Nick Saban forgot media credential, was denied entry to SEC Media Days by 'polite' staff

Life is a little different for Nick Saban at SEC Media Days in 2024. Of course, he’s no longer the Alabama head coach, but that’s not the only change he’s seeing as the event gets underway in Dallas.

Now a member of ESPN and SEC Network’s contingent, Saban needed a credential to get into SEC Media Days. That’s not something he’s used to, and he was originally denied entry for forgetting it, which is something he joked about during a hit on Monday morning.

“It’s a little different. I’ve never worn a credential in my life,” Saban joked, via Get Up. “Was always, for 17 years, able to get into SEC Media Day without a credential. I had to go back to the room today to get my credential to get in.

“So, that’s one of the biggest changes I see. It’s not like it used to be.”

At least Saban added that the staff was polite in their denial, and Saban was able to return to his hotel room and grab his credential. Now, all is good for the former Crimson Tide leader, but perhaps his championship rings should’ve been enough to get him into the star-studded event.

Nevertheless, Nick Saban may not be at SEC Media Days as a coach in 2024, but he’ll still serve an important role, providing valuable commentary and insight over the next couple of days in Dallas.

More on Nick Saban, SEC Media Days

Alas, the SEC is officially up after the Big 12 got the media coverage started in Las Vegas last week. As teams head to Dallas over the next three days, the SEC Network has revealed their full coverage plans.

The headliner, of course, is former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, as he goes through his first season with ESPN’s family of networks.

Saban joined ESPN in February after announcing his retirement from a 50-year coaching career and will be on the College GameDay desk this season. When the network announced his addition, the plan was for him to be at SEC Media Days, and he headlines the impressive list of analysts who will be at the event.

Greg McElroy, Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper, Chris Doering, Benjamin Watson, Sam Acho, Cole Cubelic and Dusty Dvoracek are also on board, in addition to Saban. They will all be contributing to the network’s coverage, which begins Monday when Greg Sankey kicks off the week of press conferences.

All told, SEC Network is planning nearly 50 hours of content with its staple programs – SEC This Morning, SEC Now and The Paul Finebaum Show – will take over the network for media days. But there will also be some expanded content on ESPN2 as the SEC starts is new media rights deal with ESPN and ABC.

On Wednesday, SEC Now: Live from SEC Football Media Days will air on both ESPN2 and SEC Network. That program will start at 8 p.m. ET, according to the announcement.

There will also be two Homecoming documentaries – narrated by Finebaum – celebrating Texas and Oklahoma, who are officially members of the SEC after leaving the Big 12.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.