N A UA S C S I N I S · "We are thrilled to welcome Nate and Crystal Oats and their three daughters...

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MARCH 28, 2019

ARTICLES OF INTEREST MARCH 22, 2019 – MARCH 28, 2019

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STATE ISSUES 26

NATIONAL ISSUES 34

SPORTS 38

The Tuscaloosa News Wednesday, March 27, 2019

UA S)lStem chancellor to recommend next UAH president Hy Ed Enoch Staff Writer

The interim chancellor of the UA System is recommending the engineering dean at Ka.nsas State University to be named,next president of the University of J\Jabama in Huntsville.

"I want to thank the UAH Presidential Search Advi -sory Committee for its hard work ever the last six months and believe that Dr. Darren Dawson is the right person to lead UAH to the next levels of excellence,'' Interim System Chancellor Finis St. John said in a statement released by the system office on Tuesday.

Dawson will replace UAH President Robert Altenkirch,

who announced plans in June 2018 to retire once a successor was

·oawson on campus. Altenkirch

has been president of UAH since 2011. The system began looking for a replacement last fall.

St. John will recommend Dawson's appoiIJtment to the UA System board of trustees at its upcoming meeting in Huntsville on April 12. The April board meetings typically are the UAH institutional meetings.

The system did not have a date Tuesday for when Dawson would start work,

but system spokeswoman Kellee Reinhart said he is expected to be on campus by mid June pending approval by the board.

The search committee was led by Board President Pro Tempore Ron Gray and included UAH faculty, staff and students and trust- .· ees. Gray said "Dawson was clearly the leading candidate."

In the announcement, the system said.,.Dawson has overseen record enrollment and fundraising growth at Kansas State.

Dawson has a doctorate in electrical engineering from. the Georgia Institute of Technology, according to his profile at Kansas State.

His research background includes control systems and robotics. After earning his undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech, he worked

. as a control engineer at Westinghouse.

Dawson also previously served as the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University.

The system had no updates on the ongoing search for a new chancellor, Reinhart said on Tuesday. St. John, a member of the board of trustees, has led the system since July 2018 after Chancellor emeritus Ray Hayes stepped down. The board started its search for a replacement last fall without a set timeline.

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The Tuscaloosa News Thursday, March 28, 2019

UA goes with Oats Led Buffalo to three MAC championships and three NCAA tourney appearances

Staff report

Alabama has named Nate Oats as its next men's basketball coach.Theschoolannounced the hiring in a news release on Wedriesday afternoon.

Oats arrives at Alabama after spending the last four seasons as head coach at Buffalo , where he made the NCAA

Inside

CECIL HURT: Important days are ahead for Oats, Cl

tournament three times. The Bullsadvancedtothe round of 32 in both the 2 018 and 2 0 19 tournaments .

"We are thrilled to welcome Nate and Crystal Oat s and their three daughters to The University of Alabama," said athletics director Greg Byrne in the release . "I have been

watching Coach Oats for the last few years as he has led the University at Buffalo to unprecedented heights. His commitment to developing the student-athlete both on and off the court was what really stuck out. As we spoke to some of the best college and pro basket ball minds in the country, his name came up time and time again. Coach Oats will hit the ground running starting tonight, and we look forward

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to him having a long and successful career with the Alabama Crimson Tide."

Oats, who is 44 years old, had been an assistant at Buffalo for two years

: before being named head . coach. He was head coach : at Romulus High School , in Michigan for more than a decade before that.

, Buffalo went 16-2 in ; conference play to win the MAC regular season championship in 2018-19

· and won the conference witha15-3recordin2017-

, 18. He was 97-43 overall in four seasons at Buffalo,

-including a 59-13 record · in the last two seasons. Buffalo upset Arizona in

· the opening round of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

_ The Bulls were a six seed in this year's tournament, beating Arizona State in the opening round.

"Coach Oats has an impressive background," said University of Ala -bama President Dr. Stuart

NATE OATS

Age:44


College: Maranatha Baptist University (Wisconsin) Coaching record: 96-43 in four seasons with Buffalo Accomplishments: 3 MAC Tournament championships, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances, MAC Coach of the Year (2018, 19) Noteworthy: Played basketball at Maranatha Baptist University in Wisconsin where was a captain and All-Conference performer ... earned a bachelor's degree in math education ... become an assistant coach at Maranatha from 1997 to 2000 ... moved on to the University of WisconsinWhitewater from 2000-02 ... head coach at Romulus High School in Michigan for 11 seasons where he won the school's first state title in 27 years (2012-13) ... 2013 Detroit News State Coach of the Year, the Detroit Free Press State Coach of the Year, and SCAM State Coach of the Year ... assistant coach at Buffalo from 2014-15 Family: wife Crystal; children Lexie, Joci~ and Brielle

Bell. "He is exactly what we were looking for in this search. I'm excited about the future of Alabama basketball, and I know our fans are as well."

Alabama negotiated a buyout with former head coach Avery Johnson at the end of the 2018-19 season . Johnson went 75-62 in four seasons_ at Alabama, including 34-38 in the SEC. The Crimson Tide made the 2018 NCAA tournament but struggled

late during the regular season in each of his final two years.

Four players from the · 2018-19 roster with eli

gibility remaining have chosen to enter the NCAA transfer portal since the season ended. If all four choose to leave the program, that could leave Alabama with six returning scholarship players, only four of which played during the 2018-19 season.

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groceries could be, one of those ways, also expanding Medicaid is another one of the bargains we think could be made."

Gundlach said she preferred for the state's portion of the grocery tax to be removed, while counties that need the revenue should keep their sales tax.

Kayla Bass from the Alabama League of Municipalities said the group is still reviewing England's legislation and wants to make sure small towns are taken into consideration when thinking about grocery tax reduction.

"Something to keep in mind is that our cities and towns do depend on sales tax revenues and business license revenues for the majority of their budgets," Bass said. "In small towns the grocery store


might be the largest provider of sales tax revenue, so finding alternative revenue streams to replace the projected losses has been a challenge."

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox had proposed a I -cent increase to the sales tax for the city as a part of his "Elevate Tuscaloosa" plan around the beginning of the year. As a way to mitigate that rise in cost, England said City Council members suggested removing sales tax on groceries.

The City Council ended up voting down Maddox's I-cent raise earlier this month.

England said that he has not heard of other municipalities outs~de of Tuscaloosa that also want to eliminate their sales tax on groceries but knows that there is a desire amongst Alabamians to see the tax gone.

"I know a lot of people in Tuscaloosa support it and considering that we just saw a raise in the state's gas tax, I think many people would like to have this opportunity to affect their local sales tax," England said.

England believes his bill has a good chance of passing and with the support of many Republicans who want to be able to deliver a tax break.

The legislation has been referred to the House County and Municipal Government Committee chaired by Rep . Reed Ingram, R -Montgomery. A committee meeting time to consider the bill has not been set.

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Important days are ahead for Oats

By: Cecil Hurt

Thursday may be the most important day of Nate Oats' Alabama basketball coaching career.

Until the next day, and the day after that and on and on ...

Oats, who is leaving the University of Buffalo to become the next Crimson Tide basketball coach, replacing A very Johnson, will have an introductory press conference on Thursday afternoon. For some Alabama fans, the introduction will be necessary. Buffalo has been in the NCAA Tournament for three years and had Buffalo ranked in the AP Top 25 for almost all of the 2019 season. But most Southeastern Conference fans don't make a habit of watching a lot of Mid-American Conference hoops. For others, Oats' comes in as a known commodity, backed by a stack of gushing testimonials from many respected members of the college basketball Pressand-Twitter Corps.

But after two hires and eight years of hoping for results that never quite matched expectations, one can' t blame Crimson Tide fans for being a bit wary. Oats comes from a different region of the country, with a different background. There is going to be an element of the experimental in this hire, as in most hires. So a good first impression will help. A jolt of enthusiasm will raise spirits.

What ' s going to matter most, though, are the rest of the days in this week, the ones after the press conference, the ones where the real work gets done. Oats has to stabilize the next season's roster to the extent that he can - re-recruiting players that he wants to keep, current members of the squad as well as recruits. Then there is adding more recruits, if possible in the late period. There is the critical work of re-establishing a culture of accountability that seemed to have vanished like melting ice on Lake Erie - the new coach will find out soon enough that Lake Tuscaloosa doesn ' t freeze - as the 2019 season wore on. He will also learn that football matters here but, contrary to some outside perceptions, that doesn't mean that basketball doesn ' t matter, too.

Alabama people know good basketball - and hard work.

Having a team that wins is the ultimate measure of success for any coach but having a team that gives consistent effort is the foundation of winning.

That requires teaching, too. It' s an overstatement, and unfair to the previous staff, to say that there were no fundamentals last year. Alabama was good defensively in 2019, the best in the league against the 3-point shot. Offensively, there has been an eight-year wait to see an oftenpromised uptempo style that didn' t result in more turnovers than layups. There are opportunities to work with players in various ways in the off-season. Those are the days where Oats needs to work magic, moreso than at Thursday' s podium.

For almost 40 years, Alabama basketball coaching followed a line of succession as closely as the Tudor Dynasty. C.M. Newton, who ushered in the modern age of Alabama basketball from the end of segregation into a far more competitive SEC, was followed by his assistant Wimp Sanderson, who was followed by his assistant David Hobbs. He was followed by Mark Gottfried,

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who played for Sanderson. There were great moments in that four decades, along with some long-nurtured heartache.

After that, Alabama opened up somewhat, but not entirely. Anthony Grant had been successful at VCU but had a long SEC history - perhaps the decisive line on his resume - as Billy Donovan's assistant at Florida. Johnson's coaching work had all been in the NBA-perhaps more college experience would have helped- but was a son of New Orleans.

Oats, it seems, will be a sea change, someone new, with different influences that some Alabama fans have called for in the past - a midwestern style that emphasizes fundamentals over pure athletecism. Thursday will be an opportunity for him to explain his vision.

The work beyond that will determine how quickly Alabama fans embrace it

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The Birmingham News Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Reading between the lines on Tide's coaching search AD Greg Byrne didn't say much at a news conference Monday. He didn't have to .

.Michael Casagrande [email protected]

Something unique happened late Monday morning when a media advisory popped into the email inboxes.

It was 10:51 a.m. and it stated Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne would hold a news conference to discuss the basketball coaching position recently vacated by Avery Johnson. This is rare at Alabama where these kinds of things aren't discussed in a forum like a news conference.

Byrne did this almost two years ago after fi ring baseball coach Greg Goff, so it's not cmnpletely without precedent. Some of the statements in that press event were echoed aga:in Monday but this is a higher-profile opep ing with men's basketball.

\X{e'll take a look at what Byrne said Monday with context and perhaps some bet"'1een-the-lines observations.

Let 's start with the fact this is Byrne's first men's basketball head coaching job search

as an athletics director. He inherited Rick Stansbury at Mississippi State when he was AD there from 2008-10 and Sean Miller at Arizona when he worked there 2010-17. A few high-profile football coaches were hired on his watch including Dan Mullen at Mississippi State and Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. And he's obviously well-connected after a lifetime in the college athletics administration world going back to childhood as the son of a prominent AD.

The event opened at 12:31 p.m. Monday with Byrne saying it was important for fans and media to hear directly from him about this process. He wished Avery Johnson the best moving forward and sidestepped specific questions later about his departure.

