How sweet! Kristen was not the only Saban to cheer for the former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach at the 2024 EPSY Awards as Nick Saban’s wife, Terry, attended as the ultimate Nick cheerleader. While the coaching maestro received the “Icon Award,” he crowned his wife as the true MVP of his success. And once again, it’s clear that every winner has a Wonder Woman in his corner.

Nick is lucky to have shared his wins and whoopsies with his partner-in-crime for 52 years. While the ex-Crimson Tide HC revels in the love and support of his ladylove, let’s immerse ourselves in Nick’s brilliance, which earned him the shiny award.

During his long leg with the Crimson Tide, Nick earned the status of serial winner, and his wife, Terry, walked alongside him. He married Terry in December 1971, and woah — they’ve completed 52 years of togetherness. Terry has been with her husband through thick and thin, changing locations until Nick settled in Alabama. Of course, the ultimate Nick stan needed the due credit.

Nick stated, “Miss Terry’s been the love of my life for 52 years. She has supported me in every way as my family has. And I certainly appreciate that because there’s a lot of sacrifices families make in coaching. We actually moved 17 times before we got to Alabama.”

It was the same Terry who raised the alarm for her husband before Nick gave it a thought to call it off with the Crimson Tide. Once the former coach revealed how Terry flipped the switch on Nick’s thought process, “She came to me like right before I retired and said ‘why are we doing this?’ And I said what do you mean? She said, ‘all they care about is how much you’re going to pay them they don’t care about how you’re going to develop them, which is all what we’ve always done so why are we doing this?’” Nick’s 17-year career at Alabama took him to astonishing heights, and on July 11, he hit one more. 

The ESPY Awards recognized and celebrated Nick’s lasting legacy

It was indeed special for Coach Nick as his first and last Heisman Trophy winners, Mark Ingram and Bryce Young, respectively, presented the award to their favorite mentor. Looking dapper in a tuxedo while accepting the award, Nick spoke of a lesson he got from his father, “The one thing my dad told me…the most important part of your character, is to have compassion for other people. People aren’t gonna remember what you say, they’re gonna remember how you made them feel.” 

Nick’s father’s sound advice has driven his long and successful career. On January 10, he retired from coaching with a college record of 292-71-1, with 201 victories at the University of Alabama. Besides, the 72-year-old HC had reached heights as a prolific recruiter, producing 47 NFL first-round draft picks and having gone 16 consecutive seasons with a top-five recruiting class. 

Before July 11, Alabama football had won three ESPY Awards. The first was Tyrone Prothro, who grabbed the “Best Play” award in 2005. The second was WR DeVonta Smith, named the “Best Male College Athlete” in 2021. Bryce Young was the recipient of the same honor in 2022. But Nick’s latest honor came as the cherry on top!