Crimson and White: A History of the University of Alabama's Colors

The University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, is represented by its intercollegiate athletic varsity teams known as the Crimson Tide. These teams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Crimson Tide has a storied history, marked by numerous championships and traditions, all interwoven with the significance of its distinctive colors: crimson and white. A school’s colors are one of the many unifying factors.

The Genesis of Alabama Football

In early 1892, University of Alabama law student William G. Little, having learned American football while studying in Andover, Massachusetts, introduced the sport to his fellow students. Little began teaching the sport to fellow Alabama students in early 1892. Later that year, the school established an official team of 19 players, with Little serving as captain and E. B. Beaumont as head coach. Mr. W.G. Little, of Livingston, Ala., was the first man to introduce football at the University. Mr. Little had been a student at Andover, Mass., and went to the University (of Alabama) carrying his uniform and a great bag of enthusiasm for the game in 1892.

Alabama’s first game was played in Birmingham on Friday afternoon, Nov. 11, 1892, at the old Lakeview Park. Opposition was furnished by a picked team from Professor Taylor’s school and Birmingham high schools, with Alabama winning, 56-0. The first game was played on February 22, 1893. Early teams were a bit tougher than current squads, it seems, as the following afternoon Alabama played the Birmingham Athletic Club, losing 5-4 when Ross, of B.A.C., kicked a 65-yard field goal. The gridiron sport rapidly caught the students’ fancy and the game became a favorite with University athletes.

Early Colors and the "Crimson White"

Early newspaper accounts of Alabama football simply listed the team as the "varsity" or the "Crimson White", after the school colors. In 1895, students voted for the school colors, according to UA. The team made its standard uniform a white jersey with crimson stockings. There is a story that Alabama got its colors from a ball on campus when UA was still a military school, wearing gray, black and white uniforms. A young woman attending the ball decided to wear crimson to match those colors.

The Emergence of the "Crimson Tide" Nickname

Headline writers then made popular the nickname "The Thin Red Line". It was not until 1907 that the name "Crimson Tide" was used to describe Alabama. The name “Crimson Tide” is supposed to have first been used by Hugh Roberts, former sports editor of the Birmingham Age-Herald. Roberts coined the nickname to describe the 1907 Alabama-Auburn game, played in a sea of mud. He used “Crimson Tide” in describing an Alabama-Auburn game played in Birmingham in 1907, the last football contest between the two schools until 1948 when the series was resumed.

A Legacy of Championships

Since then, the program has won 28 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and claimed 18 national championships. These include, for years prior to consensus selections, five titles from NCAA-recognized "major selectors" bestowed in 1934 and 1941, and retrospectively for 1925, 1926, and 1930. Alabama was also retrospectively selected as national champion for 1945, 1966, and 1977, as well as at the end of the 1975 college football season by the Matthews, Congrove, Colley Matrix, and Dunkel Systems, but these five are not claimed by the university.

In January 2012, Alabama defeated No. 1 LSU 21-0 to take the BCS national title. In January 2013, Alabama defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42-14 for its 15th national championship. In January 2016, Alabama defeated the Clemson Tigers 45-40 to claim its 16th national championship. The team has also made 65 bowl appearances throughout its history (an NCAA record), beginning with the 1926 Rose Bowl. Alabama's most recent bowl appearance was a loss to the eventual National Champion, University of Michigan, 20-27 at the 2024 Rose Bowl. Alabama is scheduled to play Michigan again on December 31, 2024. Alabama has a 44-26-3 bowl game record.

Individual Achievements and Hall of Fame Recognition

Since 1913, Alabama has had 98 players selected as first team All-Americans, with 29 of them being consensus selections. In 2009, Alabama also recorded their first Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram II, in the closest Heisman Trophy race. In 2015, Alabama had its second Heisman Trophy winner in Derrick Henry. In 2020, wide receiver DeVonta Smith became the program's third Heisman Trophy winner. There have been 20 University of Alabama players and 4 former coaches inducted into the Hall of Fame since its opening in 1951. Seven former Alabama football players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, ranking fifth among all colleges.

