UPDATE: Indiana’s David Ballou Accepts Job at Alabama, Sources Say

David Ballou, Indiana’s highly regarded Director of Athletic Performance, has been offered the same job at Alabama by Nick Saban, and he is spending the weekend deciding on the move.

Updated Sunday, 6 p.m. 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana’s football coaching staff took a huge hit Sunday because David Ballou, the Hoosiers’ outstanding strength and conditioning coach, will be leaving to take the same job at the University of Alabama, according to sources in both Alabama and Indiana.

The offer was first reported by Sports Illustrated Indiana on Saturday. Sources in both states have confirmed that Ballou has accepted the offer on Sunday and will be introduced in Tuscaloosa early this week. 

Dr. Matt Rhea, Indiana’s Athletic Performance Coach,  is expected to go to Alabama with Ballou, sources said. 

Ballou and Rhea are two of the most respected athletic performance directors in the country and have been pursued by others colleges and NFL teams ever since they arrived at Indiana in 2018.

Ballou, who played football at Indiana as a fullback in the late 1990s, has deep Indiana roots. He played high school football at Avon and after his time at IU, he coached there for 14 years. He also coached at Notre Dame for a year before coming to Indiana. He also worked at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

He is a valued member of Indiana’s staff and developed dozens of players into stars. Indiana’s  statistics in the weight room have had a lot to do with the program’s turnaround. Indiana won eight games this year for the first time since 1993. 

Several Indiana coaches have said that Ballou and Rhea “basically add a star to all those recruiting ratings.”

Sources in Alabama said that Ballou and Rhea were immediate targets after Scott Cochran left for Georgia last week and that Saban offered the job this weekend.

Alabama has won five national championships in the past 11 years under Saban, and 17 overall. The Crimson Tide are considered the preeminent program in the country and have a massive athletic budget.

RELATED: David Ballou profile from October. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/.amp-indiana/college/indiana/football/indiana-david-ballou-strength-performance