Saturday, November 17, 2007

Suspended five reinstated for Iron Bowl

Just released by the UA Media Relations office:

The University of Alabama was informed this morning by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that five football student-athletes who have been serving suspensions imposed by the University have had their eligibility reinstated effective at the conclusion of today’s game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

The five student-athletes – Marlon Davis, Antoine Caldwell, Chris Rogers, Glen Coffee and Marquis Johnson – were suspended by the University on October 20 due to improper receipt of textbooks. Earlier this week, the University submitted to the NCAA a report on an ongoing inquiry by the school regarding this situation. Today’s ruling was the NCAA’s response to that report.

Don't know much other than that right now ...

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Bowling Tide

It’s been overlooked given how much the Crimson Tide still has to play for, but the 41-17 victory over Tennessee on Oct. 20 made Alabama bowl-eligible for the fourth consecutive year.
Alabama hasn’t played in a bowl game four straight years since 1991-94, the tail end of a 10-year postseason streak for the team. NCAA sanctions kept the Crimson Tide out of the postseason in 1995 and 2002, while losing seasons kept Alabama home in 1997, 2000 and 2003.
“Bowl games are exciting times,” said guard Justin Britt, part of a senior class that will play in four straight bowl games. “It’s always a good thing to go to a bowl game. It means you’ve had a positive year. We want to go out there and whatever bowl game we go to at the end the year, end on a good note. That’s what we’re looking forward to right now.”
Various sports Web sites have been releasing bowl projections of late, but the Crimson Tide’s forecast is currently all over the board. Collegefootballnews.com has Alabama playing Kansas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Jan. 1, as does ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach. ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel has the Crimson Tide facing Clemson in the Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A bowl in Atlanta, while Sportsline.com pits Alabama against East Carolina in the Dec. 29 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.
All of the above projections are probably assuming an Alabama loss to LSU on Saturday. But a Crimson Tide win could push Alabama into a bigger (perhaps a BCS) bowl, not to mention the SEC championship game.

The Greatest SEC Game Ever