Beyond Football: A Spectrum of Athletic Success

While football often takes center stage, the University of Alabama boasts successful programs across a wide range of sports, all unified under the banner of crimson and white.

Men's Basketball

Alabama's men's basketball program has numerous SEC Championships and players becoming NBA stars and international professional players. In the conference, it trails only Kentucky in basketball wins, SEC tournament titles, and SEC regular season conference titles. The men's basketball program rose to a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2002. The Crimson Tide became a regular conference basketball contender much as it was in the 1980s under the direction of Coach Wimp Sanderson.

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In January 2009, Head Coach Mark Gottfried resigned after eleven years at Alabama. Soon afterwards Anthony Grant was hired as the new head coach. Under his watch the Crimson Tide battled through a tough first year, finishing 17-15 and achieving a top-10 ranking in points allowed on defense. Grant's second season with the Tide resulted in the SEC Western Division Championship, finishing 12-4 in the SEC and an overall record of 25-12. They entered the 2011 NIT Tournament with a No. 1 seed and made it to the NIT Championship Game and finished as the runner-up. The Crimson Tide was unbeaten at home with a perfect 19-0 season, a school record. In 2012 the Crimson Tide was a participant in the NCAA tournament and finished its season with a 21-12 record.

Former Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets coach Avery Johnson became the Alabama Head Coach on April 5, 2015. Nate Oats became head coach on March 27, 2019. Since then Nate Oats has been 92-41 with the Tide. In 2023 they went all the way to the tournament as the no.1 seed for the first time in program history.

Women's Basketball

Alabama's women's basketball team competes in Coleman Coliseum and had previously played in Foster Auditorium. The team played its first game in 1974 and has since been a varsity sport. The team has had nine head coaches, including Rick Moody, who guided the club to the 1994 NCAA Women's Final Four.

The Crimson Tide has appeared in ten post-season Tournaments for the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, including an eight-year streak of consecutive appearances in the tournament stretching from 1992 to 1999. In ten NCAA tournament appearances, Alabama has advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" six times and the "Elite Eight" and the "Final Four" in 1994. The most successful season was 1996-1997 when the Tide finished second in the Southeastern Conference (10-2 record) and had a mid-season national ranking of No. 2 in polls by the AP and USA Today (November 12, 1996); they finished with a 25-7 overall record.

The University of Alabama Women's Basketball program shares the national record with Duke University for the most total points for both teams when Alabama defeated Duke 121-120 (in four overtimes) in 1995 in the NCAA tournament, a game that ESPN has declared as one of the best all-time women's basketball tournament games. Seven former players for the University of Alabama have made rosters of teams of the WNBA. Alabama has had an active player in the WNBA through every year of its existence. The current head coach for the Crimson Tide is Kristy Curry. The team played its first season of 1974-75 in Foster Auditorium, but moved to what is now Coleman Coliseum the following season.

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Baseball

Alabama has baseball. The Crimson Tide is second to LSU for the most SEC titles with 14 (including 13 regular season titles and one tournament title that was won in 1983, during an era in which the tournament decided the overall SEC title). Alabama is also second to the Tigers with seven SEC Tournament championships, including the 1983 one that decided the overall SEC title. Tide baseball teams have participated in the NCAA College World Series five times (1950, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1999), finishing second in 1983 (to Texas) and 1997 (to LSU). Home games are played at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, known as "The Joe" to Crimson Tide fans.

Softball

The Alabama softball team was started in 1997. They are currently coached by head coach Patrick Murphy and assistant coaches Alyson Habetz and Stephanie VanBrakle. They have won six Southeastern Conference championships (two regular seasons and four tournaments), made 18 consecutive NCAA tournaments (every year since 1999) and have advanced to the Women's College World Series eight times, including back-to-back third-place finishes in the 2008 and 2009 series. On June 7, 2012, Alabama became the first team in SEC history to win the WCWS Championship defeating Oklahoma in three games. The team's current overall record stands at 708-224 (.759).

