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Nick Saban reacts to notion that his national comments are designed to help Alabama, need for parity
By Keith Farner
Published:
Nick Saban often speaks about national issues and governance of college football. For some in the coaching profession, Saban is aware of the narrative that his comments are designed to help Alabama. Saban said that is not really true.
“I do look at the sport and the big picture of the sport and what’s best for the sport, and not just for football, but what are the consequences of some of the things that we’re doing now if we continue down this road, and how it impacts other sports,” Saban said. “… To create opportunities for people to get an education to better their quality of life down the road for a chance to compete as college student-athletes.”
Saban recalled criticism about his early comments questioning the future of name, image and likeness.
“Now people are saying, ‘Whoa, maybe we should be looking at this a little closer,'” he said. ‘”Because maybe this isn’t what we want college sports to become.”
In a conversation with Joel Klatt, Saban was asked about the need for parity, and Saban said all leagues look for that. The NFL, for example, would love for all teams to be 8-8 going into the 17th game of the season, he said.
“Parity creates a lot of excitement,” Saban said. “I think it’s harder to do in college football because we have so many different teams, and the fundamentals are different at the University of Alabama as opposed to another school. … The money’s different, the dynamics are different, the investment’s that’s made in the athletes in the program are different, and the value created for the athletes is different. So it’s not all the same.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