It took about a minute to get to the part where we can read into the comments.

SEE ALABAMA, B6

Now that Avery Johnson's buyout is settled, Greg Byrne's task turns to finding his replacement. Getty Images.file

i "·'¥>-

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Byrne presented a list of four requirements for a coach. They were standard but had some meaning in the current environment.

Player development. College background. Strong academics and NCAA compliance.

Between the lines: The Rick Pitino twitter momentum isn't likely leaking into Byrne's search. The Louisville connection to the on-going FBI investigation of college basketball got Pitino fired and the NCAA has yet to make a ruling in the matter. Pitino has maintained his innocence but an NCAA showcause penalty is still possible and nobody would hire someone with that possible cloud on the horizon.

Byrne continued to drive home that point without naming names.

"Today's climate in men's basketball is very unique," Byrne said. "In fact, there are on-going legal issues with the FBI as well as on-going NCAA investigations and we don't know how that will play out to this point. That being said, we are going to be very through during this proce'ss. We want to make sure we keep the University of Alabama's reputation at the forefront of what wedo."

Between the lines: Yeah, sorry Twitter. Byrne went on to break down barriers that

might exist out there. "We're not terribly concerned with geo

graphic footprint," Byrne said. "We're not terribly concerned with winning the press conference. We're concerned with getting a


great basketball coach for the University of Alabama."

Between the lines: There are some interesting names without jobs like former Ohio State coach Thad Matta who hasn't been a coach of a team south of Cincinnati. He's not quite the personality of Avery Johnson, but honestly, few are. Chris Beard is another hot name at Texas Tech who isn't that wow name to the casual fan but has took Little Rock to the NCAA second round in 2016 before leading Texas Tech to the Round of 8 last year and currently has the Red Raiders in the Round of 16.

On the timetable for making a hire, Byrne acknowledged the transfer portal and recruiting dynamics in play.

"We also know there are teams playing and there are dynamics out there that we can't control," Byrne said. "So, we don't want to rush to just get done."

Between the lines: There are 16 teams still playing.

Before closing his opening statement, Byrne made a comment similar to one he made after firing Goff as the baseball coach to start the search in 2017.

"There's going to be plenty of rumors out there during this process," Byrne said. "I know people enjoy talking about these things. But unless you hear it from me, don't believe it. What happens is agents will try to create leverage. Sometimes coaches will try to create leverage. What we want to do is be thorough but expedient during this process. Next time I talk publicly today will be to announce

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the new coach. And if anything gets out - if somebody is a leading candidate or according to sources they have interviewed or are going to interview or whatever it may be - I kinda assume that person doesn't want the job."

Between the lines: This is why they call Byrne "The Ninja." As a one-man search committee, the tall Byrne is known for operating in the shadows when looking for a coach. He earned the nickname at Mississippi State when he hired Mullen without information leaks. And when he hired Rodriguez at Arizona, the news was well guarded until Byrne made the announcement on his · Twitter account.

Byrne later revisited this idea about looking for candidates interested in the job and not a raise from their current employers.

"It's obviously we've had a couple days so we've heard from different people out there, Byrne said. "Part of what you have to decipher is is there legitimate interest or are they interested in trying to create leverage with what I talked about."

Between the lines: Not to make any assumptions about the sincerity of Gregg Marshall when he interviewed at Alabama four years ago with AD Bill Battle but he got a big raise at Wichita State to stay put.

The Ninja was full ninja when asked a few Avery Johnson questions.

Q: Were you surprised with the way things ended with Avery Johnson?

A: "We really appreciate everything Avery did for us. He brought a lot of great


energy to the program and we wish he and Cassandra and family nothing but the best going forward."

And when asked about the specifics of the buyout with Johnson.

"We landed in a spot that both sides felt good about and we're moving forward."

Between the lines: That information will emerge sooner or later, for what it's worth.

One topic that wasn't directly addressed outside that last question was the money involved . It 's safe to assume the contract buyout with Johnson will cost far less than the $8 million had it been a traditional firing.

Alabama didn't hold back with the financials when landing Johnson as he checked in at No. 19 among highest-paid coaches at $3.062 million, according to the USA Today database. Only seven of the coaches remaining in the Sweet 16 this week were paid more.

You're also not going to find anyone on the list of coaches paid more than Johnson who would be considered a candidate at Alabama, so the Tide would figure to have the money to lure someone away if money was a concern. Alabama had $177.5 million in athletics operating revenue in 2018, according to the report it filed with the NCAA in January.

Bottom line: This will not be a traditional coaching search if Byrne has his way. He practically threatens candidates not to leak any information about their involvement in the process.

We'll see how that plays out in the 2019 landscape.

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Banquet honors efforts to stop sexual assaults

By: Ed Enoch

A University of Alabama student organization founded to combat sexual assault on campus will have its second annual fundraising banquet benefiting the Tuscaloosa SAFE Center on Sunday.

UA's Not On My Campus organization is coordinating the second annual SAFE Center Philanthropy Banquet, which honors those who work to end sexual assault in Tuscaloosa. State Attorney General Steve Marshall is scheduled to be the guest speaker. The daytime cocktail attire event will be at 5 p.m. Sunday in the Stadium Club at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The organization raised about $20,000 last year and set out with a goal of $25,000 this year, said Sara Massey, president of Not On My Campus. The group is fundraising by selling sponsorships for tables at the banquet, and it will sell raffle tickets at the event for prizes they are giving away. As of Wednesday, the organization had 10 tables available, Massey said.

The title sponsorship level is $2,500 per table, the platinum level is $600 and the gold level is $300.

"We are at $29,000 right now," Massey said on Wednesday, adding checks were still arriving.

The organization still has to subtract expenses, but will donate the rest to the center, Massey said.The center officially opened last fall at 1601 University Blvd. E. about half a mile from the UA campus.

"Things are going well at the SAFE Center, and we are having many opportunities to serve the community," said Pam Jones, executive director of the Tuscaloosa SAFE Center. "I 'm so glad we are now open and people have a place to come for help and support."

The center is equipped to meet the needs of sexual assault survivors with specially trained nurses working closely with a local response team that also includes law enforcement and counselors.

Jones praised the students for their efforts on behalf of the center.

Not On My Campus was an early donor to the center and started a GoFundMe page following the publication by BuzzFeed of a 2017 story about former University of Alabama student Megan Rondini, who died by suicide in 2016 a year after she reported to police that she was raped. Her family says that she didn't receive the proper treatment or follow-up care, which they believe contributed to her death.

Massey, a 21-year-oldjunior from Tulsa, Oklahoma, majoring in human development, said she was surprised to find there was not program in Tuscaloosa when she arrived as a freshman.

"Alabama is the No. 1 in everything, but we were the only SEC school that didn' t offer some sort of safe center," she said. "That is really what go me."The student organization believes the center is an important resource for the community. "There wasn't a (place) for students to go somewhere if something happened," Massey said. "To move from being a victim to being a survivor. Especially the mental healing."

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UA announces grant program to aid Tuscaloosa math teachers

By: Staff Report

The Tuscaloosa News Monday, March 25, 2019

The University of Alabama has earned a $2.85 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will provide support for math teachers in Tuscaloosa city and county schools.

"This grant is unprecedented in our region and provides mathematics teachers with a careerchanging opportunity in which they are fully supported both professionally and financially for the commitments of their precious time and expertise," said Jeremy Zelkowski, coordinator of UA's secondary math education program, in a news release.

The grant will fund the "Master Teacher Fellowship" for math teachers in sixth through 12th grades. The six-year program will aid the teachers' professional development while providing salary supplements of $12,575 for full participation and paid tuition toward a master's degree or educational specialist degree. Teachers will also receive technology to use in their classrooms and travel money to attend state and national conferences through an additional in-kind contribution of $400,000 from Texas Instruments. By the third year of the fellowship, teachers could become national board certified, a distinction that includes a pay raise and salary supplements.

At least 24 teachers will be recruited for the first two classes of the fellowship, with one class beginning this June and the next beginning in June 2020. Applications, along with more information, are available online at www.aplusinmath.ua.edu. Planning sessions to gauge interest in the fellowship began about 10 months ago and about 30 Tuscaloosa area teachers attended focus groups to help shape the project' s design.

"My instinct tells me that there ' s another 15-20 teachers out there that we have not had the pleasure to work with in professional settings or previous grants," Zelkowski said. "So, we ' re hoping our partnerships with Tuscaloosa city and county schools will help us make many more new connections with math teachers during this recruitment process."

The program has five goals for its participants:

• Become instructional experts in schools and districts

• Increase mathematical knowledge to lead professional development in schools and districts

• Serve in leadership roles in schools and districts, either as mentors to other teachers, instructional coaches, or other leadership opportunities to improve student outcomes

• Assist in building a network for high-quality clinical experiences for teacher candidates

• Learn and emerge to enter leadership roles with the Alabama Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual fall forum and national conferences

"We are honored to have received this grant from the National Science Foundation to transform the next decade-plus of mathematics teaching and learning to support our local schools and students," Zelkowski said.

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New bill would cut grocery taxes State Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa files legislation

By Caroline Beck Alabama Daily News

MONTGOMERY - For more than a decade, Alabama lawmakers have debated eliminating the sales tax on groceries, but no proposal has ever passed. Could they now choose to allow cities and counties to reduce grocery sales taxes of their own?

State Rep .. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, has filed legislation that would allow counties or municipalities the ability to reduce or :Com -pletely remove their sales taxes on groceries. England told Alabama Daily News that he developed the bill because Tuscaloosa City Council members recently de~ided they wanted to remove the city's sales tax on groceries,· only to learn state law prohibited them from doing so.

Cities and counties levy

See BILL, A7

The Tuscaloosa News Thursday, March.28, 2019

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BILL From Page Al

sales taxes of their own, and tax rates vary across the state. However, Alabama law does not allow municipalities to set a reduced sales tax rate or for certain items or exempt those items altogether. England's bill would give local cities and counties the authority to specifically lower or eliminate sales tax on groceries.

"We were actually exploring it as a local bill, but when we found that we couldn't, we decided to go statewide," England said. "And it's permissive, so you don't have to do it if you don't have a problem in your city."

Various proposals to reduce or eliminate taxes on groceries have been floated over the years, mostly from Democrats. The issue re-emerged this year during Gov. Kay Ivey's special session on infrastructure that resulted in a 10-cent gas tax .increase to help impro:ve the state's deteriorating roads and bridges. Conservative and liberal groups alike advocated for easing that new tax burden on low-income Alabamians by removing state sales taxes from essential food items.

Former Republican State Sen. Phil Williams is now the director of policy strategy at the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that advocates for removing the

grocery tax. "For too long Alabama has

remained among. the very few States that choose to tax groceries despite the regressive nature of doing so," Williams toldAlabamaDailyNews. "We call upon the Alabama Legislature to go a step further and to take legislative action in this current session to reduce the state portion of the grocel'y tax as well.

"Let's show the people of this state that the Legislature is willing to reduce tax burdens without strings attached. If it is right, then it is right, and right is always worth pursuing."

One hurdle grocery tax proposals always face is the fact that the destination of sales tax revenue is the Education Trust Fund, and lawmakers are loath to be accused of


cutting school funding. But England says his bill would not affect that revenue since he is only proposing it for local counties or municipalities.

