University of Alabama
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The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
http://www.ua.edu

The University of Alabama, the State of Alabama's oldest public university, is a senior comprehensive doctoral-level institution. The University was established by constitutional provision under statutory mandates and authorizations. Its mission is to advance the intellectual and social condition of the people of the State through quality programs of teaching, research, and service.

Activities to Support the Mission
The University of Alabama's activities emerge from a broad range of research and creative activities, many of which are recognized for their contributions to the economic, technological, and cultural growth of the State. Research and creative activity yields continuing stimulation for the instructional programs offered by the University's colleges and schools, supported by the Amelia Gorgas Library, a member of the Association of Research Libraries. At the undergraduate level, the University offers a broad range of baccalaureate programs in the arts and humanities, science and technology, pre-professional, and professional fields. A University-wide core curriculum provides a general education component as the keystone of every undergraduate program. Graduate programs, built on these undergraduate foundations, concentrate on the development of original scholarship, research, and creative activity. Professional programs, including the State's only public law school, prepare students with high levels of competence and for leadership roles. As one of the major residential campuses in the State, the University enhances the academic and personal growth of its students through its on-campus environment. Recognizing that education is a lifelong endeavor, the University offers an array of educational opportunities for non-traditional students.

The University's research, creative activities, and instructional programs form a foundation for extensive service activities, establishing a number of partnerships with business, nonprofit organizations, and government through applications of new knowledge. These relationships often extend beyond the bounds of the State as the University assists developmental efforts at regional, national, and international levels.

"No one can help but be aware of the rich tradition that is associated with this team and this University. Tradition is a burden in many ways. To have a tradition like ours means that you can't lose your cool; to have tradition like ours means you always have to show class, even when you are not quite up to it; to have tradition like ours means that you have to do some things that you don't want to do and some you even think you can't do, simply because tradition demands it of you. On the other hand, tradition is that which allows us to prevail in ways that we could not otherwise."

How the Crimson Tide Got its Name

In early newspaper accounts of Alabama football, the team was simply listed as the "varsity" or the "Crimson White" after the school colors.

The first nickname to become popular and used by headline writers was the "Thin Red Line." The nickname was used until 1906.

The name "Crimson Tide" is supposed to have first been used by Hugh Roberts, former sports editor of the Birmingham Age-Herald. 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. The game was played in a sea of mud and Auburn was a heavy favorite to win.

But, evidently, the "Thin Red Line" played a great game in the red mud and held Auburn to a 6-6 tie, thus gaining the name "Crimson Tide." Zipp Newman, former sports editor of the Birmingham News, probably popularized the name more than any other writer.

The Elephant Story

The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season when Coach Wallace Wade had assembled a great football team.

On October 8, 1930, sports writer Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story of the Alabama-Mississippi game he had witnessed in Tuscaloosa four days earlier. Strupper wrote, "That Alabama team of 1930 is a typical Wade machine, powerful, big, tough, fast, aggressive, well-schooled in fundamentals, and the best blocking team for this early in the season that I have ever seen. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes.

"Coach Wade started his second team that was plenty big and they went right to their knitting scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against one of the best fighting small lines that I have seen. For Ole Miss was truly battling the big boys for every inch of ground.

"At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity.

"It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size."

Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys.

The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. It shut out eight opponents and allowed only 13 points all season while scoring 217. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions.