Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: The Walk of Champions

Need your fix of Alabama sports? BamaCentral has you covered with the Walk of Champions and the Coaches Walk

Christopher Walsh/BamaCentral

When construction began to expand beyond the north end zone following the 2004 season, director of athletics Mal Moore didn’t want changes to just Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In addition to the upper deck stands, three levels of skyboxes plus the area known as “The Zone,” Moore wanted to really embrace the program’s history and have it reflected both inside and outside the stadium, and give it more of a presence along the school’s main thoroughfare, University Boulevard.

To accomplish this goal, a seven-story glass curtain gave the northernmost wall a formal face, creating a permanent front entrance that when lit up could easily be seen from the street and beyond (well, it could after a fraternity was razed and rebuilt across the street).

In addition, the university landscaped the area for a new brick plaza, which included both the Walk of Champions and Coaches Walk to celebrate the program’s success. It instantly became a must-visit for Crimson Tide fans.

The Walk of Champions serves as a pathway to the entrance, running perpendicular from the street, inlaid with granite tablets commemorating the school’s title seasons. The national championship plaques include the year, coach, record, and team members. The Southeastern Conference title markers include just the year, coach, and record.

Overlooking the walkway are two bronze statutes of Crimson Tide football players at the north entrance, with one holding an Alabama flag and the other pointing ahead into the distance. The player on the left is wearing the number 18, and the one on the right is wearing the number 92, which is not a coincidence as the football program was founded in 1892.

Incidentally, although the bronze statues of “anonymous” Crimson Tide football players in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium are meant to honor the entire football program, they were modeled by two real Alabama players on the roster at the time: Antoine Caldwell and Matt Collins. 

Prior to each home game, Alabama’s team buses drop the players and coaches off at the walkway, where after surveying the path through cheering fans (roughly 100 yards), enter the stadium’s inner sanctum to their locker room approximately two hours and 15 minutes prior to kickoff.

After ongoing renovations in 2020, the route will be a direct shot, as a tunnel is being built below the front facade.

The Coaches Walk is off to the side of the Walk of Champions, and features 9-foot tall bronze statues of the five coaches who have led Alabama to a national championship: Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.

Each weighs approximately 2,000 pounds, and has behind it a short wall bearing the coach’s name and title year(s).

Naturally, Bryant’s statue includes his houndstooth hat, while instead of a suit Thomas is wearing the letterman’s jacket in which he was frequently photographed.

When it was originally constructed, the final spot along the Coaches Walk was deliberately left open, to both imply unfinished business and the program's high level of expectations. Five years later, Saban claimed his first national title at Alabama and his statue was subsequently unveiled in 2011.  

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