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10 Years Ago - 2006 in Alabama
Posted on 5/29/16 at 6:41 pm
Posted on 5/29/16 at 6:41 pm
With the middle of 2016 arriving, it's time to look back at the year that was 2006 at the Capstone!
FOOTBALL
Disappointment. That's all that can be said. Following a 10 win season that seemed to be heralding the end of Alabama's wander in the desert, Mike Shula brought in the (rivals.com) 11th ranked recruiting class in the nation, with man-freak Andre Smith as the crown jewel. Smith would give sophomore and Hoover High legend, John Parker Wilson the protection Brodie Croyle desperately could have used. Sadly, instead of building on success, the year was a quick return to earth.
Only 3 games all year were comfertable victories (FIU, Duke and UL-Monroe), everything else was a struggle. Losses to Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Florida....and Mississippi State... and Auburn .....again.... being nowhere in the SEC West talk began to feel like business as usual, Alabama was begnning to feel like, "just another team." The 6th consecutive loss to Auburn proved too much to overlook. Shula, fresh off a contract extension for his 2006 Cotton Bowl win, was let go. A.D. Mal Moore now had to throw the kitchen sink at a splash hire, or he would be cleaning out office as well.
BASKETBALL
Seniors Evan Brock, Chuck Davis and Jean Felix would be tasked with leading a team into a ferocious SEC that would ultimately put 2 teams in the 2006 Final Four (neither were Kentucky btw). Helping them would be Jermareo Davidson, Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele. Up to this point, Mark Gottfried was at the top of his game, turning the Tide Hoops into a Tournament mainstay, reaching the Elite Eight two seasons ago and unceremoniously upset in 2005 by Bruce Pearl's UW-Milwaukee. With 5-star recruit Richard Hendrix added to the mix, the 2006 team's goal was to prove 05 was blip on our path to the elite tier, not the first rumblings of things to come. 2006 dance would be the last NCAA Tournament for Alabama until the next decade.
Bama began the year in the top 15 and were out of the rankings by the 6th week. Alabama rebounded a bit in SEC play, only losing one conference game at home all year (including upsetting Joakim Noah's Florida), which was enough to help them survive a one-and-done showing at the SEC tournament for Selection Sunday. The Tide would win their last NCAA tournament game to date vs Marquette. They then dropped a close game to the eventual runner-up, UCLA.
GYMNASTICS
Sarah Patterson and the Tide would look to erase the pain of 2005, where a the Tide lost the National Title in front of a packed arena of Bama fans (hosted in Auburn long before the gym tigers were nationally relevant).... to their hated rival Georgia (who almost missed the tournament entirely that year). Patterson's team boasted an embarrassment of talent, headlined by 2004 Olympian Terin Humphrey and US National team member, Ashley Miles. The Tide would have a record breaking season in terms of scores and attendance (the 2006 home meet vs Florida remain Bama's highest attended meet in program history) but Georgia would prove too much. The Gym Dawgs roared to an undefeated season on the back Olympian Courtney Kupets, besting Bama at SECs and NCAAs.
SOFTBALL
Patrick Murphy's fledgling program marked it's 10th season (8 of which reached the post-seasn) with a fourth trip to the Womens' College World Series. The Tide punched their ticket to OKC by sweeping #7 Stanford out of the mighty Pac-12. Stephanie VanBrakle, Kelly Montalvo, Staci Ramsey and freshman phenom Brittany Rogers would dominate the SEC finishing 25-4 (starting 15-0), and captured the program's first SEC Championship. The Tide's season would end well short of the WCWS Final though, losing both their games to Northwestern and UCLA.
BASEBALL
Jim Well's boys gave Alabama their last SEC Championship to date and advanced all the way to the Super Regionals, falling to eventual runners up, North Carolina. Matt Downs, Tomm Hunter, Alex Avila, Emeel Salem and Wade LeBlanc would win a league that featured the most teams (8) in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Ricky Moody retires. Alabama's Lady hoops team had risen to prominence in 90s, but largely cooled down in recent years. With Moody heading into the sunset, Alabama looked to Stephany Smith of Middle Tennessee State. Smith had guided the Blue Raiders for 8 years to multiple OVC and Sun Belt titles and 3 NCAA tournaments. She would be aided by future WNBA player, Navonda Moore. The Smith experiment... would prove to be a failure though, as Alabama regressed further, culminating in a winless SEC campaign in 2007. Smith would be shown the door in just 3 years.
Other News
Alabama Rowing would be the Capstone's newest varsity sport, since the addition of Softball and Soccer in 1997.
Construction finishes on Bryant Denny's North Endzone expansion and the champions plaza. Four statues are commissioned for each head coach to bring a national title to Tuscaloosa. Five pedestals are made, with the fifth left empty, waiting for Mike Shula.... or whoever eventually wins that long awaited 13th National Championship.
The University of Alabama celebrates it's 175th anniversary.
FOOTBALL
Disappointment. That's all that can be said. Following a 10 win season that seemed to be heralding the end of Alabama's wander in the desert, Mike Shula brought in the (rivals.com) 11th ranked recruiting class in the nation, with man-freak Andre Smith as the crown jewel. Smith would give sophomore and Hoover High legend, John Parker Wilson the protection Brodie Croyle desperately could have used. Sadly, instead of building on success, the year was a quick return to earth.
Only 3 games all year were comfertable victories (FIU, Duke and UL-Monroe), everything else was a struggle. Losses to Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Florida....and Mississippi State... and Auburn .....again.... being nowhere in the SEC West talk began to feel like business as usual, Alabama was begnning to feel like, "just another team." The 6th consecutive loss to Auburn proved too much to overlook. Shula, fresh off a contract extension for his 2006 Cotton Bowl win, was let go. A.D. Mal Moore now had to throw the kitchen sink at a splash hire, or he would be cleaning out office as well.
