Letter to Dr. Witt

Dear Dr. Witt, Mr. Moore, Members of the Board of Trustees:

I am writing to express my absolute dismay with the appalling disintegration of the Crimson Tide football program. The probation excuse has run its course and can no longer be acceptable for the program’s failure.

Perhaps because of your elevated positions you don’t quite understand the pain, agony, and hurt the average Alabama fan is experiencing.

I was born, raised, and will die Crimson. I was attending Alabama football games before Coach Bryant heard Mama’s call to come home and restore the glory. I chose to attend the University for my undergraduate as well as my graduate degrees. For thirty-six years I have contributed regularly to the University’s School of Arts and Sciences as well as to the National Alumni Association. In fact, my husband and I helped organize and start the South Central Pennsylvania National Alumni Association Chapter.

I don’t believe Coach Bryant and Alabama greats like Johnny Mack Brown, Fred Sington, Bill Lee, Don Hutson, etc. would rely on the probation excuse nor would they tolerate an unenthusiastic coach who had consistently failed to prepare his team to play four quarters.

For those of us who are the fans and alumni, we do have a voice that is desperate to be heard. We are the ones who tailgate, come to the games, stand to greet the players arriving at Bryant-Denny, cheer our hearts out, buy the Bama souvenirs, buy the high priced tickets, and Roll with the Tide 365 days a year. Why? Not because we’re hired by the University, but because we believe the Tide Rolls Forever. WE LOVE THE TIDE.

Your failure to hear our voices will not stop our love for the Tide, but it will slow down our desire to make financial contributions, to attend games, to buy souvenirs. Granted the majority of us don’t contribute the mega dollar donations that wealthy donors contribute, but we contribute sincere spirit and love for the Crimson Tide. The majority of fans and alumni are not the benefactors of accrued wealth, but we are the heart and soul of the Crimson Tide.

For the sake of not destroying the Glory of the Crimson that Coach Bryant worked so diligently to establish, rectify the woes of the Athletic Department and the football program. If discipline is a problem, correct it. If leadership is the problem, correct it. If accountability is the problem, correct it.

Waiting a year or two to correct the problem is not the solution. Waiting a year will only destroy beyond resurrection a once vaunted program that is now a national joke and shame. Trust me, it is not only in the state of Alabama or the SEC that the name of Alabama no longer carries with it a respect that it once carried with great pride, but it has lost the respect throughout the nation.

You are the only ones who can correct the problem. Your failure to do so will be your burden and legacy.

Thank you for your attention to this grave matter.