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The pioneer of modern college football and the guru of several prominent college football coaches, the legendary Nick Saban, is one of a kind. The list can go on and on, with the likes of Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, Lane Kiffin, and even Dan Lanning emerging out of the Saban tree. Not only did the coach give this legacy, but he has also established himself as the greatest of all time to step into the college football arena. Now, the former Bama head coach is pushing to do the same off the field.

Nick Saban had last year proposed to build a ‘Saban Center’ in the city of Tuscaloosa. The center would focus on STEM research along with other disciplines, too, like art. The state-of-the-art facility being built in the city will be completed in June 2027 and will help hundreds of students and researchers contribute to the ongoing project. Now, the center has found the backing of a billionaire family.

 

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The Saban Center’s official account posted a photo featuring Miss Terry and Cade Warner, CEO of the Westervelt Company, with a caption announcing the deal. “Saban Center is partnering with The Westervelt Company to bring cutting-edge initiatives in environmental education to the forefront. This collaboration aims to inspire guests to embrace sustainable practices and ignite a passion for STEM-based learning. The Westervelt Company will sponsor the ‘Earth and Sustainability Gallery’ at the Saban Center.”

The photo posted with Westervelt’s company CEO, Cade Warner, does speak more than it shows. The company is a privately held and family-owned business based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and has a rich history spanning several generations. The daughter of Nick Saban, Kristen Saban, also shared the post on her Instagram story and seemed to celebrate the potential move. The partnership between the Saban Center and the company will surely result in more funding and deals for the facilities. Earlier, the center had already received funding from both public and private sources, as detailed by Tuscaloosa’s Mayor Walt Maddox.

There is nothing like this across the nation,” Maddox said. “There are pieces of it here, pieces of it there, but nothing that is totally integrated into the K-12 curriculum and nothing that can meet the needs of our workforce and our children in Alabama today“. Maddox detailed that more than 30,000 school-going children will benefit from the move, with a whopping 168,000 students benefiting from the proposed center. He also revealed the finances involved.

The Mayor explained that almost $42 million has already been in the pipeline for the center. This will comprise both public and private funding, which will also include a 1% sales tax designed to boost education and other necessary facilities in the coming three decades. Prior to the meeting between Cade Warner and Miss Terry, the organization had already secured $15 million in private funding and $25 million from the State of Alabama in public funding.

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Lane Kiffin hints at a potential coaching comeback for Nick Saban

We all remember the time when Nick Saban finally announced his decision to retire from Alabama. This was a moment of sadness for the Bama Nation, as the coach had 17 star-studded years with the Tide that saw the team winning 6 national titles and 9 SEC championships. But the most brutal part of the news was that Saban was retiring from football altogether; this was something unexpected for football fans. So, what if someone tells you that Saban could come back to grace the gridiron again?

Lane Kiffin, in an interview with Theo Von, hinted at the possibility of legendary Nick Saban returning to football. “He’s just so wired all day long, to do something for his entire life. Now he isn’t going to sit around and just be a grandpa; that’s not him. So I think because of that, I wouldn’t actually be surprised if he came back in the NFL, even, you know, as head coach, because he’s just so good at it”.

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Lane Kiffin, the former Saban assistant, served as OC under him when the Tide lifted the natty in 2015. The bond between the coaches is well-known. Right now, however, Saban is serving as a game day analyst at ESPN and gave us some of the deepest insights about the game when he came in every Saturday on television.

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