RollTideBama.com

Proposed license between UA, AT&T and Verizon will put more than 700 antennae inside stadium

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Cellular telephone service at the University of Alabama football stadium would improve under a new licensing agreement between the university and two cell companies.

The Physical Properties Committee of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval Thursday for UA to sign the agreement with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. The companies will each pay $36,000/year, plus 3 percent annual inflation, for 10 years. Other providers may buy into the license.
...

“We actually took some opportunities away from guys that really wanted to come to Alabama that we couldn’t sign,” Saban said. “And they couldn’t come here because we couldn’t offer that option to them. I don’t really see how that’s really good for the league, but it is what it is, and we’ll manage it in the future.


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Nick Saban woke up Wednesday morning with a clear mind and a horizon free of surprises.

National signing day was to be as uneventful as last year’s was unpredictable. The Alabama football coach knew all 26 names that would make up the nation’s top signing class 48 hours before the rest of college football saw its late additions and subtractions.

A number of factors played into the relatively quiet signing day in Tuscaloosa. The new 25-scholarship limit imposed by the SEC topped the list.

“You couldn’t send out too many scholarships on a ‘maybe,’ ” Saban said. “If too many guys came here, we would have got penalized, so it worked out well from that standpoint. The fact that we had a lot of guys commit to us a long time ago and stick to those commitments was also a positive thing for us.”

...

National Signing Day was full of surprises. From flip-flopping recruits to schools' rising stocks, Andy Staples breaks it all down. - SI.COM

"
Alabama has become the gold standard in terms of dream schools for kids," said Rivals.com National Analyst Mike Farrell. "It used to be Florida, or USC before that. But when we ask [class of] 2013 kids what's your dream offer, the answer is usually Alabama."

We begin with a requisite nod to Nick Saban. Fresh off his second BCS championship in three years, Saban claimed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class for the fourth time in six years at Alabama. The beast is self-sustaining now.

Lose Trent Richardson, Dont'a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick and Mark Barron to the NFL? No worries. In come the reinforcements. While lofty recruiting rankings don't guarantee future success, they're a pretty good indicator when it comes to Saban's teams.

All four aforementioned Alabama players were four- or five-star prospects in Saban's top-rated 2008 and '09 classes. So, too, were 2011 NFL rookies Julio Jones and Mark Ingram, and returning stalwarts Barrett Jones and Robert Lester.
...

Offensive tackle said he had a scholarship offer Idaho State...

Tim Crenshaw was in an enviable position. The Briarwood Christian offensive tackle said he had a scholarship offer Idaho State and an offer to walk-on at Furman.
But the 6-foot-5, 285-pounder said he might choose another option.

"I'm probably not going to be signing anything on Wednesday," Crenshaw said. "As of right now, I'll probably just walk on at Alabama, or at least try to. I've got an academic scholarship there. That's kind of the way I'm leaning right now."


The Lions senior said distance to Idaho was a factor.

...