What Alabama AD Greg Byrne said about Nick Saban's contract, College Football Playoff and transfer rule
This Q&A has been edited for length.
Winter sports are in full swing, spring sports are near and Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne remains a busy man.
Alcohol sales could begin at Coleman Coliseum as soon as February. Also next month, UA must have a meeting with Nick Saban's representatives to determine the marketplace trends for football coaches in the SEC and NCAA. This is an annual meeting required by Saban's contract.
If Saban’s “total guaranteed annual compensation” is less than the average of the three highest-paid SEC football coaches or five highest-paid NCAA football coaches, UA must increase Saban’s guaranteed annual compensation for the higher of the two averages. Saban currently is the highest-paid football coach in Division I.
In an interview with The Tuscaloosa News, Byrne discussed Saban's contract, the ripple effects of name, image and likeness, the College Football Playoff and more.
ALCOHOL AT COLEMAN: Alcohol sales being considered for Alabama athletics events at Coleman Coliseum
GREG BYRNE: One and 100: Greg Byrne, University of Alabama athletics director
Q: When you look back at fall 2021, what stands out to you?
Greg Byrne: Obviously we had another incredible run with our football program, making the CFP and playing for a national championship. Just the continued level of success that Coach Saban has been able to accomplish with our football program and the leadership he has shown is historical. Another reminder just to me that we can’t take this for granted. That was really special.
Q: The report just came out for the 2021 fiscal year, much of which happened during the height of the pandemic limiting attendance. ... For the next fiscal year, what are you projecting? Can you get back to pre-pandemic numbers-wise?
Byrne: Because of a lot of efficiencies in our department, and we had some help along the way from our university, we were able to survive the 2020 year about as well as anybody could. But there was a lot of belt-tightening across the board. Now this year from a recruiting standpoint and an operations standpoint, we’re back to a more normal level. We don’t have a lot of breathing room in the budget. So the goal is to have a net profit, but it’s not going to be by much this year.
Q: So you do expect revenue to return to a much more similar number to before the pandemic?
Byrne: Yes.
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Q:In February, you have an annual conversation coming up about Saban’s contract. Even if he’s not above either threshold, he’s got several neighbors getting closer to his pay range. Do you anticipate, even if you’re not contractually obligated, that you would consider bumping his compensation anyway?
Byrne: Obviously, the job Coach Saban and [his wife] Miss Terry have done with our program, our university, like I mentioned earlier, it’s historical. We have always been proactive as a university to make sure we have that be reflected in where he stands from a compensation standpoint in college football. Nothing with that has changed. We still expect to make sure that Coach Saban is recognized for that in a proper way.
Q: We’re about six months into name, image and likeness. From your perspective, how have you seen NIL impact the product of college athletics?
Byrne: I’m happy on one hand that young men and young women are being given this opportunity to capitalize on marketing opportunities for themselves. The challenge is, there are no guard rails. It’s part of recruiting. Because there’s no one set of rules across the country, everybody is having to adjust and move based off of what everybody else is doing. It’s reality, so we have to deal with reality.
Q: You mention the guard rails. Is there something that could happen more uniformly? Or what would your idea be?
Byrne: There’s been a lot of talk at the federal level. Could there be resolution? I don’t know if that’s high enough on the list as a priority for the federal government right now with everything else going on. The reality, too, is just like everything else at the federal level, there’s a lot of different opinions and there aren’t often a lot of bipartisan successes right now.
What I want to see is, recognition that broad-base programs, here at Alabama, 21 sports, and the experience for our student athletes, for our fans for our university, is something that is important to us and I think a lot of other universities. I am happy for the opportunities for our student athletes to benefit there. ... I also want to make sure that we have the continued ability to have the broad-based programs for the long-term in college sports.
Q: The one-time transfer rule came into place last spring. ... What are your thoughts on how it has impacted college athletics?
Byrne: I think it’s created a lot of instability. While I do think young men and young women should have that opportunity, I think there needs to be some parameters on when.
One of the things that doesn’t get talked about is, what is the impact on everybody else who’s left behind? Sometimes for instance, in football terminology, let’s say that there’s a quarterback who was hoping a receiver would be there or hoping an offensive lineman would be there. ... It could be baseball with a pitcher and a shortstop relationship. That does have impact on everybody else. Part of what makes sports so special is it’s a team game. In college sports, and even an individual sport like golf, you’re still part of a team.
So, the recognition of the impact it could have on other young people is often not part of the conversation because more of the focus is on the individual. While we do need to be cognizant of that, I also think we need to be cognizant of the impact it has on the other young people in the programs that are impacted as well.
Q: What would you do to make that impact more well known?
Byrne: I think to have some windows when it’s OK to say, ‘Hey if you’re going to transfer, this is the time of year that you do it,' to where it’s not after you didn’t get a play in a game and you say, ‘Ah I’m gonna go transfer.' You wait until the end of your competitive season. Maybe you wait until the end of the academic year and there’s a window that allows you to do that. Right now, it’s wide open.
Q: On the subject of College Football Playoff expansion, you’re only one voice, but what would it look like if you made the decision?
Byrne: I come from a different perspective than most. The College Football Playoff has been really good to the University of Alabama. So [far it] has worked really well for us. What I think we need to look at collectively, though, is making sure that teams feel like they have hope when they start the year. To have a chance to have a good football season and if they have a great one, that they have a chance to go to the playoff. ...
But I also think you’ve got to look at how many games are played during the course of the season as part of the discussion. The home game, playing games at home, I think has some value that would be good for the communities. It would be good for the teams.
I understand the thought of expanding. But I think it’s not just as simple as saying, ‘Hey we’re going to expand and not look at all those other parameters of things that would be impacted by this.' What are the consequences of it, good and bad?
Contact Alabama reporter Nick Kelly: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly