The Alabama football program is among six recipients of the 2019 American Football Coaches Association Academic Achievement Award, the association announced recently. This is the second time in the last three years the Crimson Tide has earned this recognition.
Alabama is one of six football programs to receive the honor this year, joining the Air Force Academy, Clemson, Louisville, Rice and Utah. The NCAA’s single-year Academic Progress Rate is used to select the winner and all six schools posted perfect scores of 1,000 for 2017-18.
Alabama’s success on the field over the past 12 seasons under head coach Nick Saban has coincided with the Crimson Tide’s success in the classroom. The 2019 squad is no exception as Alabama enters the season with eight players who already had degrees in hand heading into the opener with Duke. The eight Tide graduates are Giles Amos, Mike Bernier, Shyheim Carter, Landon Dickerson, Miller Forristall, Anfernee Jennings, Chris Owens and Matt Womack. Since 2013, Alabama has seen 158 degrees earned (graduate and undergraduate) by players who were still suiting up for the Crimson Tide after having graduated. Since the 2010 season, Alabama has seen an impressive 24 players earn a master’s degree before stepping foot on the field for the final time.
Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate.
The Academic Achievement Award was established by the College Football Association in 1981. The award recognized the CFA-member Football Bowl Subdivision institution with the highest graduation rate among members of its football team. When the CFA disbanded in 1997, the AFCA stepped in to present the award.