Academics and Student Success
Crimson Tide student-athletes are known for both their elite performances in sport and in the classroom. The centerpiece of Alabama's academic and student success operation is the Bill Battle Academic Center. Lead by deputy athletic director Mike Ward, the Bill Battle Academic Center houses a team of sport-specific academic advisors, learning specialists, and more than 140 subject-matter and strategy tutors. This team of experts helps Alabama's student-athletes excel in each of the more than 70 undergraduate majors and 120+ graduate programs.
Located in what once stood as Bryant Hall, home to many of Alabama's greatest student-athletes from the 1960s through the 1990s, the facility underwent a renovation in 2005, converting it into 52,000 square feet of academic and student success space. Now known as the Bill Battle Academic Center, the building includes more than 40 individual study and tutoring rooms, three multimedia classrooms, a computer lab and two math labs. There is also an Academic Hall of Fame celebrating Alabama's rich history of developing academic all-Americans, the highest accolade combining sport and academic excellence. Alabama ranks fifth all-time in Division I in the production of academic all-Americans.
Additionally, the Bill Battle Academic Center is home to the Susan and Gaylon McCollough A-Club Career and Leadership Development Center. There, student-athletes focus on interpersonal development, leadership training, internships and career exploration, and service-based initiatives under the guidance of the Student-Athlete Enhancement staff.
From the moment a student-athlete arrives on campus until the day they walk across the stage at commencement, student-athletes are provided with individualized resources tailored to their unique needs. Working with their advisor and learning specialist, each student-athlete's individual strengths and readiness are assessed through screening tests, interviews with the student and family, and a review of academic and career goals. A student-athlete's courseload is carefully balanced and classes are strategically selected based on the individual's academic goals, whether their sport is in-season or out-of-season, an accounting of expected travel and missed class time, and after a careful review of prior results. All of this is done with an understanding of the rigors of sport in the nation's most competitive athletic conference, the Southeastern Conference. This academic plan is an ongoing dialogue between student and advisor and is continually revised.
Throughout this process, the Bill Battle Academic Center staff works as a liaison between the athletic department and the university's undergraduate and graduate divisions, as well as administrative offices. The staff ensures all student-athletes are maintaining satisfactory progress toward a degree and meeting SEC and NCAA eligibility requirements.
Facts and Figures from the most recent year
- Alabama's average student-athlete GPA is 3.32
- Alabama had 440 student-athletes on the SEC honor roll (3.0+) and 304 on the Dean's List (3.5+)
- Alabama tallied more the 150 student-athlete graduates
- Alabama student-athletes are represented in 74 different majors
- Alabama maintains a 95% Graduation Success Rate, among the highest in the SEC and all of Division I
- Some recent popular majors for student-athletes include general business, finance, sport management, biology, kinesiology, advertising, engineering, psychology, public health and education
- The Bill Battle Academic Center houses career specialists, hosts major fairs and arranges numerous micro-internships designed to help undecided student-athletes select their major and career path
- Numerous student-athletes at Alabama will pursue sport as a career, competing in nearly all professional leagues and the Olympics. Advisors understand, expect and encourage these paths and build graduation timelines accordingly. They also help prepare student-athletes for careers after retirement from sport.
About The University of Alabama
- The University of Alabama is an R1 Doctoral Research institution with very high research activity
- Alabama has over 1000 National Merit Scholars on campus
- Ranked No. 8 best college campus in America
- Ranked Top 20 in best schools for internships among public institutions
- Ranked Top 20 in best alumni networks among public schools
- Continues to produce numerous Fulbright, Goldwater, Rhodes and Truman Scholars, including being the nation's top producer of Fulbright Scholars in six of the most recent eight years
- Has numerous undergraduate and graduate programs ranked among the best in the nation, including Business, Law, Communications and more
