Windham Wrap-up: Winning Weekend Shows Last Year's Success Wasn't a Fluke for UA Athletics

Alabama football and basketball picked up top-three wins over the weekend, plus women's basketball added two more non-conference wins.

Coming off one of the most successful years in Alabama Athletics history, it doesn't look like things are slowing down anytime soon in Tuscaloosa. 

This past weekend featured one of the single most successful days for Crimson Tide sports when Alabama football beat No. 1 Georgia to win the SEC Championship and clinch a spot in the playoffs. And then a few hours later, basketball beat No. 3 Gonzaga in Seattle. 

Alabama became the first program to beat a top-five AP team in both basketball and football on the same day.

Alabama is the first school to beat AP top-5 teams in college football and men's college basketball on the same day.

The Crimson Tide took down No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship and No. 3 Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/VxKigGJ77z

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 5, 2021

On Sunday, the playoff committee announced Alabama (12-1) as the No. 1 seed, and basketball (7-1) was ranked back inside the top-10 at No. 9 in the AP basketball poll.

To book end the weekend, women's basketball beat Houston at home on Friday and picked up their first road win over Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Tide women sit at 8-2 with three non-conference games remaining. 

The weekend further proves that last year's success and "championship school" mentality was no flash in the pan for Alabama. It's a culture that Greg Byrne has built in Tuscaloosa. 

Football, basketball, gymnastics and softball won SEC Championships last season. Women's basketball made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years. Olympic sports like swimming and track won individual SEC and NCAA championships. 

With the win over Georgia, football has already repeated as conference champions and is two games away from the national championship. The other teams like basketball are on the way. One of the few team's that didn't reach the postseason in 2020-21, women's soccer, made the NCAA tournament last month and picked up the first NCAA win in program history. 

This is one of the few weeks of the school year where there are no games scheduled as the student athletes are taking final exams. Winter sports are entering the conference portion of the schedule, while spring sports are just around the corner. Everywhere you look in Tuscaloosa, things are heating up for the Crimson Tide.