Golf

Alabama's men's and women's golf teams have become two of the top programs in the nation since head coaches Jay Seawell (men) and Mic Potter (women) took over in the 2002 and 2006 respectively. They have combined to make the NCAA tournament 13 out of 14 chances since they arrived, and have each led their teams to a Southeastern Conference Championship. Overall the Crimson Tide golf teams have combined to make the NCAA tournament 31 times, won the SEC Championship four times, and have had over 30 players honored as All-Americans. The men's golf program finished sixth in the nation in 2007, while being consistently ranked in the top three in the 2007-08 season.

Gymnastics

The women's gymnastics squad at The University of Alabama first competed in 1975. The squad did not have a winning season until the arrival of former coach Sarah Patterson in 1979. In the following 35 years under Patterson and her husband David, the squad won six NCAA national championships, seven SEC championships, 26 regional titles, and 248 All-American honors. It has placed in the top five at the NCAA Championships 25 of the past 29 years and won national championships six times: in 1988, 1991, 1996, 2002, and most recently won back to back titles in 2011 and 2012. Alabama has also won nine SEC Championships including 1988, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2015.

The gymnastics squad also hosts an annual fundraiser for breast cancer, where the crowd is encouraged to "Think Pink" and support the cause by turning out in pink clothing. Gymnastics meets have an average attendance of over 13,000 at Coleman Coliseum. Meets against the team's arch-rival, the University of Georgia Gymdogs, often sell out. Alabama holds seven of the eleven NCAA records for the largest gymnastics crowds of all time, including an attendance of 15,162 fans on January 20, 2006.

Track and Field

Individual national champions from the Crimson Tide women's track and field team have included Disa Gisladottir (high jump), Iris Gronfeldt (javelin), Lillie Leatherwood (400 m), Pauline Davis-Thompson (200 m), Flora Hyacinth (triple jump), Beth Mallory (discus), Remona Burchell (indoor 60 m), and Quanesha Burks (long jump). Coach Dan Waters is the head coach for both the men's and women's track and field program, assuming the position in 2012. The university hosts the Alabama Relays and the Crimson Classic annually, which brings many of the top programs in the country to compete at the Sam Bailey Track Stadium, built in 1975 with seating for 4,500 fans.

Soccer

Women's soccer was a varsity sport from 1986 to 1988, and was revived in 1994. Former head coach Don Staley had been with the program since 1994, but stepped down at the end of the 2007 season. He was replaced with former Clemson University head coach Todd Bramble. The team has won the SEC West three times (1995, 97, 98) and participated in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 1999 and 2011. In 2005, senior Libby Probst earned third team All-American honors and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award after breaking almost every major offensive record in her career at the Capstone. The team currently plays its home games at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.

Volleyball

The Alabama women's volleyball is coached by Ed Allen, who was hired on January 10, 2011. The team has competed in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The team won the SEC Western Division Championship in 2000 and 2004, and was the SEC Volleyball Tournament Runner-up in 2005. In 2000, the Alabama Volleyball team achieved the nation's best team-GPA among Division I Volleyball teams. Past coaches for Alabama Volleyball have included Stephanie Schleuder, Dorothy Franco-Reed, and Judy Green.

Tennis

Men's and women's tennis at the University of Alabama have built a tradition of excellence and enjoy competing in the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility, and the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium, which has won an award from USTA for being among the most excellent tennis facilities in the nation, and has been selected as the host site for regional tournaments by the NCAA in 2012 and 2013. In the 1960s, Roberta Alison became Alabama's first female athlete when she joined the men's team and occasionally played the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. She went on to win American Women's collegiate Championships in 1962 and 1963 for singles, and 1963 in doubles.

