Big Al, the elephant mascot of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team, enjoys all the activities associated with the Homecoming celebration and game.

The extraordinary story of how Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, his star quarterback at the University of Alabama, led the Crimson Tide to victory and transformed football into a truly national pastime. During the bloodiest years of the civil rights movement, Bear Bryant and Joe Namath-two of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports-changed the game of college football forever. Brilliantly and urgently drawn, this is the gripping account of how these two very different men-Bryant a legendary coach in the South who was facing a pair of ethics scandals that threatened his career, and Namath a cocky Northerner from a steel mill town in Pennsylvania-led the Crimson Tide to a national championship. To Bryant and Namath, the game was everything. But no one could ignore the changes sweeping the nation between 1961 and 1965-from the Freedom Rides to the integration of colleges across the South and the assassination of President Kennedy. Against this explosive backdrop, Bryant and Namath changed the meaning of football. Their final contest together, the 1965 Orange Bowl, was the first football game broadcast nationally, in color, during prime time, signaling a new era for the sport and the nation. Award-winning biographer Randy Roberts and sports historian Ed Krzemienski showcase the moment when two thoroughly American traditions-football and Dixie-collided. A compelling story of race and politics, honor and the will to win, Rising Tide captures a singular time in America. More than a history of college football, this is the story of the struggle and triumph of a nation in transition and the legacy of two of the greatest heroes the sport has ever seen.

Every autumn, Saturdays belong to college football. Passionate fans pack stadiums across the country. Millions more watch on live television. Learn more about the history of the Alabama Crimson Tide, who won their 17th national championship in 2017! Title includes a timeline, fast facts, a glossary, further readings, online resources, and an index.

When legendary coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant died in 1983, Alabama lost one of college football's most successful coaches. Then, in 1990, the University of Alabama hired Gene Stallings, a true Bear Bryant man, and the Tide began to roll again. After an 11-0 regular season, the Tide trounced the high-powered Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl to win the National Championship.

Highlights some of the important personalities and key moments in football played at the University of Alabama.

The University of Alabama boasts one of the nation's most storied football programs, and the recruiting acumen of coaches like Bear Bryant and Nick Saban plays a major role in that. The Road to Bama is a wild ride into the competitive world of college football recruiting, revealing how many Crimson Tide players found their way to Tuscaloosa.