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| Established | 1985 |
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| Location | Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Visitors | 35,000 |
| Website | www.bryant.ua.edu |
The Paul W. Bryant Museum is located on the campus of the University of Alabama, [1] in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. [2] Founded in 1985, [3] the museum was opened in 1988 to "house the history of Alabama football, with special emphasis on the legendary coach" Bear Bryant. [4]
On the suggestion of former head football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, a planning committee was created in 1981 to establish a museum that would honor former coaches and players who helped Bryant set the intercollegiate coaching record for the most victories. The committee considered Bryant's suggestion and established that the museum would take on two missions: "inclusion of the entire football history from the first team in 1892 and creating a collections component establishing the foundation of our current institution". [5] About a third of the collection is about coach Bryant.
Since its inception in 1985, the museum has grown in staff, services, and exhibits. It has become a central source of information for both journalists and writers interested in the history of university athletics. [6] [7] [8] In addition to building its collection, the museum has begun focusing on public programming such as informational and education services and tours for school groups. [5] The University of Alabama campus and the local communities' support have helped to establish the museum as one of the attractions to the region.
Originally organized under the supervision of the University of Alabama Museums system, the Bryant Museum has become a freestanding unit reporting directly to the Vice President/Provost of the University in response to the growth in mission and function of the museum.[ citation needed ]
On April 21, 2007, the museum posted its largest ever attendance at 4,367. This was in connection with the school's annual A-Day football game which also saw a record 92,138 fans in the seats. [9]
The museum is part of the University of Alabama Museums, which also include the University of Alabama Arboretum, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Discovering Alabama, Gorgas House, Moundville Archaeological Museum and Office of Archaeological Research.
Among the exhibits at the museum are a Waterford Crystal houndstooth hat which commemorates the Coach's headwear and the Daniel Moore painting used to create the 32-cent U.S. postage stamp which celebrated the life of Bryant. [10] The museum also houses a research room where all of Alabama's games, both victories, defeats and even embarrassments can be viewed and studied. Officials claim over 1,000 such videos. [11] The museum also maintains a listing of people who were named for Bryant. Bryant's former players and fans have named their children Bryant, Paul, Bear and even Paula after Coach Bryant. Every September, the Paul W. Bryant Museum hosts a namesake reunion and there are over 600 namesakes that have attended this annual event. The oldest namesake (besides Coach Bryant's son Paul Bryant, Jr.) is Bryant Darrell Brown, son of Junction Survivor Darrell Brown who, due to being academically ineligible to play in 1956, surprised even Coach Bryant when he came back to play his last year of eligibility on Texas A&M's 1957 team which was ranked #1 at the time Coach Bryant accepted Alabama's offer. Darrell was the only Junction Boy to also play in Coach Bryant's last season at Texas A&M. Darrell Brown's grandson, Bryant Andrew Brown, is a second generation Bryant namesake. At over 600 names it is not definitive, but the list supports the idea that many Alabamians were enamored enough of the coach to name their children in his honor. [12]
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be the greatest college football coach of all time, and best known as the head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for the most wins (323) as a head coach in collegiate football history. The Paul W. Bryant Museum, Paul W. Bryant Hall, Paul W. Bryant Drive, and Bryant–Denny Stadium are all named in his honor at the University of Alabama. He was also known for his trademark black and white houndstooth hat, deep voice, casually leaning up against the goal post during pre-game warmups, and holding his rolled-up game plan while on the sidelines. Before arriving at Alabama, Bryant was head football coach at the University of Maryland, the University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University.
The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA. There are two awards. One of them—the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award—has been given annually since 1986 to NCAA college football's national coach of the year. The Award was named in honor of longtime Alabama coach Bear Bryant after he died of a heart attack in 1983. It is voted on by the National Sports Media Association and proceeds from the awards ceremony benefit the Houston chapter of the American Heart Association, which is the organizing sponsor—since 1986, at the request of the Bryant family—and which obtains a "presenting sponsor". The College Football Coach of the Year Award began in 1957 and was renamed for Bryant in 1986. Bryant himself won the AFCA Coach of the Year award in 1961, 1971, and 1973.