Carol Gundlach is a policy analyst on taxes and budgets for Alabama Arise, a liberal group that advocates on issues affecting the poor. She thinks that England's legislation is a good step for Alabama especially now that the gas tax has been raised.

"We would certainly make the argument that with the gas tax, we have passed another regressive sales tax that will disproportionally affect lower income people, so there is. a reason to provide some financial relief to those families who are now going to have to pay more for their gasoline," Gundlach said.

"Taking the sales tax off

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Alabama men's, women's wheelchair basketball teams claim national titles

By: Becky Hopf

Winning national championships is nothing new to the University of Alabama men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams. The two teams own a combined total of nine collegiate titles, six for the women and three for the men, including back-to-back national championships in 2018 and 2019 for the men.

But what is new is both teams, for the first time, have claimed the nation' s top prize in the same season. Both won it all in 2019.

Dr. Brent Hardin and his wife, Margaret, started the program in 2003 with a women' s team. The men's program started in 2007.

"They were two extraordinary teams, two teams that were peaking at the right time of the year, two teams that really improved as the year went on," said Hardin, director of adaptive athletics at Alabama, of the 2019 teams. "I think it's really awesome that as many great teams that we have had here that this is the first year both teams have won the championship in the same year."

The newest championships came via the 42nd Annual National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament hosted by the University of Illinois March 14-16.

Both Alabama teams went into the tournament as No. 2 seeds. Both defeated their respective tournament' s No. 1 seeds in the championship game.

"I don' t think one championship was more surprising than the other," Hardin said. "Our strength coach texted me the morning before the championship game and I asked him how he felt about it, and he said he felt like we were going to win two. I was afraid to say it, but I felt the same way. Both teams were really playing well. But, that being said, we were the underdogs in both games. Both teams we played for the championship had beaten us two weeks earlier in our gym. Neither one was more surprising than the other, but both were upsets."

The women's tournament run started with a 55-32 win against No. 3 seed Illinois in the semifinal followed by an 82-76 overtime win against top-seeded and defending national champion TexasArlington. In that championship game, Alabama, coached by Ryan Hynes, led 34-26 at halftime, but the top-ranked Lady Movin' Mavs came out in the third period and outscored Alabama, 20-11 . Texas-Arlington took a 3 6-3 5 lead heading into the fourth period of regulation.

With the game still tight and Alabama trailing in the final seconds, Alabama's Katharina Lang tied the game at 67-67 with six seconds remaining. Texas-Arlington answered the Munich, Germany, native ' s basket by attempting a shot, but missed, sending the game to overtime where Alabama dominated for the win.

Lang ended the game with 24 points.

Arinn Young, a Canadian national team member, led the win, scoring 39 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and making 10 assists to give Alabama its third women' s national championship in the last five seasons.

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"When I first signed to go to Alabama, I said I was going to win five national championships," said the four-year veteran, laughing at her naivety. "So far I've got two, and it's been a really hard, long journey. But it's also been pretty good."

The women ended the season with a 24-5 overall record and a team that will return, intact, as all of the players will be back in 2019-20, including Young.

"It will still not be an easy 'road, because all the other college teams have good recruits coming in," Young said of a possible repeat in 2020.

"A lot of hard work was put into it this year. We knew we had a job to do, and I think everyone bought into and believed in what our coach, Coach Hynes, could do for us. That's what brought us to this success," Young said. " It was a hard year. Our coaches really focused on our defense as a team and our conditioning because those were areas we were lacking. It was a tough year. But it was all worth it, especially when you can beat an opponent you'd been trying to beat for a couple of years."

The men' s team, coached by Ford Burttram, began their 2018 title defense in the 2019 tournament ' s quarterfinal with a 77-65 win against No. 7 seed Southwest Minnesota State. Alabama defeated No. 3 seed Texas-Arlington, 75-59, in the semifinal. It was a 79-73 win in the championship game against top-seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater that gave Alabama back-to-back titles, its third since the men won their first national championship in 2013. Alabama defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 2018 championship game as well.

Dequel Robinson, game MVP, came one rebound short of a triple-double. The Mobile native had 28 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. Australian national team member Michael AuPrince had 27 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

The men finished the season 27-5 with five seniors completing their eligibility.

"Last year was more challenging and more difficult than this year," said Robinson, who played in his final game for Alabama and has been on the team for six seasons, including a first-year medical red shirt season. "I will say that this year was more rewarding and joyful in that we made history in the program. It had never been done at Alabama, having back-to-back national championships on the men' s team. Also special, with it being my senior year, I'm going out with a bang. It was something I was hoping for, something I was wanting, and we came through as a team and made it happen."

Both teams ' rosters overflow with international talent - national team players, Paralympians. But both Robinson and Young believe chemistry also has a lot to do with Alabama' s success.

"It ' s all of the above," said Robinson, who was invited to the USA team trials recently. "We've got a great group of guys with awesome talent. Off the court is what brings us together on the court because we thrive on having fun and getting to know one another. The coaches have us ' brother up' with a different teammate each semester to try to get to know one another, get to understand each other a little better. That helps the team chemistry, helps us bond on the court. And we've just got a sheer amount of talent on the court."

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"This year will be a year I'll treasure. It means a lot to me because it brings so much awareness and attention to adaptive athletics as a whole but also to the University of Alabama. The University of Alabama is known for its multiple championships, but it just goes to show that we adaptive athletes work and train just as hard and the work pays off in the end. We're proud to give back to the university with these national championships because of what the university has given us."

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The Tuscaloosa News Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Harry Lee played football at UA, worked in insurance

By Drew Taylor Staff Writer

time together," Garrison, former chairman of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education, said Monday.

the insurance business, Lee spent the last decade of his life working in education,

Lee, a longtime businessman and former member of the city school board, diedSunday. He was 87 years old.

Lee serving on the1

When Lee Garrison thinks of Harry Lee, three themes come to mind: toughness, respect and service to the community.

"I thoroughly enjoyed our

Although better known in Tuscaloosa for his time playing football for the Crimson Tide and the decades he worked in

city school board from 2009 to 2017. He represented District 5, which encompasses the Alberta School of Performing Arts and

Arcadia Elementary School. "He had a love for children

and wanted to do right by them," said Marvin Lucas, school board vice chairman who served alongside Lee.

Growing up in Birmingham, Lee earned state recognition as a lineman for the J .H. Phillips High football team. His talent received atten -tion from the University of

Alabama, which recruited him whenHarold "Red" Drew was head coach. At Alabama, Lee switched positions and became a linebacker.

After graduation in 1955, Lee briefly served in .the Army before being signed to play professional football for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in

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18

Ontario, Canada. After his Canadian Football League playing career ended because of a shoulder injury, Lee moved back to Tuscaloosa in 1957.

For more than50 years, Lee worked at Equitable Life Insurance Co. in Tuscaloosa, starting as a salesman and even tu -ally becoming a financial adviser.

However, Lee's great passion in life was com -munity service.

He served with several groups, includingthe board of the Boys and Girls Club of West Alabama.

Up until a few months before his death, he

served as secretary of the Alabama A-Club.

"Ever since I've been in Tuscaloosa, I've been involved in youth movements," Lee told The Tuscaloosa News in 2017. "For everything that I have done, I've wanted to do it because I could."

Janet, Lee's wife of 65 years who was often seen with him at school board meetings the last part of his life, said the welfare of children was always important to him.

"He always believed that you had to do all you could for them," she said. "They are our best resource, and we need to take care of them."

People close ·to him said Lee took his job on the school board very seriously.

He was part of the board that approved the fiveyear strategic plan for


Tuscaloosa City Schools in 2015, a $170-million project aimed at improving student achievement by renovating or completely rebuilding school buildings, adding new programs and providing incentives for teachers to stay in the school system.

"He believed that we needed to take a closer look at our school system and do more," Garrison

: said. In fact, Lee was still

singing the praises of the plan as he lost his board seat in a 2017 runoff.

"I'm proud of what we approved in the strategic plan for what the system will look like 10 to 15 years from now," he said at the time. "We're going to be an entirely different system, and I wish I could have been there to see the completion of that plan."

Erica Grant, who

eventually won Lee's seat, said Lee provided valuable advice to her during the cam -paign and as she served on the board. She said they became close friends over the last couple of years.

"He was the first person to call and congratulate me when I won," Grant said. "He motivated me to stand firm in the position and hold it with dignity and pride."

Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Heritage Chapel Funeral Home;

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Chapel.

Reach Drew Tay-lor at drew. taylor@ tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.

19


'Alabama Factor' more present than ever

By Ben Stansell Special to The Tuscaloosa N~ws

When Alabama fell to Clemson in the national championship back in January, several factors contributed to the loss. But for UA coach Nick Saban, it may have been the lack of a single factor that led to the Crimson Title ' s downfall.

Alabama A-Day Game

When: 1 p.m., Saturday, April 13 Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium Admission: Free TV:ESPN2

needs to understand that and respond to it."

"To me , we kind of have the Alabama factor around here that has always helped us be successful," Saban said Nat ional Signing Day in February. " ... Andldon'tthinkwe played in that game with the Alabama factor. So everybody

So far this spring, Saban and his staff have worked hard to restore the "Alabama factor." That was the first thing Saban mentioned he wants to reestablish after the Crimson Tide started practice about two weeks ago.

See FOOTBALL, C3

FOOTBALL FromPageCl

The phrase is now ever present around the football facilities, so much so players have taken notice.

"I hear it a lot," defensive , back Xavier McKinney said.

"I didn't hear it as much last year, but I hear it a lot now."

Offensive lineman Jedrick Wills Jr.remembers learning about the "Alabama factor" when he was being recruited by the Crimson Tide almost three years ago, but he· says it has never been emphasized as much as it has been lately.

"Every day," Wills said. "And definitely this year, it's

a lot bigger. Just don't want to create any bad habits like we did last year."

But what exactly is the "Alabama factor?"

For Saban, it's not just a slogan he has implemented this offseason. It has been a part of his coaching style for decades, even though the "Alabama" part of the phrase was added after he took over the program in 2007.

"I didn't come up with it," Saban said. "It's been who I am fo r the last 27-some years . It 's been who we are ever since we've been here. You could ask someone who , played on the first, second team here that went 12-0 and lost in the SEC championship game and they could recite

and tell you exactly what that is. So it's not a slogan. It's really what the program's built on."

With a bevy of new coaches and a number of starting spots yet to be decided, there's a lot for Alabama's players to focus on this offseason. Nonetheless, Saban's mission to restore the "Ala -bama factor" will underlie everything the Crimson Tide does over the coming months.

A variety of traits truly make up the "Alabama factor." It's not just one thing.

"Commitment, discipline, effort, toughness, pride," Wills said. "And then developing yourself to be relentless for 60 minutes in the ballgame."

20

After competing in a big meet, Alabama gymnasts use bus trip home as a chance to relax, recharge

By Terrin Waack Sports Writer

The Alabama gymnastics team physically reloaded the bus just to mentally unload.

After a long weekend, it was finally time to relax around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The full face of makeup was wiped off. The tightly pinned-up hair was let loose. The persona of a performer was replaced with that of a regular college kid.

"That was fun," UA

sophomore Lexi Graber said. The Crimson Title's work in

New Orleans was complete, placing third as the No. 5 seed at the SEC Championships with a season-high 197.35. All that separated the team from Tuscaloosa was a four- hour drive.

