Alabama Football Team Served Alligator for Dinner Before Game Against USF

Alabama football players at alligator for dinner before heading to South Florida for their game against USF.

One of the perks of playing football at Alabama is being able to eat at the athletic department’s $15 million dining facility for athletes that opened in 2018. (Check out a video tour of the opulent cafeteria here.) It’s got enough seating for 450 students, more than 50 flat screen TVs and 10 serving stations. 

One of those serving stations turned plenty of head on Tuesday night. Crimson Tide safety Jaylen Key posted a video on his Instagram story showing entire roasted alligator served up for dinner. Judging by the amount of meat missing from the reptile’s midsection, more than a few athletes decided to give it a try. 

Alabama serving alligator in its cafeteria tonight, before its game at South Florida (from safety Jaylen Key’s Instagram story): pic.twitter.com/Ku5FbRiMZU

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) September 13, 2023

While it isn’t clear whether the unusual menu had anything to do with the football team’s upcoming schedule, the Tide will travel to the famously alligator-dense state of Florida for a game against USF on Saturday. 

It’s tempting to think that serving alligator in the dining hall would be a better idea before a game against the Florida Gators, but that kind of thing would never happen in Nick Saban’s program. He’s too smart to give an opponent bulletin board material like that. Don’t expect to see a whole roasted boar in the Alabama cafeteria before the team’s Week 7 game against Arkansas.