Walter Camp Foundation, Inc.

Alabama’s Nick Saban Named Walter Camp 2008 Coach of the Year

NEW HAVEN, CT – Nick Saban, head coach of the Sugar Bowl-bound Alabama Crimson Tide, has been named the Walter Camp 2008 Coach of the Year. The Walter Camp Coach of the Year recipient is selected by the nation’s 119 Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.

Saban is the second Alabama coach to earn the honor joining Gene Stallings, who won in 1992. Saban is also the first coach from the Southeastern Conference since 2004 (Tommy Tuberville, Auburn) to receive the award.

Alabama won its first 12 games of the 2008 season, including road wins over No. 9 Clemson, No. 3 Georgia and No. 15 LSU. The Crimson Tide posted a 7-6 record last season, which ended with a 30-24 win over Colorado in the Independence Bowl. The five-game improvement is the best by a second-year coach in school history.

Following a victory over Arkansas State in week 10, Alabama was voted #1 in every national poll. It was the first time since 1980 that Alabama held the top spot during the regular season. The Tide took their No. 1 ranking into Baton Rouge, La. and came out with a 27-21 overtime victory over LSU. With the win, Alabama clinched its first SEC Western Division Championship since 1999 and guaranteed the team a trip to the 2008 SEC championship game. The Tide finished the regular season by defeating in-state rival Auburn, 36–0, the largest victory in the series since 1962. It was also Alabama's first victory over Auburn since 2001. In the SEC Championship Game, Alabama suffered its first defeat, a 31–20 loss to Florida.

For its efforts, Alabama (12-1) was invited to the 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl to play Mountain West-champion Utah. Three Crimson Tide players - junior offensive linemen Andre Smith (1st Team), junior defensive lineman Terrence Cody (2nd Team) and senior defensive back Rashad Johnson (2nd Team) - were recently recognized as 2008 Walter Camp All-Americans. In addition to the Walter Camp honor, Saban has been recognized by the SEC, The Sporting News, and Home Depot as their “Coach of the Year” this season. He is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

Saban came to Alabama in January 2007 after serving two seasons as head coach of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Before that, Saban served as a collegiate head coach for 11 seasons at three different schools – Toledo (1 year, 9-2), Michigan State (5 years, 34-24-1) and Louisiana State (5 years, 48-16, 2003 national championship). Saban’s overall record as a collegiate head coach is 110-49-1 (.656 pct).

A native of Fairmont, West Virginia, Saban is a 1973 graduate of Kent State University. Saban and his wife, Terry, have two children.

Saban, along with major award winners – 2008 Player of the Year Colt McCoy (Texas) and former NFL stars Tim Brown, Morten Andersen and Len Dawson – and members of the Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 17, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will hold its annual Fan Fest on Friday, January 16, at the New Haven Athletic Center from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dinner ($275.00) and Fan Fest tickets ($10.00) can be purchased by calling (203) 288-CAMP.

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Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.