This would have been an epic Camp Randall Stadium night game, right up there with the best atmospheres in recent memory. It’s a different Alabama team with Nick Saban retiring during the offseason. Yet it’s still a formidable team likely to open the season ranked in the top 10. Fickell will have an opportunity to earn a signature win during his brief time at Wisconsin.
The class-action federal lawsuit at the center of the settlement, House v. the NCAA, was set to go to trial in January. Now it is not far-fetched to look ahead to seasons where star quarterbacks or top prospects on college basketball teams are not only cashing in big-money NIL deals but have six-figure school payments in the bank to play. The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and Livescore 808 Streaming plaintiffs will have the opportunity to opt out or challenge terms of the agreement.
In the regular season series against Tennessee, Alabama only scored one run total in all three games. Centerfielder Kristen White led off the game with a single down the left field line. Rylie West couldn't corral the ball, and White was able to reach third on the play.
The only schools outside of the Power Five conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12) in the top two tiers were Boise State, Memphis, Louisiana, Liberty, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Navy. That's just eight schools out of 54 total represented in the top two tiers. Deion Sanders brought a lot of excitement and hype to Colorado upon taking over as head coach, but the team's relative lack of success before his arrival left them down in Tier 3.
The error proved extra costly when Tennessee's next batter, Laura Mealer, cranked a ball over the centerfield wall to give Tennessee the 3-2 lead. That score would hold as No. 3 Tennessee beat No. 14 Alabama, 3-2 in the Game 1 of super regionals on Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. DeBoer joins the Crimson Tide fresh off of a national title appearance in 2023, which followed an impressive conference championship run and a Sugar Bowl win over the newest members of the SEC, the Texas Longhorns.
The staff had a strong showing during the contact period solidifying relationships with current Class of 2025 commits and laying the groundwork for official visits in the summer. The Third Saturday in October rivalry lives on as the Crimson Tide will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville in 2024. Just a few seasons ago Alabama lost to the Vols on the road in what finished in dramatic fashion with the goal posts coming down and being taken out of the stadium by fans. The Wisconsin Badgers are heading into the second year of the Luke Fickell era and expectations are somewhat limited for the team.
Following Nick Saban’s retirement, Blackshire joined fellow former Crimson Tide players Isaiah Bond and Amari Niblack in transferring to Texas to play for former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Jonathan Allen is one of Washington's longest-tenured players has seen a lot of change and experienced a lot of losing. The team has been known as three different names, he has played in just one playoff game and he's on his fourth coach. Smith seemed in line to receive a bigger role in 2023 before injuries forced him to miss most of the season. Now, with significant shakeup at defensive back, Smith could have an opportunity to start at the Husky defensive back spot, which is essentially the nickel defensive back in Wommack's defense. Having long waited for an opportunity like this one, Smith is in a good spot to have a breakout season if he wins the starting job.
Alabama had the chance to respond and tie the game after Tennessee's three-run fifth inning. Bailey Dowling followed it up with a ball crushed off the left field wall, but it bounced so hard that Giles was thrown out at third for the first out of the inning. Lauren Esman followed it up with another single up the middle to put runners on the corners with one out for Alabama's eight and nine-hole hitters.
"Played a significant role on our team last year at Washington. He's ready for this moment. Had a great spring. Loves everything about the process, all the work it takes to put into it to get to where you want to be. He's got big goals." Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. Recruiting a player to the program is a difficult task, but recruiting a highly-ranked player that is considered to be one of the best at his position to return to the program he just left is a completely different story. By the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 17, Alnutt was in communication with potential candidates, including Lembo.
The natural next step will be a salary cap that will undoubtedly be litigated, intended to create parity within those two. Nick Saban is launching a career development program for former Alabama football players, he announced at his annual Nick Kids Golf Tournament on Thursday. The project is a joint venture with the University of Alabama and aims to help former Crimson Tide players develop the skills to find jobs outside of football. In ESPN’s latest transfer portal rankings (subscription required) from the 2024 offseason, Proctor ranked as the top overall player. UB hired Lembo three days before the start of the spring semester Jan. 24.