New Exhibit Celebrates 25 Years of Softball

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A new exhibit at the Paul W. Bryant Museum honors the players and coaches of the first 25 years of softball at The University of Alabama.

“Alabama Softball – The First 25 Years” opened May 6 and includes a mural with the names of every player and coach from 1997 to 2021. The exhibit highlights players who earned First Team All-American honors and includes trophies from the team’s Southeastern Conference titles and Women’s College World Series appearances.

“We really wanted the exhibit to be more immersive than some of our previous exhibits,” said Paul W. Bryant Museum Director Olivia Arnold. “We have a wall that symbolizes the Brickyard, complete with green carpeting to mimic the grass and crushed brick that mimics the warning track. To complete the exhibit, UA carpenters, who built the lockers at Rhoads Stadium, built reproduction lockers for us.”

The lockers will highlight five individual players at a time, with the players being rotated on a regular basis. The first five players being featured are Stephanie VanBrakle-Prothro, Charlotte Morgan, Jackie Traina, Bailey Hemphill and Montana Fouts.

Arnold said the idea for the exhibit came about after a conversation she had with Alabama Head Softball Coach Patrick Murphy. “The museum’s mission is telling the story of all sports here at The University of Alabama,” Arnold said. “When Coach Murphy and I spoke about the softball team having just completed their 25th season, it immediately struck me that celebrating the first quarter-century of softball was an excellent idea for our temporary exhibit space.”

The Paul W. Bryant Museum, located on The University of Alabama campus, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets must be purchased online or at the museum. For more information, call 1-866-772-BEAR (2327) or visit their website.