Vote to send major money to charity…

Tom Campbell

Alabama’s Nick Saban with Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram Saturday in New York…

Alabama’s Nick Saban is up for coach of the year honors, and you can vote to help him win and contribute to charity at the same time, says Pat Whetstone, Director of Alumni Affairs for The University of Alabama.

In a press release today, Whetstone said these goals have been successfully achieved this year:

Winning the SEC Championship

Pasadena bound for the National Championship Game

Mark Ingram winning the Heisman

Next on the list?

Coach Saban winning the Liberty Mutual’s Coach of the Year

The final voting stage has begun. The coach who receives the most votes wins a $50,000 donation to his favorite charity plus a $20,000 donation to his school’s Alumni Scholarship Fund.

“This will be a great opportunity for Nick’s Kids and the Alabama Alumni Association,” Whetstone said.

You can vote once a day until Dec. 29th.

Go to CoachOfTheYear.com and vote once a day…

While you’re at it, VOTE IN OUR POLL…

Guest Column
by Tom Campbell

NEW YORK — Few people ever have a chance to be arms’ length from greatness. As a lifelong fan of Alabama football, I feel lucky to know that I’ve been a witness to an event that will become a part of Alabama’s fabled history.

To have had such an opportunity twice is remarkable. On both occasions, I tried to burn each detail into my memory because I knew the events before me were celebrating a legacy of pride and greatness.

Two celebrations of excellence of historic proportions for the storied University of Alabama football program will endure in my memory.

Tom Campbell

Mark Ingram will carry the Heisman experience for the rest of his life

Over 25 years ago, as my last official act as student body president at the University of Alabama, I attended the funeral of Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. As sad as Bryant’s funeral and grave site procession were, the Alabama family celebrated a man whose impact upon his players, coaches, university and fans proved immeasurable.

Economic times were hard then, and folks rallied around the prowess and class surrounding the football institution Coach Bryant built. During a time when people were losing a lot — jobs, bonuses, homes — Alabama football offered fans in the community something to be proud of and helped people feel like winners. Despite the celebratory remembrance of Bryant’s life and career, this event nevertheless marked an end.

Now, decades later, in the midst of a terrible economic climate, I had the opportunity to observe another event crucial to the history of Alabama’s football program as a special assignment reporter for the Locust Fork News Journal. However, this celebration, at the announcement of the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, marked a new beginning rather than an end.

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