NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979

SEC TITLES:
1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981

BOWL RECORD:
12-10-2

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR:
1961, 1971, 1973

SEC COACH OF THE YEAR:
1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981

"If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards."

Paul William Bryant was born into poverty on September 11, 1913 in Morro Bottoms, Arkansas. As a young man, he earned five dollars and the life-long nickname "Bear" by wrestling a bear on a theater stage in Fordyce, Arkansas. As an all-state football player at Morro High School he earned a scholarship to play football and attend the University of Alabama. As a player at Alabama, Bryant helped the Crimson Tide to win the first Southeastern Conference Championships in 1933 and 1934. As the Alabama Head Coach from 1958-1982 he compiled an impressive 6 National Championships, 13 SEC Championships, was selected National Coach of the Year 3 times and SEC Coach of the Year 10 times, all while compiling a lifelong coaching record of 323 wins, 85 losses, and 17 ties.

"In a crisis, don't hide behind anything or anybody.
They're going to find you anyway."

After graduation, Bear Bryant was hired as an assistant coach at Alabama in 1935. When World War II came, Bryant served four years in the Navy and upon his return to civilian life he was hired in 1945 as the Head Coach of Maryland. After one year, Bryant moved south to be the Head Coach of Kentucky where he coached the team to four bowl games and won their only Southeastern Conference Championship. Then in 1954 it was on to Texas A&M where in his first year he went 1-9 and suffered through his only losing season. By 1956 Bryant had turned the program around, secured a 9-0-1 season and the Southwest Conference Championship. He stayed with the Aggies one more year and then in 1958 his alma mater called him home.

"What matters...is not the size of the dog in the fight,
but of the fight in the dog."

By 1958, at the age of 44 his reputation as a first rate football coach with a fiery temper and a love for God and country was well known. For the next twenty odd years, Paul "Bear" Bryant made a houndstooth hat and a rolled up depth chart synonymous with winning football. His gravelly voice had nothing but compliments and praise for his opponents. He embodied the idea of sportmanship and winning with class. Bryant was known as a perfectionist and a tinkerer. The single-wing, the Notre Dame box, the pro-set, and the Wishbone were all improved and worked to perfection under Bryant's tutelage.

"Age has nothing to do with it.
You can be out of touch at any age."

Coach Bryant died January 26, 1983, four weeks after he coached his beloved Crimson Tide to victory over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl. Paul William "Bear" Bryant was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.