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Alabama coach Nick Saban turns down Wisconsin's home-and-home offer

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Old Jul 3, 2012, 08:06 PM   #1
Dan
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Alvarez, who handled scheduling when he coached the Badgers from 1990 to '05, said Bielema countered with an offer to play a home-and-home series with the Crimson Tide -- no specific years were discussed -- but that Alabama coach Nick Saban declined.

http://host.madison.com/sports/colle...a4bcf887a.html

Last edited by Dan; Jul 3, 2012 at 08:29 PM.
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Old Jul 3, 2012, 09:11 PM   #2
256ILLINI
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Great news. Saban wanted to play at Soldier. How embarrassing would that have been if Alabama played there before Illinois did?
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Old Jul 4, 2012, 08:02 AM   #3
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Great news. Saban wanted to play at Soldier. How embarrassing would that have been if Alabama played there before Illinois did?
He just wants to play at Soldier Field to make a Chicago-area recruiting trip. And Bielema would enjoy it, too. Screw that. Go play at Lambeau!
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Old Jul 4, 2012, 08:14 AM   #4
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strange thing is, 'Bama could play Ball State at Soldier and sell the place out, mean while we would be lucky to sell 50,000 playing them there.
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Old Jul 4, 2012, 12:54 PM   #5
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strange thing is, 'Bama could play Ball State at Soldier and sell the place out, mean while we would be lucky to sell 50,000 playing them there.
Yep. Amazing what winning does for a program.

It will take at least a decade of consistent winning by the football program before Illini fans really & truly take notice away from the basketball program and fully support it.

It took decades of losing that has caused this current condition, and it will take a long time to gain it all back back too.
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Old Jul 5, 2012, 12:09 PM   #6
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Yep. Amazing what winning does for a program.

It will take at least a decade of consistent winning by the football program before Illini fans really & truly take notice away from the basketball program and fully support it.

It took decades of losing that has caused this current condition, and it will take a long time to gain it all back back too.
Its frankly remarkable Illinois still has any fans. Maybe is because its the same state that brought you the Cubs. In any event, you are right on.
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Old Jul 5, 2012, 02:25 PM   #7
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Its frankly remarkable Illinois still has any fans. Maybe is because its the same state that brought you the Cubs. In any event, you are right on.
Which other in-state team are we gonna cheer for and watch? Northwestern? :rolleyes:
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Old Jul 6, 2012, 08:49 AM   #8
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Its frankly remarkable Illinois still has any fans. Maybe is because its the same state that brought you the Cubs. In any event, you are right on.
This is a bit overstated coming off two consecutive bowl wins -- no matter how we got there. It's not like we were winless.

That said, I agree with the original sentiment. Alabama is a football power. Illinois just isn't right now. Until it is, playing at Soldier Field has just as much potential for embarrassment as it does for progress.

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Old Jul 7, 2012, 12:36 PM   #9
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What'sa matter, Nick? Chicken?
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 03:15 PM   #10
256ILLINI
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What'sa matter, Nick? Chicken?
I don't know if you have noticed, but Alabama plays 1 non conference game a year against a top team at a neutral site. They play Michigan at the Dallas Cowboy's stadium this year

He's not going to commit to a two year contract where each team plays at home once

This is about staying in the public's eye and always being one of the biggest non conference games all year.


And in my opinion, Alabama would absolutely destroy Wisconsin. They'd be stupid to play Alabama more than once
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 03:26 PM   #11
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I don't know if you have noticed, but Alabama plays 1 non conference game a year against a top team at a neutral site. They play Michigan at the Dallas Cowboy's stadium this year

He's not going to commit to a two year contract where each team plays at home once
his is about staying in the public's eye and always being one of the biggest non conference games all year.
And in my opinion, Alabama would absolutely destroy Wisconsin. They'd be stupid to play Alabama more than once

Yes, I have noticed. They never play a non-conference game against another top team in that team's stadium.

Last edited by Dan; Jul 7, 2012 at 05:11 PM.
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 03:44 PM   #12
256ILLINI
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Yes, I have noticed. They never play a non-conference game against another top team in that team's stadium.
No, but they do plenty of that in the SEC, wouldn't you agree?
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 04:01 PM   #13
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No, but they do plenty of that in the SEC, wouldn't you agree?
Of course. But that's not the topic of discussion.

Last edited by dgcrow; Jul 7, 2012 at 04:14 PM.
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 04:21 PM   #14
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Didn't Alabama just finish a home and home with Penn St?
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 04:29 PM   #15
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Didn't Alabama just finish a home and home with Penn St?
You are correct. My bad - forgot about that. So Saban was willing to play Penn State in University Park, but is not willing to play Wisconsin in Madison. (Or perhaps the PSU home and home was scheduled before he became Alabama's coach?)
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Old Jul 7, 2012, 04:50 PM   #16
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You are correct. My bad - forgot about that. So Saban was willing to play Penn State in University Park, but is not willing to play Wisconsin in Madison. (Or perhaps the PSU home and home was scheduled before he became Alabama's coach?)
And on further checking, I see where right now Alabama has a home and home scheduled with Michigan State in 2016 - 2017.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 11:45 AM   #17
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Alabama's rivalry with PSU dates back to the Bear Bryant years. It is not frequently played, but has a story behind it.
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