Each gymnast had her own row of two seats, giving everyone the option to sprawl out with personal pillows and blankets brought from home. Some, like Graber and fellow sophomore Alonza Klopfer, chose to pair up instead, tossing their backpacks into the overhead bin.

There was a lot of chatter .at first, adrenaline from the


fu awards ceremony in the Smoothie King Center still fresh and new.

"We definitely did what we came here to do," said Graber, holding her first-place flowers for the 9.95 she scored on balance beam. "I'm super proud ofus."

But within 10 to 15 minutes, things quieted down. The TV switched from HGTV to "A Star Is Born." The movie covered up the pitter-patter of typing on a laptop, headphones turned too loud and whispered conversations. The only people who were truly making noise sat in the back anyway.

Ariana Guerra and Abby

Armbrecht huddled over an iPhone on FaceTime with Angelina Giancroce, who · didn't make the trip in order to rest from a minor physical setback.

"I made sure she feels loved because I hate not having her on this trip," Guerra said. "It's reallyweird,especiallyforus."

They're the Crimson Tide' s three seniors. They've traveled together for four years.

Experiences like this are still rather new for Alabama freshman Shallon Olsen, who competed as an elite prior to UA and trained with a more age-diverse group.

See GYMNASTICS, C3

GYMNASTICS justlikereallycoolandreally heartwarming."

physically just to reload men -tally. Their time off will be short-lived.

From Page Cl

"If they're like 8 or 10 years old, you can't really say like, 'Hey, can you help me do my hair?"' Olsen said. "Because they probably don't know how to braid or something.

"It's just nice knowing you have older girls you can look up to, and they treat you like you're their sister. That's

Alabama's 17 gymnasts, when they're under the bright . lights, they're performers. Dressed up. Big smiles. Constantly judged.

But when the lights are off, they're just 17 college kids. Unfiltered. Genuine. Carefree.

"These are the memories," Guerra said, "you're going to , remember for a lifetime."

The b{is parked at Coleman Coliseum around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Everyone unloaded

Alabama learns its regional fate Monday .

"I thihk we're hitting our stride and starting to peak at the right time," Armbrecht said. "I think we're a postseason team,"

Said Guerra: "We always have been."

Reach Terrin Waack at twaack@tuscaloosanews. com or at 205-722-0229.

21

Maddox aims for post-grad retention

By: Kayla Smith

The Crimson White Monday, March 25, 2019

As the end of the spring semester approaches, many seniors are making plans for their futures after they leave the University. Laurie Beth Beyerle, a senior majoring in marketing, has spent the past six months researching and applying to graduate schools across the country.

Despite what she describes as ~ positive undergraduate experience, Beyerle has not applied for a graduate program at The University of Alabama.

"I have loved the past four years I have spent here, but I want to go where I can interact with people outside of college," Beyerle said. "I don't want to feel like I'm in a college town all the time."

On Jan. 29, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox proposed a plan called "Elevate Tuscaloosa," through which he hopes to make changes in the city that will encourage students to stay after they graduate from the University.

"We want to retain the intellectual capital being created at UA," Maddox said.

One of Maddox's overarching goals is to encourage a change in Tuscaloosa's economy from a retail-based economy to an entertainment- or experience-based economy. Some students, like Beyerle, feel Tuscaloosa's current entertainment scene is lacking.

"My weekends are either spent at university events or bars on The Strip," Beyerle said. "It doesn't feel like there are a lot of things to do outside of that."

Beyerle has applied to schools in cities like Boston because she's drawn to the diverse opportunities available in larger communities.

"People in their twenties like to have a wider variety of entertainment options like those that would be available in a bigger city," Beyerle said. "Also, the job market looks very different in big cities."

Beyerle believes she would face a very small job market if she chose to pursue a career in marketing in Tuscaloosa or the surrounding area. However, Maddox emphasized the freedom that many millennials have in choosing their communities because of internet-based jobs and compames.

"Young people need a high quality of life in their community because they have the ability to create their businesses anywhere," Maddox said. "We hope they will create businesses that will stay in Tuscaloosa."

Maddox said 68 percent of millennials chose their communities based on mass transit, arts and culture, parks and recreation and education. Some of the beginning steps of the Elevate Tuscaloosa plan designate funding to local parks projects. In the future, Maddox hopes to create more mass transit options for the city.

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22

The Crimson White Monday, March 25, 2019

Maddox said data has shown that building a community around core services like mass transit develops businesses and creates jobs. In the future, Maddox said he hopes to build Tuscaloosa' s economy through creating a market for recent college graduates.

"Every community is either moving forward or it's moving backward, and young people are our future," Maddox said.

Maddox proposed a one-cent increase in sales tax to accommodate the cost of his Elevate Tuscaloosa plan. In order to counteract the effect of a sales tax increase on low-income members of the community, including students, Maddox intended to lower the grocery tax.

The Tuscaloosa City Council voted against an increase in sales tax after a series of meetings held throughout February and early March. However, several members of the council said aspects of the plan were worth pursuing in the future.

The Elevate Tuscaloosa plan would have also increased funding to the Tuscaloosa National Airport. District 6 Councilman Eddie Pugh said he would still be interested in increasing funding for the airport, and he believes the changes made would benefit out-of-state UA students.

"I hope we will not only improve services at the airport, but we hope it could lead to flights coming in and out of Tuscaloosa plus with the upgrades would allow the large number of out-ofstate students and their parents to use these local facilities making it more convenient to come and go into Tuscaloosa," Pugh said.

Despite the setback, Maddox said he will continue to push forward with his Elevate Tuscaloosa plan. He said it ' s still a valuable initiative and he hopes he will see aspects of the plan come to fruition at some point in the future.

23

Bethany Patterson . earns cash, prizes on'Wheel'

By Drew Taylor Staff Writer

A student at the University of Alabama who is an avid fan of "Wheel of Fortune" has won big on the syndicated game show.

On Friday night, Bethany Patterson, a sophomore who is also a member of the Million Dollar ·Band, won "Wheel" in the final moments of the show's "College Week Spring Break," where she competed against college students from across the country. Patterson, who is studying marketing, won $62,200 in cash and prizes, including a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

"It obviously went way better than I ever could have hoped for or expected."

Bethany Patterson, University of Alabama sophomore, on her "Wheel of Fortune" win

The episode was filmed last week.

"It obviously went way better than I ever could have hoped for or expected," Patterson told The Tuscaloosa News about her win.

Patterson said that outside of "tithes and taxes," she was not sure what she would do with her winnings, but did give a hint about what she would be doing with her new car.

"I'm excited to be able to

The Tuscaloosa News Saturday, March 23, 2019

take it for a test drive," she said.

Patterson's father, Joel, was in the studio audience as his daughter won.

"For her to be able to get on it was a cool thing and to be able to see these things was cool as well," he said.

Joel Patterson said he has encouraged Bethany Patterson to open a retirement account to invest her winnings in.

"The ability to put that away at her age would be great," he said.

"Wheel of Fortune" has been on the air since 1975 and remains one of the longestrunning syndicated game show in the country.

Reach Drew Taylor at drew. taylor@tuscaloosaneU?s, cpmor 205-7~2-0204.

24

Al.abama has c:ttverse economy, .overnor says ~

JlyEdEnoch $taff Writer

L During an awards cer! mony Friday afternoon at •..

IVEY From Page Bl

engineering major and Randall Research Schol-ars student, was the 2019 recipient.

"This award represents all that the University of Alabamastandsfor,and it also represents what all of us should be striv-ing to achieve as we go forward," Ivey said.

The honor awarded to a senior. recognizes the

the University of Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey encouraged students in the audience to consider staying in Alabama with their talents.


is proving to be an exciting time in this great state in our diverse economy."

but also see them remain as graduates to meet workforce needs in the state.

"I just implore all of you don't leave Alabama after you graduate," Ivey said. · "Research will show you it

The comments were similar to goals discussed frequently in recent years by the university and UA System leadership who want to attract students to campus

Ivey spoke during the Catherine J. Randall Award presentation on Friday. Donna Xia, a senior chemical

SeeIVEY, B3

most outstanding stu- Randall praised Xia for preparing students for dent scholar based on her research analyzing the the workforce. GPA, course study, and metabolic interactions The governor told extraordinary scholarly in bacteria that prop a - the students in the lee-or creative endeavor. gated colorectal cancer ture hall it's an exciting The award comes with a tumors. _time to explore employ-monetary prize of $1,000. "Donna's proven ment opportunities in

The Randall Award is through hard work and the state. Ivey noted one of six premier awards various honors that our growth in the automo-at the university and is students have a major tive aerospace sectors named after the alumna impact on other stu - and technology com -who earned her bache- dents, on research, on the panies such as Amazon lor's degree, two master's future of our state and the in the state. degrees and two doctoral world," Ivey said. "I would encourage you degrees from UA and was Ivey said the state's to plan to stay in Alabama a longtime director of the universities play a key because we have got jobs Computer-Based Honors role in Alabama's eco- you will be proud to have Program in the Honors nomic future as a hub . going forward," Ivey College. ._<: for research and by ~ said. ,.

+ J,

25

Events marking city's 200th continue through December

By Mark Hughes Cobb Staff Writer

Though the official com -memoration began in January, and the city's actual 200th birthday falls on Dec. 13, next weekend's Bicentennial Bash at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater sets the tone for the celebratory year.

The free daylong Bash begins at 1 p.m. next Saturday, March 30, with an expansive kids' zone sprawled across the western plaza of the amphitheater, something like the circus

Bicentennial Bash

What: Daylong celebration featuring music, food, a kids' zone and fireworks

When: 1-9 p.m., Saturday, March 30 Where: Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, 2710 Jack Warner Parkway Admission: Free

set up for the Fourth of July events,onlylarger,according to Kellee Reinhart, marketing/ communicationschairforthe all-volunteer Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Commission. For


comestibles, there'll be food trucks, and the amphitheater's food and drink vendors.

From headliners on, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit to St. Paul & the Broken Bones to the Commodores to Blind Boys of Alabama, musicians playing the amphitheater stage stem from Alabama roots. To the east, a TTown 200 Stage will be constructed for local, upand-comingacts to rotate in as the venue's mainstage acts set up. The evening will conclude with fireworks following the set by Green Hill native Isbell, a four-time Grammy winner who had back-to-back No. 1

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BASH From Page Al

albumsin2015's "Something More Than Free" and2017's "The Nashville Sound."

"It was Tim Parker (business owner and Bicentennial Commission co-chair) at one of our v.ery earliest meetings, gosh, a year and a half or more ago," Reinhart said, "who said 'Let's all think big when it comes to having a music event in the spring,' to make it a true treat for the whole community."

No tickets are required. Seating will be first-come, first- served, with the exception of reserved boxes above the orchestra level. Should the venue meet its roughly 7,500 capacity, amphitheater staff will be standing the gates to let one in for every one out; organizers expect crowds to flow throughout the day.

Down front, "There'll be a partial pit for about 250 to 300 standing," said Sarah Elizabeth Heggem, program director for Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports, which is helping produce the event. "The rest will be open seating, until we get to the spaces at the back for sponsors."

Thanks to program sponsors such as Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, the DCH system and Coca-Cola, along with donors including the City of Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama, and TIS, all Bash events will be free of charge

"We have successfully raised over a million dollars to help underwrite a whole year's worth of activities, the educational component as well as the festivities," Reinhart said.

