said, I couldn't qualify. I've been working three jobs to stay afloat and I'm a single parent. It's been a struggle, but we are making it."

Terry Saban leads the crew of coaches' wives as they landscape the 20th Habitat for Humanity home funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation on May 25, 2023. Melinda Wolford, Mandi Robinson, and Crystal Gillespie plant along the side of the house.
Terry Saban leads the crew of coaches' wives as they landscape the 20th Habitat for Humanity home funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation on May 25, 2023. Melinda Wolford, Mandi Robinson, and Crystal Gillespie plant along the side of the house.

The coaches' wives invested several hours last week to ensure that the new house will have an excellent look. Ellen Potts, the Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa appreciates not only the financial commitment by Nick's Kids but also the personal touch given the homes by Terry Saban and the coaches' wives who traditionally landscape the championship homes.

Potts pointed to one of the other new Habitat Homes in the area, the home built to honor the SEC Champions, as an example of Saban's loving care and attention to detail, calling Saban's work beautiful.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Terry Saban and coaches wives landscape for Habitat for Humanity