Frank William Thomas was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Chattanooga from 1925 to 1928 and at the University of Alabama from 1931 to 1946, compiling a career college football record of 141–33–9. During his tenure at Alabama, Thomas amassed a record of 115–24–7 and won four Southeastern Conference titles while his teams allowed an average of just 6.3 points per game. Thomas's 1934 Alabama team completed a 10–0 season with a victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl and was named national champion by a number of selectors.
Charles Byron Pell was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida football teams. Pell was credited with laying the foundation for the later success of both programs, but his coaching career was tainted by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules violations.
Big Al is the costumed elephant mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Patrick Lee Trammell was an All-American quarterback for the University of Alabama from 1958 to 1961.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team's head coach is Nick Saban, who has led the Tide to six national championships over his tenure. The Crimson Tide is among the most storied and decorated football programs in NCAA history. Since beginning play in 1892, the program claims 18 national championships, including 13 wire-service national titles in the poll-era, and five other titles before the poll-era. From 1958 to 1982, the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six national titles with the program. Despite numerous national and conference championships, it was not until 2009 that an Alabama player received a Heisman Trophy, when running back Mark Ingram became the university's first winner. In 2015, Derrick Henry became the university's second Heisman winner. The Crimson Tide won back to back Heisman trophies in 2020 and 2021, with DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young.
The Paul Bryant Bridge is a four-lane, 150-foot-tall (46 m), $28 million bridge spanning the Black Warrior River along Alabama State Route 297 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Construction of the 3,785-foot-long (1,154 m), twin-span bridge commenced in March 2000. Originally slated to open in December 2003, construction delays resulted in its opening on April 23, 2004.
Northridge High School is a public high school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, enrolling just over 1000 students in grades 9–12 as of spring 2021. It is one of three high schools in the Tuscaloosa City School District. It offers technical and academic programs, as well as joint enrollment with Shelton State Community College and the University of Alabama. Northridge High School is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The 1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 87th overall and 48th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 24th year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with nine wins, two losses and one tie, as SEC co-champions with Georgia and with a loss against Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
John Mitchell, Jr. is an American football coach and former collegiate player. Over the course of his career, Mitchell has broken several racial barriers, one of which was being the first black player for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Currently, he is the assistant head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Paul W. Bryant High School serves grades 9 through 12 and is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, forming part of the Tuscaloosa City Schools. The school is named after former Alabama Crimson Tide football head coach Paul William "Bear" Bryant. The school competes as part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association in Region 4 of the 6A division.
The 1946 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1946 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 52nd overall and 13th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas, in his 15th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Legion Field in Birmingham and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. They finished with a record of seven wins and four losses.
Paul Burnum was a coach of multiple sports at the University of Alabama, having served as head coach of the school's men's basketball and baseball teams and an assistant for the football team. He was also the head football coach at Tuscaloosa High School in the university's home city of Tuscaloosa, where he led the Black Bears to an undefeated record, five state championships and a pair of national championships during his five-year tenure there. After his career as a coach ended, Burnum worked in private business and served as a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. After his death in 1981, Burnum was posthumously inducted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
The Bear Bryant Show was a weekly coaches' show that served as a weekly recap of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team's previous day's game. The show ran during the tenure of head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from the 1958 through the 1982 seasons. Co-hosted by John Forney (1961–1965), Bill Austin (1966), Charley Thornton (1967–1981) and Steadman Shealy (1982), The Bear Bryant Show was a cultural phenomenon within the state of Alabama that contributed to the rise in popularity and awareness of the university's football program during the 1960s and 1970s. The show ran for an hour during its entire run.
Jim Bunch is a former American football player and businessman. He played offensive guard for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide from 1976 through 1979 and was a member of the 1978 and 1979 national championship teams and a consensus selection to the 1979 College Football All-America Team. After his collegiate career, Bunch played one season as a semi-professional with the West Virginia Rockets. After his playing career ended, Bunch entered the hospitality business. Presently Bunch serves as an innkeeper at Winston Place, a bed and breakfast listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Valley Head, Alabama.
The Alabama Crimson Tide football team represents the University of Alabama in American football.
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Coordinates: 33°12′20″N87°32′7″W / 33.20556°N 87.53528°W
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