Alabama head coach Nick Saban named 'most powerful coach in sports' by Forbes
Thursday, August 14, 2008 IAN R. RAPOPORTNews staff writer
TUSCALOOSA -- With a record-breaking contract, total control over one of the nation's premier football programs, and a transcendent impact on the University of Alabama, coach Nick Saban has power.
Forbes Magazine has determined exactly how much.
The Sept. 1 issue of the respected business and finance magazine anoints Saban The Most Powerful Coach in Sports, according to an advance copy released Wednesday on Forbes.com. The latest edition, which features a close-up shot of Saban standing in Bryant-Denny Stadium,hits newsstands Friday morning.
No coach, including those in the professional leagues, can match Saban's combination of money, control, and influence, wrote Monte Burke, the author of the story.
Saban became the first college football coach to be featured on the front of the magazine since it was created in 1917. Expect the magazine to become the most purchased Forbes in the state's history.
Forbes argues that the money and control Alabama has given Saban not to mention his eight-year, $32-million contract has raised the stakes to an unprecedented level.
Forbes has added to its influential product over the years by producing lists such as The World's Richest People and The Celebrity 100, and the World's Priciest Cocktails.
No list accompanies this article.
It is only Saban.
The idea for the article began to take shape six months ago, after Burke finished profiling Memphis basketball coach John Calipari. Burke, who often focuses on sports business, noticed the similarities between CEOs and coaches.
"I started looking around, going, "Who's the biggest fish in this pond?" Burke said by phone. "It struck me that person was Coach Saban."
First, there is the money. Saban's $32 million contract over eight years actually pays him closer to $5 million per year, economist Andrew Zimbalist told the magazine.
To explain Saban's power, Forbes details the oversight he has over the program. Burke cites the fact that Saban was handed the keys to the program as a show of power.
The writer supports his argument that Saban's hire goes beyond football by explaining Saban's positive influence on the University of Alabama's capital campaign, the increase in the quality of applicants, and the way he controls every aspect of his program.
The UA football program generated $54 million in revenue last year, Forbes reported, and $32 million in profit. Football's financial success helps pay off the school's $130 debt from capital improvements.
According to UA President Robert Witt, Saban has affected the quality of student at Alabama. Before his hire, 54 percent of the applicants were in the top quarter of their high school class. This past year, that number was at 57 percent, according to Forbes.
Burke also refers to Saban as Big Brother, referring to the control he has over every aspect of UA. Interesting, that also extends to donors.
According to Burke, Saban interviewed two dozen or so boosters to determine their worthiness to act as ambassadors.
To further emphasize his power, Burke notes that unlike in the NFL, Saban does not need to contend with an owner or general manager. Mostly, it's just him.
He also asks the question, Can he deliver?
"We expect him to be successful," Witt told Forbes.
Said Burke: "It's pretty clear to me that for a lot of important folks at Alabama, the answer is yes."
