Tuscaloosa's Nick names: Four Tuscaloosa spots that bear the Saban name

Look who's turning 72.

University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban was born Oct. 31, 1951, in Fairmont, West Virginia. He came to Tuscaloosa in 2007 and has earned six national championships at the Capstone.

While he has brought plenty of trophies to Tuscaloosa, Saban has also lent his name to a series of local landmarks that reflect his priorities of family, faith and football.

As Saban turns 72, here's a look at those Tuscaloosa landmarks:

The statue

A 9-foot bronze statue of Saban debuted in April 2011 on the UA campus. The custom of creating statues to commemorate coaches who led UA to national championships in football began in 2006, when statues of Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul W. "Bear" Bryant and Gene Stallings were installed along the Walk of Champions outside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

One space was left vacant for the next coach who would lead UA to the top of the college football mountain.

When UA defeated Texas in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to win the 2009 national championship, the wheels were set in motion for the Saban statue.

“In keeping with our custom of honoring our national championship head football coaches, we are pleased and proud to unveil the statue of Coach Saban to add to our Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny Stadium,” said the late Mal Moore, then UA's director of athletics, at the time. “By leading our team to Alabama’s 13th football championship in 2009, coach Saban earned his place among the legends we recognize. This is an outstanding testament to his work at Alabama and a fitting tribute to the accomplishments of our entire football program under his leadership.“

The playground

In December 2012, Nick and Terry Saban cut the ribbon on Nick’s Kids Playground at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk, located along the banks of the Black Warrior River beside Jack Warner Parkway.

The inspiration for the playground came a couple of years before, when Terry Saban was walking along the Riverwalk. She stopped, turned to a friend, and said “This would be a great spot for a playground,“ according to a 2012 story in The Tuscaloosa News about the playground's opening.

The money to build the playground came from Nick's Kids Foundation, the Sabans’ charity organization that benefits children, family, teacher and student causes.

“It warms my heart to hear the children playing in the back here,” Nick Saban said at the December 2012 ribbon-cutting for the playground.

Two other Tuscaloosa area playgrounds do not bear the Saban name, but were funded at least in part by the Nick's Kids Foundation.

In March 2015, the Sabans' foundation helped fund a state-of-the-art playground at the Alberta School of Performing Arts. The school, then Alberta Elementary, was destroyed in the April 27, 2011, tornado and was rebuilt with an arts-centered curriculum.

And in April 2021, an all-inclusive playground designed for children of all abilities opened at Munny Sokol Park. This facility, which is being built in multiple phases, was funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation, the city of Tuscaloosa, the city of Northport, the Tuscaloosa County Commission and the Tuscaloosa County Parks and Recreation Authority.

The student center

In August 2016, the Saban Catholic Student Center opened at the St. Francis of Assisi University Parish on the UA campus.

The 4,600-square-foot center features a quiet room for studying and educational purposes, a recreation room with televisions and gaming tables, and a gathering area.

The student center was built on the site of the old St. Francis Church, which was built in 1974 and torn down in December 2015. A new St. Francis of Assisi Church, more than double the size of the old church, was built three years ago at a different spot on the property to accommodate the growth of the congregation.

The Rev. Tom Ackerman, then-pastor of St. Francis, praised the Sabans and their contributions at a September 2016 open house and rite of blessing.

“We believe that the development of the whole person is important," Ackerman  said. "That’s what we’re trying to do here -- give them a space where they can feed their minds, give them a space where they can interact with each other and grow in fellowship.”

The street

On Aug, 5, 2021, the city of Tuscaloosa officially renamed 28th Avenue as Nick's Kids Avenue.

The street renaming comes in anticipation of the opening of the Saban Center, an elite learning facility that will feature a science, technology, engineering and math center, as well as a state-of-the art theater.

The center will be housed in the former home of The Tuscaloosa News after the building is demolished. The center is expected to open in 2026.

During the ceremony to dedicate the new street signs in August 2021, Nick Saban said he hopes the center will instill in young people the desire to get an education and develop  a career.

"Hopefully," Nick Saban said during the street dedication, "the opportunities that the learning center will provide to them will inspire them to do that and have a better chance to influence others to be more successful in life.

The street-renaming parade also included UA cheerleaders, the Million Dollar Band and Big Al, UA's elephant mascot.

"Now we will be able to come down Nick's Kids Avenue to an elite learning center, hands-on museum and children's theater that we can all be proud of and participate in," Terry Saban said to the crowd.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Happy birthday, Coach: Alabama coach Nick Saban turns 72