Super Six Coming To Bryant-Denny

The Tuscaloosa Sports Foundation got the ball rolling for landing the Super Six high school championship games out of Birmingham. Joined by the Auburn Convention Bureau, the six championship games will be played in alternate years on the campuses of Alabama and Auburn.

The Tuscaloosa Sports Foundation was the brainchild of retired banker Chuck Sittason. he put the foundation together and hired former Alabama Soccer Coach Don Staley as its executive director.

On Wednesday, the Alabama High School Athletic Association announced that beginning this fall, the Super Six will rotate between The University of Alabama and Auburn University. Bama will get the six high school championship games this year.

The contract is for six years.

The high school basketball championships will remain in Birmingham for the next six years, the AHSAA announced Wednesday. The Tuscaloosa Sports Foundation had also made a bid for the boys and girls basketball championship games.

While Sittason, Staley and former Alabama Basketball Coach C.M. Newton (who is also a member of the foundation) did the brunt of the work, it would not have been successful without the support of Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore and his staff and University President Dr. Robert E. Witt.

In his regular press briefing Wednesday, Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban was asked about his role in landing the event.

"There were a lot of people more involved that I was," Saban said. That may be true, but it was important to have his endorsement.

Saban said he was pleased, calling it "outstanding" for the ASHAA and high school football, and for The University and Tuscaloosa. He pointed out that participating players will have the opportunity to use facilities "as good as any in the nation" and play in Bryant-Denny Stadium. He noted the importance of the campus setting for visitors.

"It's great for our campus and our city, and I'm very pleased we are going to have this here," he said.

Saban discounted any football recruiting advantage. "We get most of the players in our stadium anyway, but this time they will be playing instead of watching us play."

He added that it is important for The University to have so many parents and students see the campus and learn about The Capstone. "Everyone who comes will leave with impressions and they'll each tell 100 who will tell 100."

He pointed out that Alabama's academic reputation had blossomed under President Witt and that it is important to have people on campus to see for themselves.

"That's why we're so excited," Saban said. "We want them to feel very much welcome."