Alabama men's tennis began in 1949 with the coach, Lee Shapiro. Through the years, additional coaches have developed Alabama's program, including C. de la Manardiere (1951-1953, 1956); Rafael de Valle (1954-1955 and 1958-1960); Dr. The Men's Tennis Team has been a participant in the NCAA tournament 17 times: 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013, as well as having 33 singles qualifying and 17 doubles qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

Alabama's All-Americans include Jeff Robinson (1976, 1977), Andy Solis (1984, 1985), Gregg Hahn (1985, 1986), John Stimpson (1990), Francisco Rodriquez (1998, 1999), Maxim Belski (2001), Clinton Ferriera (1986, 1989), Ellis Ferriera (1989, 1990, 1991), Rick Witsken (1991, 1993), and Juan Carlos Bianchi (1993). Additionally, Stephen Mitchell, among others, played professionally, and Konstantinos Efraimoglou was an Olympian in tennis in 1992. Ellis Ferreira became the champion at the 2000 Australian Open in men's doubles and 2001 Australian Open in mixed doubles.

Alabama's women's tennis team began in 1975, although Roberta Alison competed individually through the men's team years earlier. Coaches for the Crimson Tide Women's tennis team include Jean Mills (1975-1978), Mark Heinrick (1979-1980), Lewis Lay in 1981, Peter Heffeman (1982-1984), Karin Gaiser (1985-1993), Jim Tressler (1994-1997), Michelle Morton in 1997, and the current coach, Jenny Mainz (1998-2013). All-Americans for the Crimson Tide women's tennis team include Titia Wilmink (1993), Marouschka van Dijk (1993), Baili Camino (1997), Robin Stephenson (2005), Alexa Guarachi (2013), Mary Anne Macfarlane (2012, 2013). The Crimson Tide women's team has sent 17 qualifiers for NCAA Singles Tournaments and twelve for the Doubles Tournaments as of 2013. The Tide competed as a team in the NCAA tournaments of 1993, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. The 2013 team produced the best results in program history, ending the season with a Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Rowing

Women's rowing is the most recent addition to Alabama's list of varsity athletics. Mal Moore announced the addition of Alabama's 21st varsity sport in October 2005. The women's rowing team became the newest varsity sport at The University of Alabama in Fall 2006. The team was added due to Title IX considerations and allows for 20 full scholarships. Taking only girls who had previously rowed for the Alabama Crew Club (est. 1987) and other walk-ons, Head Coach Larry Davis built the program from the ground up. The second year (2007-2008) of competition surprised many as the Varsity eight went on to win silver medals at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, and also the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Tide again medaled at the Chattanooga Head Race and the Head of the South and recorded several match race victories against Southern Methodist, Creighton, Murray State, Drake, and the North Carolina. Within two years, the team has had 25 athletes earn SEC Academic Honor Roll honors and 16 earn Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete awards. For the 2007-2008 school year, Women's Rowing won the team service award by posting the most number of community service hours (over 1500) out of all women's sports at Ala.

The Elephant Mascot and Traditions

At the time, the team was commonly known as The Crimson Tide and the elephant wasn't adopted as the school's official mascot until 1979. became part of the school's traditions by the 1940s. It was in the 1940s that a live elephant mascot named "Alamite" made regular appearances in Tuscaloosa. commonly known Big Al mascot, as we know him today, debuting at the 1979 Sugar Bowl.

This terminology gained prominence when Everett Strupper, sports writer of the Atlanta Journal, observed and wrote about the Alabama and Ole Miss game. the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Alabama varsity. The name also may have come from the football team itself, when in 1892 the team made its standard uniform a white jersey with crimson stockings.

President George Denny was honored for bringing the University of Alabama to national prominence with this structure built of limestone and Virginia Bricks, honoring his native state. The structure has bricks that recognize past UA football captains dating back to the 1940s. football captain's Walk of Fame. Every spring, there is an internal scrimmage between the new recruits (the white team) and the Crimson team. This makes it an Alabama v. Alabama game. The Million Dollar Band plays "Yea Alabama!" after every touchdown and at other sporting events. Yea, Alabama! U. of A. has won 28 conference championship victories and 850 official victories. They have had 15 national championship seasons. an NCAA-record, and obtained 34 bowl victories.

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