Numerous Tuscaloosa 200-related events will occur through the next several months, concluding with the grand finale Friday Dec. 13, the 200th anniversary of the day Tuscaloosa incorporated, one day before the state. There'll be an unveiling, in the Park at Manderson Landing, of Caleb O'Connor's bicentennial sculpture, a 10-foot tall bronze representation of Minerva, the Roman goddess, releasing an owl symbolizing wisdom, inspired by the image on UA's seal.

Also Dec. 13, the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority has moved this year's West Alabama Christmas Parade to that evening, from its usual Monday night slot.


"Between now and then, there'll be a number of events for people to celebrate, educate and look forward to the future," Reinhart said.

Here's the schedule for the March 30 Bash: · • 1 p.m. - Gates and kids' zone open • 2 - Lamont landers Band, main stage • 2:30 - Jus Gruv, TTown 200 stage • 3 - Blind Boys of Alabama, main • 3:45 - Early James and The Latest, TTown 200 • 4:15-- Moon Taxi, main • 5 - The Allen Tolbert Unit, TTown 200 • 5:30 - The Commodores (minus Lionel Ritchie), main • 6:15 - Matt Jones, TTown 200 • 6:45 - St. Paul & The Broken Bones, main • 8 - Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, main • 9 - Fireworks.

For information on the clear bag policy, and prohibited items, see www. tuscaloosaamphitheater. com. Free shuttle services will run all day March 30, from the downtown parking deck at 601 23rd Ave. To learn more about the year's other bicentennial events, see www.tuscaloosa2oo. com.

27


Tuskegee Airman laid to rest 75 years after death Seventy-five years after his fighter plane

crashed in Austria, Tuskegee Airman Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on Friday as four Air Force jets roared overhead aml his daughter and grandchildren looked on.

A stiff wind rustled nearby magnolia trees as the mourners sat before his silver casket and his 76-year-old daughter, Marla L. Andrews, received a folded flag from an Army general who knelt before her.

Earlier, at a church.service, a minister likened Dickson to the Old Testament patriarch Joseph, whose bones were carried by his people to the Promised Land from the foreign realm where he died.

"Joseph served his people on foreign soil," said the Rev. Jerry Sanders of Fountain Baptist Church in Summit, New Jersey. "What we do for Captain Dickson today is what they did for Joseph in the long ago."

It was a solemn farewell fo r a daughter who cherished a father she never knew and who lamented the life she might have had. ·

"I don't think I would have felt so empty and so alone," Andrews, of East Orange, New Jersey, said Thursday.

"I heard many people say that he was very friendl y, he was very warm, he was extremely personable," she said. "I just had the feeling that if he would have lived, it would have been so different."

"But he didn't," she said. So she strove to raise her children so her

father would have been proud of them. And although there were painful times, "I just have to thank God that he got me through as far as he has," she said.

In July, the Defense Department announced that it had accounted for Dickson, who was among more than two dozen black aviators known as Tuskegee Airmen who were still missing from World War II.

Dickson, who was 24 when he went down, joined the Army Air Forces from New York and was a member of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group.

He trained at the Tuskegee Army Flying School and crashed in mountainous southern Austria on Dec. 23, 1944, while on an escort mission. ·

He was among the more than 900 black

pilots who were trained at the segregated Tuskegee airfield in Alabama during the war.

They were African-American men from all over the country who fought racism and oppression at home and enemy pilots and antiaircraft gunners overseas.

More than 400 served in combat, flying patrol and st rafing missions and escorting bombers from bases in North Africa and Italy. The tail sections of their fighter planes were painted a distinctive red.

During the service in the Old Post Chapel at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Sanders spoke of the Israelites' escape from slavery, comparing it to men such as Dickson helping African Americans on their exodus from bondage.

"Remember your future is based on my past," Sanders said Joseph reminded his people.

"Where you're going has something to do with where I've been," he said. "The bones of Joseph, li ke the bones of Captain Dickson, tell a story." ·

During a dig in 2017 at the crash site, near Hohenthurn, Austria, a ring belonging to Dickson was found in the dirt by a University of New Orleans graduate student, Titus Firmin . .

Charred remains and other small personal

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items were also found, along with parts of the · airplane. Last August, the Army presented · Andrews with the ring and a formal report on how her father was accounted for.

The 14-karat art deco ring was a precious physical link.

There had been talk for months that a ring had been found during· the dig. When an official gave it to her in her home, she said quietly, "Wow, guys." ·

The excavation had also found the ring's aqua-colored stone, which had broken loose and was found separately.

The ring was inscribed: "P.D.," with a heart with an arrow through it, and "L.E.D: 5-31-43."

P.D. was Andrews' mother, Phyllis Dickson. L.E.D. was her father, and N\ay 31, 1943, was his 23rd birthday. .

The Army also gave her a remnant of a ·harmonica that was found at the crash site, and a small cross.

The identification had been confirmed when DNA was extracted from arm- and legbone fragments found at the crash site and matched with DNA from Andrews, a nephew and a distant cousin.

The dig in 2017 was conducted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the University of New Orleans and th~ University of Austria at Innsbruck, with help from the


National World War II Museuni in New Orleans. There are 26 Tuskegee Airmen still miss

ing from the war.

HIS 68TH MISSION Two days before Christmas 1944, Dickson

took off from his base in Italy in a P-SlD Mustang nicknamed "Peggin," headed for Nazi-occupied Prague.

He was on his 68th mission and had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for meritorious service.

· He was leading a.three-Mustang escort of a fast but unarmed photo reconnaissance plane, according to the account of a wingman, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Martin, many years later.

(Martin died July 26, 2018, at the age of 99 at his home in Olympia Fields, Illinois. His daughter, Gabrielle Martin, was present for Friday's service.)

The four planes headed over the mountains for Prague. About an hour into the trip, Dickson radioed that he was having engine trouble and began losing speed.

His wingmen stayed with him as he dropped back. The twin-engine reconnaissapce plane sped on and was soon out of sight.

Dickson decided to turn for home in his crippled plane, and his buddies stuck with him. ·

He looked for a spot to land or bail out. Martin saw him jettison the canopy of his

· cockpit before bailing out, but then he lost sight of the airplane.

The two wingmen circled, looking for a parachute, a column of smoke or burning wreckage. There was nothing but an empty, snow-covered valley.

After the war, the Army searched for Dickson in northern Italy, where Martin thought he went down. Other crashed planes and remains were found, but not his.

In 1949, the Army tecommended that his remains be declared "nonrecoverable."

In 2017, the Pentagon, armed with new data on the crash location, began investigating the-case anew.

"We need to have more reverence for the bones," Sanders said Friday. "There are some things we can learn from bones. There is a ... blessing in the bones. We need to remember those who have gone before."

29


What part of open records does Alabama not understand'i

Lucille Sherman set out to answer a question: Were midwives filling the gaps in rural

healthcare, where hospitals can be an hour or more away and OB/GYNs aren't available to deliver babies?

Sherman is a national reporter with Gatehouse Media, which owns about 150 newspapers across the country, including the Tuscaloosa News, and she was particularly interested in Alabama, which legalized midwifery again last year and recently issued licenses to at least five midwives. Sherman wanted to make sure her reportirigwas accurate and her information current, so she submitted what should have been a simple public informatiqn request to the Alabama State Board of Midwifery.

She asked for the current data, including - crucially ~ the mailing addresses of licensed midwives. (It's hard to know whether midwives are filling tne gaps in rural healthcare if you don't know where they work.) That's where her adventure in Alabama's banal bureaucracy began.

Bettie Carmack, a lawyer with the Alabama Attorney General's Office, sent Sherman a form to fill out. Request forms for public records are not unusual, but this one was of a kind I'd never seen before, nor had Sher-

man and her editors. First, the form required a $10 per hom

research fee, with a minimum charge of $10, no matter if the research took an hour or fi ve minutes. This happens a lot.

Second, it required a minimum $50 per hour legal review fee , with a minimum charge of $50, no matter if the legal review took five minutes.

. Sherman was looking at $60 with no clear limit for how high those fees could go.

Could it be $100? Or $5,000? Who knows? In a 1998 opinion, then-Attorney General

Bill Pryor said this very thing - demanding legal fees from the public for reviewing public records requests - was illegal. But today he's only a federal judge on the 11th Circuit and on every Republican president's short list for the United States Supreme Court, so what does he know?

But here's where the stupidity of Alabama bureaucracy reached a new level: Before Sherman could know what the price was for these documents, the form required her to agree to pay for this pig in a poke.

There's more. · And not only did Sherman have to agree

to pay an unknown price, but she also had to waive rights to things like her homestead exemption if she refused to pay - because if

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30

she didn't pay, they promised to sue her in a venue of their choosing.

Jim Pewitt, a Birmingham attorney with almost 30 years of experience in media law and open records cases, said that was a new one to him.

"You add the fees to this business of waiving rights to your the homestead exemption, and it begins to look very quickly like you're trying to dissuade a public records request," Pewitt said.·

Finally, Carmack informed Sherman that, even if she consented to all that hullaba-. loo, the state would not give her the mailing addresses of the midwives _:_ the very thing Sherman needed in the first place.

In Alabama, if a public offi.cial refuses to release public information to you, that official is supposed to be able to cite an exemption from the Open Records Act. Sherman asked Carmack to cite the exemption, but Carmack - a lawyer in the state office that's supposed to enforce Alabama law - refused.

"She told me yo·u can fi le a lawsuit if you want addresses," Sherman said.

I wrote Carmack to find out who the heck came up with this form.

"I did/' she wrote back. I then wrote to Carniad< to give her an

opportunity to answer a long list of ques-


tions for this column. She declined to do so. To under~tand how completely arbitrary

and inane Carmack's obstinance is, consider this: Sherman submitted a nearly identical request to the Alabama Board of Nursing for the names and addresses of certified nurse midwives. She got that information from that state agency for free - no resistance, no silly form, no pig-headed state lawyer digging in her heels.

"It 's a ridiculously easy ask," Sherman's ·editor, Emily Le Coz, told me. "For them to throw that much resistance and red tape in our way is concerning."

But in Alabama, access to public records has little to do with law and everything to do with the whims of one capricious bureaucrat over another.

Here's the thing I'll record on tape so, with a little help, I can keep saying it even after I'm dead: Public records are the only tools the public has to hold its public officials accountable.

And when public officials are keeping those records from you - the law be damned - they aren't serving your interests.

Only theirs.

Whitmire writes an opinion column on state politicsfor AL.com.

31


'Big Jim' and Wallace lcnew - Alabam

needs a road program

O• ne of the obvious political

1 changes in Ala -bama government over fhe last decades with the Republican takes:wer of the Legislature \las been the reluctance to raise new revenue to fund state government. ~any ofthe current Republican legislators came to Montgomery in 2010 with a no- newtax pledge. Voting for hny kind of tax or fee increase would be considered blasphemous. I , · In bygone days, pow-erful governors like "Big Jim" Folsom and George Wallace would raise taxes at the drop

of a hat - especially when it came to a gasoline tax to build roads. It was perfunctory and almost mandatory for a governor to have a road program. That was their legacy and how they and their legislative allies made friends. It was expected that a governor would build roads, and raising the gas tax was the only way to create a road program. Foll<s didn't seem to mind. Looks like this current Legislature may have realized it needs a road program.

