Former Alabama Athletic Director Bill Battle Hospitalized With COVID-19
Former University of Alabama athletic director Bill Battle has been hospitalized with COVID-19.
“I appreciate the prayers and well-wishes from so many, and want to let you know that I’m stable and resting comfortably,” Battle said in a statement. “I’ve got great doctors and nurses at UAB looking after me and expect to make a full recovery. Time and patience are important in the meantime.”
He took over as the school’s athletic director from Mal Moore in 2013 and retired from the position in 2017. Greg Byrne was hired as his replacement.
Battle, a Birmingham native, is an Alabama alum and played football under the legendary Paul W. Bryant and was a three-year starter from 1960-1962, while he was at the Capstone. He is also known for his time as the head coach at Tennessee from 1970-1976.
Bill Battle coaching at Tennessee
He led the Volunteers to a 59-22-2 record and kept the program ranked in the top 20 of the final AP poll five of his seven years in Knoxville. However, he did end up with a 1-6 record against the Crimson Tide.
One of his major off the field contributions was the founding of The Collegiate Licensing Company in 1981, which is a multi-million dollar business now. The first school to be one of his first clients was Alabama in 1983.
Back in 2014, Battle had a bout with a form of cancer and received stem cell transplants in 2016 at Emory University in Atlanta that caused him to take a leave of absence, while at the Capstone.
Christopher Walsh
