Former Alabama AD, football player Bill Battle dies at 82, school announces

Former Alabama athletic director and football player Bill Battle has died, the school announced on Thursday. He was 82.

Battle played football for the Crimson Tide under Bear Bryant in the 1960s before going on to a brief coaching career. He would start Collegiate Licensing Company, which was eventually bought by IMG, and serve for four years as the Alabama athletic director, starting in 2013.

“Bill Battle’s legacy at The University of Alabama is profound and enduring,” university president Stuart A. Bell said in a press release. “His generosity and visionary leadership elevated our institution and enriched the lives of countless students and colleagues. His dedication to excellence and steadfast devotion to UA will inspire generations to come. We are forever grateful for his friendship and his lasting impact on our community.”

Battle was a member of Bryant’s first national championship team in 1961 and was named to the Alabama all-decade team for the 1960s as a first-team tight end and second-team defensive end.

After his playing career, Battle briefly got into coaching, working for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma and making brief stops at the United States Military Academy — while serving for two years — and eventually served as Tennessee’s head coach.

“Coach Battle was a great player and top prospect in the South when he came to Alabama at a time when the program was down. He started for Papa for three years including a national championship. He created the licensing industry that The University and schools nationwide still benefit from today. He was a major donor to The University. When we needed him again, he left retirement to help us as Athletic Director,” Paul Bryant Jr. said in the release.

After his four-year spell as the Alabama athletic director in the 2010s, Battle remained engaged with the university and worked in an advisory capacity.

Battle is also an inductee to numerous Halls of Fame for his work in and around athletics. He’s in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (1981), the National Collegiate Licensing Association Hall of Fame (2000), the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association Hall of Fame (2008), the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators Hall of Fame (2010), the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (2011), the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame (2016) and the Alabama Business Hall of Fame (2017).

“Bill Battle was first class in every way,” former Alabama football coach Nick Saban said in the release. “He represented The University of Alabama with tremendous character and integrity. He was an outstanding football player at Alabama, a successful collegiate head coach and visionary who revolutionized the business of college athletics. I got to know him best when he returned to direct the Alabama athletics department where his vision and leadership were driving factors in the Crimson Tide’s success that resulted in our 2015 national championship. Terry and I are saddened by his passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Mary and their entire family. He will be deeply missed.”