One day, during the Wallace era, Gov. Wallace was having a benign news conference to talk politics and garner publicity. A young reporter out of the blue asked .. him a pointed question. "Governor, why do you give all the roadbuilding contracts and permits to your cronies,

contributors and legislative allies?" Wallace looked at him quizzically and replied, "Who do you think I ought to give them to, my enemies?"

In 1983, I was a young freshman legislator and Wallace was in his last term as governor. As usual, he was going to have a road program, but he wasn't just interested in raising the gas tax, he was taxing just about everything that wasn't nailed down. He had already asked us to pass eight or nine "revenue enhancement mea -sures" before he came with the whopper - the gastaxforroads,highways and bridges.

I was actually Wal -lace's representative since I represented his home county of Barbour. Therefore, I was dutifully voting with Wallace because, believe me, our area was going to g t

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32

more than our fair share with him as governor.

To get his gas tax passed, he went to the mat and resorted to a tactic he had used in past administrations in his earlier years as governor. He would bring us down to his office, 10-15 at a time, and hot box us and prod a com -mitmentoutofus. Well, I was in a group with a particularly tough case, W.F. "Noopie" Cosby from Selma. Noopie had voted against all of Wallace's revenue enhancement measures. Noopie had acquired his nickname early in life and I'm not sure anyone in Selma or anywhere else knew his given name.

Wallace, besides being almost completely deaf, had also gotten prema -turely senile because of the tremendous amount of pain killers he had to ake every day to even

survive because of the devastating gunshot wounds to his body 10 years earlier. He was very hazy this day and he called Noopie "Nudy." He must have called him Nudy 20 times. I could hardly contain my laughter. Several of us in the room laughed so hard we started crying. It was the most humorous dialogue I ever recall. Wallace said, ''Nudy, you need you a road program. When I was a legislator I had a road program for Barbour County. Nudy, you need a road program for Dallas County and, Nudy, we need these taxes for our road programs, so Nudy, here's the way it works here. Nudy, if you vote for my taxes, your road program will be part of my road program, but, Nudy, if you don't vote for my taxes I'm afraid you won't


have a road program and your road program will go to Barbour County."

"Big Jim" Folsom had a road program. He built farm-to-market roads in every corner of the state so that Alabama small farmers who lived on dirt roads could get their crops to market. He made his legacy with this road program.

When I make a speech in the state, from Scottsboro to Dothan, many times I will share Big Jim stories with my audiences. Invariably, afterwards, some old timer will come up to me and say, "Flowers, if Big Jim was running for governor today, I'd vote for him. He paved my daddy's road."

Steve Flowers served 16 years in the Alabama Legislature. Readers can email him at steve@ steveflowers.us.

33

State has set record lows for nine straight months

Staff, wire report

MONTGOMERY - Alabama's jobless rate has dipped to a record-low 3. 7 percent as more workers continue joining the workforce.

The state unemployment rate announced Friday for February is one-tenth of a percent worse than the national rate. But it's down from the February 2018 state rate of 4 percent.

A statement from Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington says the state has broken record lows for unemployment for nine consecutive months. The largest gains were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 7,100 positions. Trades, transportation and utilities gained another 6,300 jobs. Shelby County in metro Birmingham has the state's lowest unemployment at 2.9 percent, followed at 3. 3 percent by Cullman, Elmore, Madison and Marshall counties.

Rural Wilcox County in west Alabama has the state's highest jobless rate at 9.8 percent.

Tuscaloosa County's jobless rate was 3-4 percent, down from 3.8 percent in January. The city of Tuscaloosa's unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, down from 4.4 percent, while Northport's was 2. 7 percent, down from 3.1 percent.

Here are February unemployment percentages around West Alabama: • Bibb, 4.1 percent • Fayette, 4.0 percent • Greene, 6.7 percent • Hale, 4.8 percent • Marengo, 4.8 percent • Lamar, 3.9 percent • Perry, 6.1 percent • Pickens, 4.5 percent • Sumter, 5.5 percent


34

The Tuscaloosa News Sunday, March 24, 2019

Alabama lawmakers: Medicaid expansion would need funding By Khn Chandler The Associated Press

MONTGOMERY - Some Republican leaders in Montgomery might have cracked open the door to Medicaid

· expansion in Alabama, but also say it won't become a reality unless a funding source can be identified.

Republican Gov. Kay Ivey agreed to have discussions with Pemocrats about expansion and other Democratic caucus priorities, but has made no further commitment.

more people working," Marsh said.

Democratic and Republican leaders met last week after Ivey - during negotiations on an approved gasoline tax increase - agreed to keep an open dialogue on Democratic priorities.

House Speaker Mac Mccutcheon told reporters Friday that they are having conversations, but he · described them more as "factfinding" meetings for him.

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels said Democrats are looking at different options. He said a lottery is one possible funding source. He said Democratic legislators

"The issue for states like Alabama is where is· the money going to come from to get it started," said House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse.

Alabama is one of 14 states that have not expanded who is eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. An esJimated 340,000 Alabamians - many of them previously uninsured -would gain health coverage

· through expansion. While the federal government would pick up 90 percent o~ the cost, the state's share

have also had loose conversa -tions about legalized sports betting as a possible revenue source.

"Looking at all the different options, we are not going to take anything off the table," Daniels said.

Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said Thursday that expansion is a priority for the Democratic caucus.

"We extend theolive branch to the Republican Party to ask them to dig down in their heart of hearts and understand they have brothers and sisters who · are suffering because they do not have any health care," Moore said.

The Alabama Hospital Association this year launched a press for expansion as hospitals financially struggle because of the high number

would be an estimated $168 million in 2020. However, one study estimated the net cost would drop in subsequent years as the state reaped economic benefits.

Senate President Pro Tern Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said he opposed expansion, saying it's a price tag the

. state can't afford. "I just don't see a way to

expand Medicaid. I think we need to just keep in under control by creating good economic conditions, keep

of uninsured patients. Twelve Alabama hospitals have closed since 2011.

Clouse said the conversation on Medicaid has shifted from political - as Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act were unsuccessful - to more of an "economictype" discussion.

Clouse said he is among lawmakers who believe it is something the state should continue to "look at."

"I'm in a rural area and I have rural hospitals that are really suffering .... There will be some political oppo,sition to it just on the fact of being Medicaid and the word expansion. But if I can see a funding source, I can see us moving forward with it if that source can be identified and we can enact it," Clouse said.

35


Med school pushes plan for more doctors in rural Georgia The Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. - One of Georgia 's medical schools wants to embark on a plan that could put dozens of new doctors in rural parts of the state.

Medical College of Georgia wants a pro -gram that would help pay tuition for doctors who serve in rural areas, where there's a need for more physicians, The Augusta Chronicle reported. Under the proposal, the Augusta institution also would expand by 50 students and shorten its medical school to three years.

The initiative is "the biggest thing we've done since 1828,11 Medical College of Georgia Dean David Hess said. That's the year the school was founded.

Hess and Augusta Uni- versity President Brooks · Keel have approached

state leaders about the plan. They've also pitched the idea of the state paying tuition for students who agree to spend at least six years in underserved areas of the state, the Augusta newspaper reported.

A physician shortage is driving the proposal to add an additional 50 students, Hess said. The state ranks near the bottom in physicians per capita. Most of the areas which are con -sidered underserved are outside metro Atlanta.

"So we said if we're going to do this, why don't we do something novel and innovative?" Hess said. "If we're going to increase by 50, let's reduce the medical ·school (debt) because the other thing we have been working on is our student debt."

The change from four years to three means one less year of medical school

tuition, he said. The idea has taken

hold in other parts of the country.

New York University's School of Medicine began a three-year program in 2013. 'niat institution and seven others with accelerated three-year programs formed the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs in 2015. The group now includes a dozen U.S . medical schools, including Mercer University's School of Medicine in Georgia.

"I think many schools are undertaking serious, interesting curricular innovation approaches and , with that, being open to the possibility of a three-year program as one of the multiple innovations that different schools are trying," said Dr. Alison J. Whelan, chief medical education officer for the

Association of American Medical Colleges.

An accelerated program in Augusta could take advantage of the 500 to 600 new residency positions recently created and funded by the state that are scattered throughout Georgia. Many of them are associated with Medical College of Georgia and its regional affiliates such as Phoebe Putney Health System in Albany, Hess said.

"We want to have an

opportunity for students to go to medical school for free so when they graduate they don't have any debt at all if they will go practice in rural Georgia for six years," Keel said.

36

The New York Times Tuesday, March 26, 2019

12 People, Including 6 Coaches, Plead Not Guilty in College Admissi(!nS Scam

By KATE TAYLOR So far, the prosecutors have re-, A tennis coach with a country vealed little beyond what is in the

club membership and a second charging documents, leaving sevhome on Cape Cod. An assistant eral mysteries. The United States teacher at a Houston public high attor~ey's.office has said that the school. A college ac_lministrator investigation is continuing, leadwhose reputation as a stickler for ing to speculation that more parthe rules belied what prosecutors ents or coaches could be charged. say was a penchant for secretly At a news conference on March taking bribes to facilitate students' 12, Andrew E. Lelling, the United admission. · States attorney for the District of

All together, a dozen people, in- Massachusetts, said that one clicluding six coaches, pleaded not ent of Mr. Singer's had paid $6.5 guilty in federal court in Boston on million to facilitate a child's admisMonday in the college admissions sion,to college - many times what scandal that has ensnared Holly- any of the other parents have been woodcelebritiesandforcedareck- accused of paying. This payment oning at elite colleges where pros- . is not mentioned in any of the docecutors say students were admit- uments, and the person who paid

· ted on the basis of falsified test this sum has not been revealed. A ·scores and athletic credentials. spokeswoman for the attorney's

Those who appeared in court office would not identify the family showcased'the wide range of peo- or the, school, but said it was paid pie who prosecutors believe were to get a child into college through caught up in the scheme. The man the athletic recruiting scheme. who connected them all was Those who appeared in court, all William Singer, a college admis- . of whom have.been indicted on one sions consultant who has pleaded count of racketeering conspiracy, guilty to helping the children of cli- are each accused of participating ents cheat on college admissions in one or both aspects of the rexams and to facilitating bribes. scheme.

At one end of the spectrum of those charged was Gordon Ernst, the former head tennis coach at Georgetown University, who has been accused of taking $2. 7 million in bribes from Mr. Singer to designate at least 12 applicants as recruits to the tennis team. Prosecu- . tors are seeking forfeiture of Mr. Ernst's country club membership and the second home in C~pe Cod, among other assets. Mr. Ernst appeared in court on Monday with two prominent clefense lawyers.

At the other end was Lisa "Niki" Williams, an assistant teacher at a Houston high school who prosecutors say took bribes - the indictment cites one in the .amount of $5,000 - in exchange for allowing cheating on the college entrance exams. The judge ·noted that Ms. Williams, who entered her plea in a voice barely above a whisper, had qualified for a court-appointed lawyer.

In a sign of the.wide interest in the case, television cameras and photographers crowded the sidewalk outside the courthouse an hour before the hearing. Access to

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37

the courtroom was limited, with some journalists confined to a spillover room. Inside the courtroom, the defendants, their lawyers and family members, and a · few members of the public, filled the-benches on the left and in the

Suspects range From a teaching aide to a university official.

center, while the benches on the right were packed with reporters.

