Faulkner University announced Nick Saban will be the speaker at Faulkner’s 2024 Benefit Dinner during a press conference held Tuesday June 4, 2024. President Mitch Henry revealed the news on Faulkner’s Montgomery campus.
Faulkner University’s annual benefit dinner is a longstanding tradition and a red-letter-event on the social calendar for Montgomery and the River Region. Each year, Faulkner brings nationally known personalities to Montgomery who will appeal to a broad local audience. In years past, the university has invited U.S. Presidents, International Heads of State, politicians, athletes, coaches, astronauts, and journalists to speak, and we’re thrilled to announce this year’s Benefit Dinner speaker as well as the theme for the evening’s event.
“Our theme this year as a university is relevance. This university is relevant as we aim to impact education, health care, justice and prosperity in this region,” said Faulkner University President Mitch Henry. “We are committed to bringing awareness to what needs to change, what needs to be improved and how we can directly impact this world in a meaningful way as a Christian university. Our theme at this year’s dinner fits well with this purpose as we aim to celebrate the heroes of adoption and foster care who are meeting a critical need in the state of Alabama.”
“This year’s keynote speaker, along with his wife Terry, founded an organization that has gone above and beyond to care for and support organizations that not only support adopted children and foster care children, but any child who is in critical need. They have supported education organizations as well as those who provide direct services to the most vulnerable children in this state and other states. The name of that charity is Nick’s Kids and our speaker is none other than Nick Saban.”
A man of vision who has a proven record of championship success, former head coach of the Crimson Tide for nearly two decades, Nick Saban is all about excellence, about purpose, about process and about giving back to his community. He returned the University of Alabama to the top of the college football landscape with his commitment to building the total program both on and off the field. Saban’s uncompromising dedication to excellence in every phase of the program has resulted in winning six national championship titles with Alabama and one at LSU, surpassing Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most national titles in college football.
A seven-time National Coach of the Year, Saban has achieved resounding success as a head coach and has earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader, organizer and motivator. Saban’s consistent approach and disciplined leadership are the reasons his teams are known for exhibiting grit, determination and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.
Off the field, the focus on academics by Saban and his staff was also evident for his players. The 2007 Alabama team put together one of the finest academic fall semesters in school history. The freshman class set a solid foundation for their future at Alabama as they led the way with an impressive combined grade-point average of 3.10 in the fall.
However, it is Saban’s charitable work that caught the attention of Faulkner University leadership in deciding this year’s keynote speaker.
In his stint at Michigan State as head coach from 1995-99, Saban and his wife Terry started the Nick’s Kids Foundation, which they continued in Tuscaloosa, a vibrant example of their continuing concern for disadvantaged children. Since the Sabans arrived in Tuscaloosa, nearly $6 million has been distributed to students, teachers and children’s causes at over 150 charities through the Nick’s Kids Foundation. They have played a big role in tornado relief efforts in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding areas. Immediately following the devastating storm on April 27, 2011, Nick and Terry visited shelters where they paid for and served meals to those in need. Through Nick’s Kids, the Sabans joined with Project Team Up and Habitat for Humanity in helping to rebuild 15 homes lost in the tornado. In June of 2008, the Sabans announced a $1 million gift to benefit Alabama’s first-generation scholarship program. The gift has a special meaning to the Sabans, as both Nick and Terry were first-generation graduates.
Football and serving his surrounding community have gone hand-in-hand for Saban throughout his career.
Before arriving in Tuscaloosa, Saban’s most recent college head coaching stint was a five-season run at LSU. Saban also spearheaded a $15 million fundraising effort to construct a new academic center for student-athletes at LSU, and he and his players were active in community involvement in the Baton Rouge area, taking part in community service projects, visiting schools to mentor children, and taking time to visit local hospitals on a regular basis.
Saban took over the Alabama program after serving two seasons at the helm of the Miami Dolphins. Saban’s teams showed marked improvement over the unit he inherited. Taking over a team that finished 4-12 in 2004, Saban led the 2005 Dolphins to a 9-7 record, the third-biggest turnaround in the NFL that season and the second-highest victory turnaround for a Dolphins team in any non-strike season.
Before Michigan State, Saban spent four seasons (1991-94) as defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Bill Belichick. He built a reputation as one of the finest defensive coaches in the league and also was heavily involved in the team’s player personnel and scouting process.
Saban’s first head coaching position came at the University of Toledo in 1990. He joined Toledo after serving as secondary coach with the Houston Oilers for two seasons under Jerry Glanville (1988-89), his first NFL coaching position.
A native of Fairmont, W. Va., Saban is a 1973 graduate of Kent State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. He earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Kent State in 1975. Born Oct. 31, 1951, Saban and his wife have two children, Nicholas and Kristen. They have been married for 44 years and are enjoying the company of their granddaughter, Amélie, a daughter-in-law Kelsé and son-in-law Adam Setas.
We invite you all to come hear Nick Saban speak on October 3 at the Renaissance Convention Center in downtown Montgomery. It will be a special event with all proceeds going toward student scholarships.
Tickets are on sale now by calling 334-386-7257 or by visiting www.Faulkner.edu/saban.
