On Tuesday, retired legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
In a speech at the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Saban called his enshrinement "a great honor."
"Besides all of the wins, the most important thing to us was always how do we create value for players, how do we help them be more successful in life because they were involved in the program, the kind of people they were developed to be, the kind of students they were, the kind of career they developed off the field and how we could develop them to help them have success as a football player, so I think this group of guys up here tonight reflects that very well," Saban stated
He also shared what he appreciated about the 2025 inductees, which included 18 players and four coaches, telling a funny story about someone who wanted to date his daughter when she was in high school.
“[T]he one thing I wanted to say to all these guys here tonight that are being honored is these guys are great competitors,” Saban outlined. “And there’s nothing that I respect more than someone who is a great competitor. You know, my daughter’s here tonight, and when she was in high school, and a guy would come knocking on the door to take her out, I’d answer the door, and I would say, ‘What do you play?’ Guy would take off running. But I wanted to know if that guy could compete because great competitors have a great ability to be great teammates, respect and trust the principles and values of what it takes to be successful."
He continued, "They’re positive in how they go about their work and how they affect their teammates. They’re responsible for their own self-determination because they have the discipline to make the kind of choices and decisions that people have to make to be successful. And the passion and hard work and perseverance and ability to overcome adversity and the pride in performance that they have is what got them on this stage."
“And I want to personally congratulate every one of these guys that are up here tonight ... because if you come knocking on my door, I know you’re a damn good competitor, and I appreciate that more than you know, so thank you," Saban concluded.
Saban coached 17 years at Alabama, boasting a 201-19 record, including six national titles and nine SEC titles. Prior to taking the head coaching job at Alabama, he coached at LSU, Michigan State and Toledo, finishing his head coaching career with seven national titles and a 297-71-1 record.
Saban joined Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings as the fifth Alabama coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
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