Most of the defendants appeared in suits, but one charged in connection with test cheating, Igor Dvorskiy, the director of a pri- . vate school in Los Angeles, was

· dressed in a gray sweater. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kel

ley conducted the hearing with the efficiency of an assembly line. She brought the defendants up three at a time to be arraigned. Mr. Ernst

came first, and in addressing him about his rights and the consequences of violating the conditions of his release, Judge Kelley instructed the others to listen carefully so that she did not have to repeat herself.

All of the defendants are out on bail, of varying amounts. Those who also appeared on Monday were Donna Heine!, the former senior associate athletic director at the University of Southern California; Laura Janke and Ali Khosroshahin, former University of Southern California soccer coaches; Williain Ferguson, the former women's volleyball coach at Wake Forest University; Jorge Salcedo, the former head coach of men's soccer at the University of California at Los Angeles ; and Jovan Vavic, the former U.S.C. water polo coach.

Others included Steven Masera, the accountant and chief financial officer of Mr . . Singer's company and a related nonprofit through whicfi. prosecutors say he funneled the bribes; Mikaela Sanford, an employee of Mr. Singer's who is ac-

The New York Times Tuesday, March 26, 2019

cused of taking online classes in place of some students so that they could submit the grades she earned as part of their college applications; and Martin Fox, the president of a private tennis academy in Houston, whom prosecutors say Mr. Singer paid for helpi~g to arrange some of the bribes.

Mr. Ferguson is accused of taking a bribe of $100,000 in exchange for designating the daughter of one of Mr. Singer's clients, who had previously applied to Wake Forest and had been wait-listed, as a recruit for the volleyball team.

His lawyer, Shaun Clarke, said outside the courthouse that his client would fight the charges. "No one - no one - was admitted to Wake Forest who didn't earn it, as a student and as an athlete;• Mr. Clarke said. -"Bill Ferguson does not belong in this indictment."

More hearings, with other defendants ln the case, are scheduled for later this week. In an indication of how high ,a priority the case is for the office, Mr. Lelling, the United States attorney, attended part of the hearing on Monday.

38

Confederate cemetery could be monument's new home

ByJeffAmy Toe Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. -The University of Mississippi's interim leader, beset by calls from students and faculty to relocate a Confederate soldier monument, announced agreement Thursday that it should be moved from its current location on campus.

Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks issued a statement that he is in discussion with historic preservation officials on moving the monument elsewhere. Student, faculty and staff groups passed resolutions ear lier this month asking Sparks to move the monument to a secluded Confederate cemetery on campus.

"Our campus constituents are in alignment, and we agree that the monument should be relocated to a more suitable location," Sparks wrote in the emailed statement to stu,dents, faculty and staff.

Founded in 1848, Ole Miss has worked in fits and starts the past two decades to distance itself from Confederate imagery. Since 2016, Ole Miss has installed plaques to provide historical context about the Confederate monument and about slaves who built some pre-Civil War campus buildings.

Critics who call the monument a symbol of slavery and white supremacy have kept up pressure for its relocation while others insist it remain standing as a key part of Southern history. Similar protests have


This March 5 photo shows a memorial marker standing in the University of Mississippi campus cemetery that contains the graves of Confederate soldiers kDled at the Battle of Shiloh. [AP PHOTO/ROGELIO v. SOLIS, FILE]

played out around the country as other Confederate monuments have fallen elsewhere in recent years.

Sparks hadn't announced until Thursday that he agreed with those calling for reloca -tion of the monument.

College Board trustees, who govern Mississippi's eight public universities, ultimately must approve moving the monument. They met Thursday without discussing the issue in open session and scheduled their next meeting April 18.

Before any move, the university must also consult with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. An application stating the university's plan to move the monument was filed Wednesday with the agency and signed by University Architect Ian Banner. Because the monument has

been designated a state landmark, the department must approve any changes.

A 2004 Mississippi law says war monuments, including those commemorating the Confederacy, can't be altered but can be moved to a "more suit able location." Sparks had previously said the university would develop a justification that the cemetery is a more suitable location for the 1906 structure, but that was not included in Wednesday's filing.

Sparks wrote that securing approvals will take "some time."

The monument is part of a historic district that includes a number of buildings including the main administration building, called the Lyceum. The monument is as the entrance to a circular drive that leads to the Lyceum.

The cemetery is in a secluded part of campus and has graves of Confederate soldiers killed at the Battle of Shiloh.

Pro-Confederate groups from outside the university rallied at the statue Feb; 23, and Ole Miss basketball players knelt during the national anthematagamethatday to protest those activities.

Because of a studentled effort, the university in 2015 stopped flying the Mississippi flag, the last state flag to prominently feature the Confederate battle emblem.

The nickname for athletic teams remains the Rebels, but Ole Miss retired its Colonel Reb mascot in 2003. In 1997, administrators banned sticks in the football stadium, which largely stopped people from waving Confederate battle flags. The marching band no longer plays "Dixie." 39

The Tuscaloosa News \Vednesday, March 27, 2019

UA men swimmers gear up for NCAA Championships By Andrew Ford Special to The Tuscaloosa News

The Alabama men's swimming and diving team is sending eight swimmers to the NCAA Championships.

The NCAA Championships start Wednesday and finishes Saturday in Austin, Texas, at the University of Texas.

"From the beginning of the year this has been our main priority, 11 Alabama coach Dennis Pursley said. "This is what we have worked so hard for. 11

Seniors Robert Howard and Laurent Barns earned NCAA championship berths for the fourth time while junior Zane Waddell picked up his third trip to NCAAs. Nicholas Perera earned a berth in his freshman season.

Senior Knox Auerbach, sophomores Sam DiSette and Jack Blake and freshman

Jonathan Berneburg all made the NCAA roster as part of its relay contingent. It will be the first NCAAs for all four.

Howard has been lights out all season for Alabama. The senfor team captain just notched wins in the 100 freestyle with a career time of 41. 57 and was a part of the winning 400 freestyle relay that set a new school record time in the SEC Tournament.

Howard is seeded No.1 in the nation for 50 freestyle, but he is not letting that get in the way of his focus and preparation.

"Being the top seed does not mean anything to me, 11 Howard said. "ldon'tthinkthere'sany target on my back. 11

.

This attitude has helped Howard have success and be a model for consistency, and Pursley has been adamant about how much he helps the team.

"Howard has blossomed into an incredible athlete, 11 Pursley said. "He helps the team with his focus and it rubs off on the team."

Another senior that has impacted this program is Auer- · bach. The senior Johns Creek, Georgia, native took home 11 top - five finishes in his final season with the Crimson Tide.

This will be Auerbach's first NCAA Championship appearance.

"Hardworkpaysoff, 11 Auerbach said. "I'm excited to get out to Austin and represent Alabama."

At this point of the season, the Crimson Tide has put in the time and done all the prep work. The only thing to do now is pull it all together.

"We need our athletes to be fully-rested, 11 Pursley said. "It's time to sharpen everything and get prepared. 11

40


Graber earns SEC individual title

By Terrin Waack Sports Writer

Alabama sophomore Lexi Graber earned herself a Southeastern Conference inq.ividual title last Saturday at the 2019 SEC Championships in New Orleans. She scored a career-high 9.95 on balance beam, tying for the best mark with four other gymnasts at the Smoothie King Center.

But even that wasn't Graber's biggest accomplishment.

Although she didn't take first place, Graber did finish second out of 17 competitors in the all-around competition. She scored a career-best 39.65 that featured the 9.95 on beam, a 9.925 on the floor exercise, a 9.875 on the wieven bars and a 9. 9 on vault that also gave her third-place

. honors.

"She was on fire," Alabama coach Dana Duckworth said. "There's a reason we call her the firecracker. She thrived in this environment, and she's so humble and so happy and works so hard. To see all that hard word pay off and see her become second place in the all-around from the afternoon session really speaks volumes to the work she has put in and the talent that she has."

Another top-three recognition went to Alabama freshman Shallon Olsen. Her 9.925 on beam was the event's second-best mark. UAsenior Ariana Guerra also had a 9.925 on floor for third.

Climbing the ladder

Junior Bailey Hemphill hit a pair of home runs in the Texas A&M series this past weekend, including a grand slam . She has 15 this season, which

leads the team and ranks in the top-5 nationally. Hemphill's 51 RBIs lead the NCAA.

She's already hit more home runs.this season than she did· all oflast season (13) and she moved into eighth -place on the UA all-time home run list with 3 7. The school career mark for homers is 60 by AllAmerican Kelly Kretschman, who also holds the singleseason UA record with 25.

Bailey has a little more ways · to go for the schoql singleseason RBI mark (80) set by Marisa Runyon in 2015. The program record for career RBIs is 264, set by Charlotte Morgan. Hemphill has 140 career RBIs.

Hemphill and the No. 3 Crimson Tide (33-1) host Georgia Tech on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised by SEC Network.

41


What Greg Byrne said about Alabama's basketball coaching search By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor

University of Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne held a nearlyimpromptu press conference on the school's search for a

new men's basketball coach on Monday, describing a process that would not consider geography, "wow" factor or, within reason, expense - but would place a strong empha -sis on NCAA compliance in the past, present and future.

"Today's climate of men's basketball is very unique, " Byrne said. "There are ongoing legal issues with the FBI and ongoing NCAA investigations and we don't know how all that will play out at this point."

"We are going to keep the

University of Alabama's reputation at the forefront of what wedo."

Byrne addressed no specific candidates in the 20-minute press conference, although the

See BYRNE, CJ

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BYRNE FromPageCl

the above statement seemed to scuttle discussion about former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, a popular name in social-media discussion since the decision to part ways with former head coach A very Johnson last week. Pitino, now coaching professional basketball in preece, has said repeatedly that he has not committed NCAA violations but Louisville haf vacated· N'-CAA .. f1ppearances from its Pitino ,days with other matters still to be determined. ! "In terms of what we're looking for in a head coach: player development, college ,background, strong academics, NCAA compliance," ,Byrne said. "Those will be four of the primary factors ·'!le will be looking at. We want a relentless recruiter, :someone who has the ability fo put together a great staff .and recruits well and makes our student athletes better across the board. II

"We are not terribly concerned with geographic

'.footprint. We're not terribly concerned about winning the press conference. We are concerned with getting a great basketball coach for the University of Alabama."

Again, without making specific references, Byrne seemed to have a message

for coaches and for agents looking to increase their clients' compensation without necessarily having interest in the job. In Alabama's last coaching search in 2015, the high-profile pursuit of Wichita State's Gregg Marshall resulted in a substantial raise for Marshall but no coach for Alabama.

"There are going to be plenty of rumors out there," Byrne said. "I know people enjoy talking (about) these types of things. But unless you hear it from me, don't believe it. What happens is agents will try to create Ievefage. Sometimes coaches will try to create leverage. We want be thorough but expedient during this process."

"The next time I talk publicly after today will be to announce the new coach. If anything gets out that somebody is a leading candidate or according to sources that they've interviewed or they're going to interview, I kind of assume that that person doesn't want the job."

Byrne was asked if Alabama planned to hire a search firm to assist in the process. "You 're looking at the search firm," he replied.

Byrne had kind words for Johnson, the departing coach.

He did not give specific numbers for the mutuallyaccepted buyout negotiated over the weekend, although logic would indicate that UA would not pay the full $8


million that Johnson would have been due in the event of a firing. UA was unlikely to have agreed to $6 million, the amount to which the buyout would have dropped had UA simply waited until April 15, although the final agreement may have approached that.

