Georgia Businessman Gives $250,000 to UA Crimson Tradition Fund

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Robert R. “Bob” Pope, of Douglasville, Ga., has given $250,000 to the Crimson Tradition Fund, a $100 million fundraising campaign for University of Alabama athletic facility improvements.

A 1955 graduate of UA, Pope is the founder, chairman and president of Pope Capital Ventures, a banking and financial consulting firm. One of the football team’s new meeting rooms will be named the Robert R. Pope Offensive Team Meeting Room in recognition of Pope’s gift.

The Crimson Tradition Fund, chaired by Paul Bryant Jr., seeks to raise $50 million from private gifts and another $50 million from the issuance of bonds. Naming opportunities are available for gifts of $100,000 or more.

Pope has more than 30 years of banking experience, including serving 20 years as president and chair of The Commercial Bank in Douglasville. He previously served as president and CEO of Exchange National Bank in Montgomery and chairman and president of the Bank of Heflin.

A former member of multiple committees of the Independent Bankers’ Association of America, Pope earlier served as state director of that association, where he represented Georgia’s community bankers. He has also served as president, treasurer and first vice-president of the Independent Bankers’ Association of Georgia.

Active in his community, Pope was a charter board member of the Douglasville-Douglas County Arts Council, has served as a member of the Board of Atlanta Area Boy Scouts, chaired the Douglas County United Way, and was a long-time member and former chair of the Development Authority of Douglas County.

He and his wife, Virginia, live in Douglasville, Ga. They have three children and six grandchildren.

For more information on the Crimson Tradition Fund Campaign, contact the Office of Athletic Development at 205/348-9018.

Funds for the campaign are targeted for the renovation of Paul W. Bryant Hall into an academic support center for student athletes and, in conjunction, construction of a residence hall for freshmen and sophomore football players and College of Engineering students; an expansion of the football complex to include a new weight room, revitalized dressing rooms, squad room and recruiting center; new turf for the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Area, which has already been completed; modernization of Coleman Coliseum, including a new lobby, coaches’ offices and concourse and seating areas; new tennis and soccer complexes; and expansion of the north end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium.