Tide Will Celebrate Title With Parade

Following the Crimson Tide's 1992 national championship, the Alabama football team was honored with a parade. Following the 2009 and 2011 national championships, there was a celebration in Bryant-Denny Stadium. This year, after Bama won the 2012 national championship with a 42-14 trouncing of Notre Dame, it was announced that there will be another parade...and another stadium event.

Alabama is coming off its second consecutive BCS National Championship and its third in four years, and there doesn't seem to be any weariness about celebrating those achievements.

During the press briefing to announce the departure of three stars from that 2012 team – Eddie Lacy, Dee Milliner, and D.J. Fluker electing to forego their final season of eligibility in order to enter the NFL draft – Alabama Coach Nick Saban also announced the celebration.

Saban said, “We always try to do something to honor our team. The 2012 national championship team is certainly no different than that. Next Saturday (Jan. 19), we're going to have a parade and a little program on the stadium steps to honor this team.

“This is a pretty quick turnaround to do something like this, but our fans have always been great about coming out and showing their appreciation for the hard work and sacfrifices that they've made throughout their careers to develop to play at the standard that they've had to play at to have the opportunity to be in a championship game and to win a national championship.

“We're really excited about having a great turnout to honor this team, who I think we're as proud of as any team we've ever had.”

There will be more details, but it was announced that the parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday, Jan. 19, at the corner of University Boulevard and Second Avenue. That means the parade will go west, whereas the homecoming parade, for instance, goes east on University Boulevard.

After going through campus, the parade will conclude with a Walk of Champions and a ceremony on the steps of the North End Zone. Eli Gold, radio voice of Crimson Tide football, will be master of ceremonies.

Participants will include Coach Nick Saban, players and staff from the 2012 team, Director of Athletics Mal Moore, and other dignitaries and special guests.