"We landed in a spot where both sides felt good about it and we're moving forward," Byrne said. "It was a mutual decision between Avery and myself."

Byrne indicated that there was no set timetable, but added that there was an awa:_eness .?f ~o_t~ !h~ upcommg sprmg ·s1gnmg period (the state's No. i'prep prospect, forward Trendon Watford of Mountain Brook, is expected to announce his college choice in April) and the NCAA transfer portal, both for incoming and (possible) departing players.

"The transfer portal has created a new dynamic. But this is a multi-year, hopefully a very long term, decision. As much as we want to get it done in a very efficient manner, arid we will do our very best to do that, we also know that there are teams playing, there are dynamics out there that we can't control, so we don't want to rush just to g·et done. But we certainly know there are factors out there ... and we take them seriously."

43

Search on for coach to brealc fouryear cycle

CacllBmt

At the moment, Alabama basketball coaching searches

come around like presidential elections, once every four years. According to the Founding Fathers, that's great. According to anyone charged with building a basketball program on a solid foundation, it's not so great. :

What athletic director Greg Byrne will have to do, if he can, is find a coach that will break that cycle, finding someone the fan base isn't ready to vote out of office in 2023.

That's all pending the announcement that the buyout negotiations with Avery Johnson are complete. Nothing is finished until it is finished; but sources close to the situation told Toe Tuscaloosa News on Saturday that there was "optimism" that an agreement could be announced as soon as Sunday:

For most Alabama fans, that means thanking Johnson for his service and his work at rekindling interest in the program and moving on to "Next Man Up."


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, Does that mean a coach with a past track record, like a Rick Pitino? (Say what you want about Pitino, the man does have a track record, regardless of how you interpret that phase?) Do you swing for the fences and call a Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City, knowing before you dial the first digit that the chances are he's going to leave an NBA playoff contender to take a college job that's not as good as the college job he left to go to the NBA in the first place?

Do you go for another veteran looking to get back in the game, a Fred Hoiberg or Thad . Matta? Do you go the alumni route with Iowa Sta~e•s Steve Prorun? Do

you try to raise enough money (see above under "buyout") to convince a major college coach with a good gig to move? That's a hard thing to do in college football or basketball, unless you are talking a Jimbo Fisher compensation package? Do you play what is, for want of a better term, Mid-Major Roulette?

Are there any guarantees with "the guy at Buffalo" (Nate Oats) or "the guy at Wofford" (Mike Young) or "the guy at Liberty" (Ritchie McKay)? Would they adjust w~ll to the SEC, or would there be a learning curve and a chance of being in the same boat four years from now?

Byrne doe.shave a track . record for making swift, decisive hires, both at Alabama (baseball coach Brad Bohannon) and . at his previous jobs at Arizona and Mississippi


State. He will probably play his cards close to the vest, with no long public courtship like the Alabama/Gregg Marshall negotiations four years ago. He won't take the easy route if he thinks another course is better, at least judging from his decision to bypass Ron Polk's chosen successor for the baseball job at MSU to hire John Cohen instead.

Aiming high sometimes means you miss. Alabama fans don't like to hear it but some candidates may be happy where they are. But Byrne doesn't seem like a defeat-ist, and I don't think he will sell the potential for Alabama basketball short as he looks to find the man to break the four-year cycle.

Reach Cecil Hurt at [email protected] or 205-72i-0225.

45

Dazon Ingram announces plans to transfer By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor

University of Alabama guard Dazon Ingram will enter the NCAA transfer portal as a graduat~ transfer and seek to play his fifth year at another school, Ingram wrote on his Instagrarn account on Monday.

"Had you told me that I would have had the opportunity of a lifetime to live out my dreams at one of the greatest schools in the nation, i would've laughed at you ... but it's been a hell of a journey," Ingram wrote.

Ingram, a 6-foot-5 guard from Theodore, played in 32 games this season, starting 19. He averaged 7.1 points and 2.5 assists per game as a senior.

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,INGRAM , from Page CI

"I have learned a lot and met great people that has

. helped shape me into the ,person i am today. With that said my journey at Ala-

' bama has come to an end. · I want to thank the entire : Barna organization, coaches and trainers for 4 amazing

'.years that I have had here. I thank everyone for the love

. that they have showed from day one. It has been Great!

.,Thanks to my teammates, there's no word to express .what my boys mean and

·, what they represent in my _life and heart forever. Our bond and friendship goes far

· beyond the game. I truly love you guys.

: · "My family, thankyou(for) · unremitting support and sacrifices in helping me attain my dream .. .it truly does take a village. Most of


Alabama guard Dazon Ingram (12) drives past Auburn forward Anfernee Mclemore (24) in Coleman Coliseum Tuesday, March 5, 2019 •. [STAFF PHOTO/GARY COSBY JR.]

all thank God for the ability and talent. To God be the Glory."

Ingram took place in Alabama's Senior Day ceremonies

earlier this m.onth.

Reach Cecil Hurt at [email protected] or 205-722-0225.

47

UXsLewis enters transfer portal Freshman led Tide basketball team in scoring

By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor

For a second consecutive day, an Alabama men's basketball player has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, allowing him to explore options and have contact with other programs while considering where he wants to play in the 2019-20 season.

Kira Lewis, Alabama's leading scorer from the just concluded season, entered the portal Tuesday. While he can explore options, those options would include removing his name from the portal and remaining at Alabama, presumably after meeting with the Crimson Tide's next coach.

See LEWIS, C4


See next page

48

LEWIS From Pa.l!e Cl

UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne is seeking to replace former head coach A very Johnson, who came to a mutual departure agreement with school officials this past Sunday.

On Monday, se:::iior guard Dazon Ingram announced via his Ins -tagram account that he would enter the transfer portal. Ingram, who graduated last December, would be immediately eligible at another school under the NCAA graduate transfer policy. Lewis, a freshman, would have to sit out a year ;1s a


Alabama freshman Kira Lewis has entered the NCAA transfer portal. He led the Crimson Tide in scoring and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. [PHOTO/ALABAMA

ATHLETICS]

transfer unless he received a waiver from the NCAA.

Lewis, a five-star prospect from Hazel Green

High School, reclassified in order to begin his col -lege career this summer. He started all 34 games

for the Crimson Tide, averaging 13.5 points and 2.9 assists per game. He was chosen to the SEC All -Freshman team by the league's coaches following the season.

Steve Prohm, the Iowa State head coach and Ala -bama alumnus, was signed on Tuesday to a threeyear contract extension that runs through the Cyclones' 2024-25 season. Prohm has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Alabama vacancy although that potential candidacy never seemed to gain significant momentum from either Prohm or UA.

Reach Cecil Hurt at [email protected] or 205-722-0225.

49


Recruiting battle brewing in Mountain Brook

Joseph Goodman j [email protected]

The most popular name · being discussed in the early

search for Alabama's next basketball coach isn't Steve Prohm.

It 's not Fred Hoiberg or Kelvin Sampson or Gregg Marshall or Mick Cronin or Frank Martin or Andy Kennedy or any of the names I've been hearing. (And, no, it's not Rick Pitino either ... unfortunately.)

No matter who is hired at Alabama, according to a source, there is strong sup~ port inside the search committee for the new coach to hi re Mountain Brook High School basketball coach Bucky McMillan as an assistant. McMillan was the national high school coach of the year in 2018, and this season his team won its th ird consecutive state championship and defeated IMG Academy in the presti-gious City of Palms Classic. ·

McMillan, who played at Birmingham-Southern, is a rising star in the coaching profession. Just 35 years old~ he has resisted the jump to college basketball to this point and built a dynasty in his hometown. He might not be able to ignore offers much longer, though.

For Alabama, hiring McMillan would potentially help sign five-star recruit Trendon Watford, who McMillan coached at Mountain Brook, but even if Watford lands elsewhere, t he thinking goes, McMillan could be a key piece to building Alabama into a nationally relevant program.

There's just one problem. Auburn might 1ave an inside track on Alabama for Mc.Mil,an and Watford . Under NCAA rules, a college program can hire a high school coach and sign his players as long as the high school coach is given an assistant's position on the team bencq.

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50

A month ago, Auburn wasn't even amoG1:, Watford's top four schools, but a series of sliding doors over the past few weeks have put Auburn into excellent position to make a late play for Alabama's top prospect, and also hire McMillan.

If Auburn somehow pulls off a McMillan-Watford combo after making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, then we will look back on this March as one of the most significant in Auburn basketball history.

Watford's top schools were Memphis, LSU, Alabama and Indiana early this season, but two of those schools are now without head coaches. LSU is no longer a contender for Watford with Will Wade likely out, but Alabama, believe it or not, is back in contention after the departure of Avery Johnson. The job Bruce Pearl has done at Auburn is now impossible to ignore.

Pearl has built a championship-caliber program at Auburn - something many thought impossible before he was hired - and his style of play suits versatile prospects like Watfor , who can stretch the floor and is committed to team-first, defensive-oriented basketball,

Not only is Auburn playing in the Sweet 16 on Friday, but Pearl's player development is undeniable. Sophomore forward Chuma Okeke, who is 6-8 and 230 pounds, was a little known prospect last year, but he currently is being listed in mock drafts as a potential late first-round pick.

Watford is larger than Okeke, but has a similar skill set.

Pearl isn't expected to retain first-year assistant coach Ira Bowman after his connection to the scandal at the University of Pennsylvania. Former Penn coach Jerome Allen pleaded guilty on March 8 to accepting $300,000 from a Florida health-care executive in exchange for preferred athletic admissions priority for his son. Ivy League schools to do not give athletic ~cholarships.

Allen testified that Bowman was in on the fraudulent scheme, and Auburn suspended


Bowman before the SEC Tournament. It's a bad look for Pearl, who has had one

assistant coach busted by the feds. McMillan could potentially slide into

Bowman's spot on Auburn's bench, and perhaps bring Watford with him to Auburn.

Talk about reverse serendipity. Would Watford follow McMillan to

Auburn? More than likely. Would McMillan actually leave Moun

tain Brook? That remains unclear. He loves coaching at the high-school level.

McMillan told me after his most recent state championship that he was committed to at least one more season at Mountain Brook, but a potential bidding war between Auburn, Alabama and other schools could pull him away from his high school alma mater and the unlikely dynasty he has built inside the affluent Birmingham suburb. Mountain Brook has won five large-school state championships in the past seven years.

More impressive from a national perspective than all of those championships, however, was McMillan's victory against IMG Academy this season in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. IMG Academy, which is ranked No.4 nationally by MaxPreps, features three McDonald's All-Americans and several other top-ranked players. With one Division-I player - granted, Watford is, himself, a McDonald's All-American - Mountain Brook upset IMG Academy 72-67.

Watford had 38 points and 12 rebounds in the victory, inducting 26 points in the second half. It remains IMG Academy's only loss of the season.

Watford's . family moved to Mountain Brook four years ago so their son could play for McMillan. Other families have done the same. McMillan is revered now by every high school prospect in the state. Recruiting will not be a problem for him. It begs the question: should he just skip the assistant coaching offers and go straight to being a college head coach?

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N A UA S C S I N I S · "We are thrilled to welcome Nate and Crystal Oats and their three daughters...

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