Yea Alabama to present luncheons with Nick Saban for NIL fundraising

Alabama and its official NIL entity Yea Alabama have partnered for a series of luncheons featuring football coach Nick Saban called “Nick at Noon.”

Tickets to each of the five luncheons scheduled throughout the fall cost $95 and proceeds will benefit Alabama athletes through NIL deals with Yea Alabama. Tickets are limited to four per person.

The first luncheon is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 8, the day before Alabama hosts Texas. First-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who Alabama hired from Notre Dame, will be the guest at the luncheon.

Each luncheon will be hosted by Chris Stewart, who will interview Saban. There will also be one or two guests for each event, including Alabama football coordinators and assistant coaches, and head coaches from other athletic programs at the university.

Crimson Tide men’s basketball coach Nate Oats and men’s golf coach Jay Seawell are among the featured guests. A press release said additional guests, including other Alabama head coaches, football support staff and former football players, will attend the luncheons.

“We’re thrilled to be involved with Nick at Noon this year,” Yea Alabama Executive Director Jay McPhillips said in a statement provided to On3. “It has been an event that Coach Saban has done for a long time and it seems to grow in popularity each year. I think it’s one of the best events our fans can attend – a great environment the day before a big game, good food, and fantastic insight from the best coach to ever do it. You can’t beat that.

“And Yea Alabama is still relatively new, only having launched in February, so being involved with Nick at Noon provides us a platform to share all the ways we support our student-athletes from an NIL perspective with our fan base.”

Here is the complete schedule for Nick at Noon.

Date: Guest | Location

• Sept. 8: Tommy Rees | Bryant Conference Center
• Sept. 22: Kevin Steele | Bryant Conference Center
• Oct. 13: Travaris Robinson and Freddie Roach | Bryant Conference Center
• Oct. 20: Terry Saban and Jay Seawell | Bryant Conference Center
• Nov. 3: Nate Oats | Coleman Coliseum

The luncheon series shows the collaboration between the athletic department and Yea Alabama. The school announced Nick at Noon on the athletic department website. Some of the university’s most prominent employees have agreed to participate, headlined by Saban.

Tickets are available starting Thursday through RollTide.com and through the Alabama Ticket Office.

Yea Alabama’s NIL activities after launching

Yea Alabama publicly launched in February. The entity shared a video on its X account that included endorsements from Saban, athletic director Greg Byrne and decorated softball pitcher Montana Fouts.

Yea Alabama replaced the now-defunct collective High Tide Traditions in the Alabama market.

Alabama and the new entity that supports its athletes through NIL deals were intentional in calling Yea Alabama an entity rather than a collective.

“There’s [a] certain connotation that comes with the word ‘collective,’ and while we have operations that seem very similar to other collectives and how they operate, because of ours being multifaceted – it’s not just a collective of funds,” executive director Jay McPhillips previously told On3 after Yea Alabama launched. “It is a much more diverse, full entity that helps our student-athletes in multiple capacities.”

Since the university’s official NIL entity launched, it has helped facilitate a trading card deal for Crimson Tide men’s basketball players and hosted a meet and greet for four midyear enrollees on the football team. Yea Alabama also released licensed T-shirts celebrating the men’s basketball team’s sweep of the SEC regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2023.