Mal Moore, the recently retired Alabama Athletic Director best known as the man who hired Nick Saban as football coach in 2007 passed away on Saturday, according to the school.
He was 73-years-old.
Moore was a man tied to Alabama since his teen years, as a player for legendary coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant from 1958 to 1962, before he became an assistant coach for the school’s football team in two separate stints, from 1964-1982 and later 1990-1993.
However Moore’s greatest prestige came from his final role as an administrator at Alabama, where he began as an Assistant Athletic Director in 1994. He continued in that role until 1999, when he was named the Athletic Director. It was a role he held until earlier this month, when he stepped down after being hospitalized in Durham, NC.
While Moore accomplished quite a bit during his nearly 15 year run as the Athletic Director at Alabama (the building which homes of Alabama athletics is known as the ‘Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility’), he will always be best remembered as the man who brought Nick Saban to Tuscaloosa. It only came after a handful of others turned down the job, and after the school thought they had then West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez set to accept the position.
Regardless, Moore eventually got Saban, and has seen the profile of the football program go from a club stuck in the middle of the SEC quagmire to unquestionably the top school in the sport. Alabama has won three National Championships in the last four seasons, and will likely begin the 2013 season ranked No. 1 in the country.
Crystal Ball Run will add more details as they emerge.
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