Best Alabama Athletics Moment of 2024: Just a Minute

Looking back at some of the big accomplishments and historic moments for the Crimson Tide in 2024.

Mar 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats celebrates with the trophy after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the finals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's assistant editor Katie Windham discusses the biggest moment or game for Alabama Athletics in 2024.

The holiday season and new year is a time for reflection. This past calendar year was a massive year for Alabama Athletics starting with the Rose Bowl against Michigan on the first day of 2024 in what would go on to be Nick Saban's last game as Crimson Tide head coach. He would go on to announce his retirement a few days later, and Greg Byrne hired Kalen DeBoer on Jan. 12.

DeBoer had his first signature win in a huge game against then No. 2 Georgia inside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 28. Softball made it back to the Women's College World Series after upsetting No. 3 Tennessee in Super Regionals. Women's cross country won the SEC title on Nov. 1. Doris Lemngole won an individual NCAA cross country title later that month.

But the best moment of the year was men's basketball beating Clemson in the Elite Eight on March 8 to send the program to its first ever Final Four. The Elite Eight, and really the Sweet 16 as well, had been a longtime ceiling for the program, but in Nate Oats' fifth season as head coach, the Crimson Tide finally broke through.

What did I leave out? What do you think was the best moment? Let us know in the comments on social media.

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