Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Dr. Robert Witt

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University of Alabama

One has to wonder if Dr. Robert E. Witt really knew what he was getting into when he was hired to be president of the University of Alabama in 2003 after 35 years as a faculty member and administrator in the University of Texas System.

At the time, the school’s pride-and-joy football program was in complete disarray. Mike Dubose’s reign (1997-2000) had ended in disappointment and scandal, and an NCAA investigation had resulted in major sanctions that would plague the program for years.

That was enough for Dennis Franchione to rethink things. After a 10-3 season in 2002 he vanished from Tuscaloosa only to show up in College Station as the new head coach at Texas A&M.

So Director of Athletics Mal Moore hired Washington State coach Mike Price, who had a career record of 129-121 but badly wanted the job.

Following spring practice, Price attended a celebrity pro-am golf tournament in Pensacola, Fla., where the 56-year-old had a well-publicized night of drinking in a strip club. It was considered a critical moment in Witt’s early tenure, and he didn’t hesitate, firing Price before he coached a single game.

"To be selected for a leadership position at the University of Alabama is an honor and a responsibility. When you accept the honor, you accept the responsibility," Witt said at the time. "That responsibility includes conducting your professional and personal life in a manner consistent with university policy."

That same year, Witt announced that Alabama would by 2013 become the following: 

• A university of choice for the best and brightest

• A Tier One research university

• An academic community committed to serving the state of Alabama

Plus have an increased enrollment if 28,000.

It didn’t take that long.

By 2010, enrollment had gone from 19,633 to 30,232 (with plans in place to top 35,000 by 2020, which it easily did). 

Applications rose from 7,322 to 20,112. 

Among incoming students the average ACT score went from top 25 percent to top 15, the number of students ranked in the top 10 percent of their class jumped from 15 percent to 44 percent, the number of students with 4.0 GPAs rose from 314 to 1,395, and the National Merit Scholars almost doubled (69 to 128).

Similar to what occurred during Dr. George Hutcheson Denny’s years, Alabama’s academic growth paralleled the school’s athletic success, including a massive facilities upgrade and the high-profile hiring of Nick Saban.

He later called it the best investment the university ever made. 

"Having a coach of his caliber makes it easier to recruit better students and raise more money," Witt told Forbes Magazine, and used the school’s $500 million capital campaign as an example. "We have had 100,000 donors in that campaign, and a major reason they support us is football."

On Jan. 21, 2012, roughly six weeks before he was promoted to Chancellor of the UA System, Witt stood on a stage in the middle of Bryant-Denny Stadium, which had been expanded twice since his arrival to make it one of the most desirable home fields in college football, as the Crimson Tide celebrated its second national championship in three years.

Surrounded by dignitaries, trophies and football players, he made reference to Saban’s comment two years previous of “I want everyone here to know this is not the end. This is the beginning,” and added that everyone head learned just what he meant.

The same could have been said of him.

"We’re proud of the way we won the national championship, with class every step of the way,” Witt said. 

Some of this post originated from "100 Things Crimson tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published by Triumph Books