Nick Saban Writes Open Letter to Alabama Students
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban wrote an open letter to University of Alabama students that was published in Thursday's edition of The Crimson White. Saban didn't hammer the students too hard, but anyone who has followed Alabama football the past few years or has seen an overhead shot of Bryant-Denny Stadium during a telecast, knows that attendance from the student body has been problematic at almost every game.
"Bryant-Denny Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the country because of the atmosphere our students and fans help create," Saban said in the letter to the Crimson White. "You have an impact, whether it is the noise on third down when the opposing team has the ball, or the energy you provide for the players when we try to win the fourth quarter."
I have been a critic of UA student attendance at football games for years now. It is absolutely pathetic, but I will say the University has done more in the past few months to try to fix the problem than the last three years combined. A couple of months back Alabama announced that freshmen will only receive tickets to the upper deck student section located in the south end zone. Then, just this week the SGA announced that Block Seating has been suspended (at least for the Colorado State game). And now Saban writes a letter to the students.
I don't know what more the university could do. I think if the problem persists this season, the student ticket allotment at Bryant-Denny will be reduced. How could it not be?