BASKETBALL
Seniors Evan Brock, Chuck Davis and Jean Felix would be tasked with leading a team into a ferocious SEC that would ultimately put 2 teams in the 2006 Final Four (neither were Kentucky btw). Helping them would be Jermareo Davidson, Alonzo Gee and Ronald Steele. Up to this point, Mark Gottfried was at the top of his game, turning the Tide Hoops into a Tournament mainstay, reaching the Elite Eight two seasons ago and unceremoniously upset in 2005 by Bruce Pearl's UW-Milwaukee. With 5-star recruit Richard Hendrix added to the mix, the 2006 team's goal was to prove 05 was blip on our path to the elite tier, not the first rumblings of things to come. 2006 dance would be the last NCAA Tournament for Alabama until the next decade.
Bama began the year in the top 15 and were out of the rankings by the 6th week. Alabama rebounded a bit in SEC play, only losing one conference game at home all year (including upsetting Joakim Noah's Florida), which was enough to help them survive a one-and-done showing at the SEC tournament for Selection Sunday. The Tide would win their last NCAA tournament game to date vs Marquette. They then dropped a close game to the eventual runner-up, UCLA.
GYMNASTICS
Sarah Patterson and the Tide would look to erase the pain of 2005, where a the Tide lost the National Title in front of a packed arena of Bama fans (hosted in Auburn long before the gym tigers were nationally relevant).... to their hated rival Georgia (who almost missed the tournament entirely that year). Patterson's team boasted an embarrassment of talent, headlined by 2004 Olympian Terin Humphrey and US National team member, Ashley Miles. The Tide would have a record breaking season in terms of scores and attendance (the 2006 home meet vs Florida remain Bama's highest attended meet in program history) but Georgia would prove too much. The Gym Dawgs roared to an undefeated season on the back Olympian Courtney Kupets, besting Bama at SECs and NCAAs.
SOFTBALL
Patrick Murphy's fledgling program marked it's 10th season (8 of which reached the post-seasn) with a fourth trip to the Womens' College World Series. The Tide punched their ticket to OKC by sweeping #7 Stanford out of the mighty Pac-12. Stephanie VanBrakle, Kelly Montalvo, Staci Ramsey and freshman phenom Brittany Rogers would dominate the SEC finishing 25-4 (starting 15-0), and captured the program's first SEC Championship. The Tide's season would end well short of the WCWS Final though, losing both their games to Northwestern and UCLA.
BASEBALL
Jim Well's boys gave Alabama their last SEC Championship to date and advanced all the way to the Super Regionals, falling to eventual runners up, North Carolina. Matt Downs, Tomm Hunter, Alex Avila, Emeel Salem and Wade LeBlanc would win a league that featured the most teams (8) in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Ricky Moody retires. Alabama's Lady hoops team had risen to prominence in 90s, but largely cooled down in recent years. With Moody heading into the sunset, Alabama looked to Stephany Smith of Middle Tennessee State. Smith had guided the Blue Raiders for 8 years to multiple OVC and Sun Belt titles and 3 NCAA tournaments. She would be aided by future WNBA player, Navonda Moore. The Smith experiment... would prove to be a failure though, as Alabama regressed further, culminating in a winless SEC campaign in 2007. Smith would be shown the door in just 3 years.
Other News
Alabama Rowing would be the Capstone's newest varsity sport, since the addition of Softball and Soccer in 1997.
Construction finishes on Bryant Denny's North Endzone expansion and the champions plaza. Four statues are commissioned for each head coach to bring a national title to Tuscaloosa. Five pedestals are made, with the fifth left empty, waiting for Mike Shula.... or whoever eventually wins that long awaited 13th National Championship.
The University of Alabama celebrates it's 175th anniversary.
This post was edited on 5/29/16 at 7:28 pm
9
Posted on 5/29/16 at 6:58 pm to Lordofwrath88
And I graduated from Alabama.
Posted on 5/29/16 at 7:01 pm to Lordofwrath88
A little inconsistency between the thread title and the body. Opening line says you're going to revisit the '2005-2006' athletic year and then you posted about the 2006 football season which was a part of the 2006-2007 athletic year.
Posted on 5/29/16 at 7:09 pm to aspiclark
Very true, plus there's not much noise from the 2005-2006 fall teams aside from 2005 Volleyball finishing 2nd in the West (highest they've finished since). 2005 Soccer was a 5-14 dumpster fire.
THOUGH, the soccer team did feature this chick
Roll Tide
THOUGH, the soccer team did feature this chick
Roll Tide
This post was edited on 5/29/16 at 7:17 pm
Posted on 5/29/16 at 7:54 pm to Lordofwrath88
Do we need to have an AMA with those who were students at the time?
My first semester was fall 2006.
My first semester was fall 2006.
Posted on 5/29/16 at 9:04 pm to Lordofwrath88
One of the first to be inducted into the Fan Hall of Fame....
LINK
quote:
After suffering a career-ending injury, Alabama soccer player Emily Pitek funneled her energy from the field to the bleachers. Across the street from where her own sports dreams ended, Pitek now cheers for the university’s softball team at Rhoads Stadium. Every game, she leads RUFIO and SHARKBAIT chants in her signature striped overalls and pink sombrero. True to her colors, Pitek led the audience in a “Roll Tide!” cheer at the conclusion of her induction speech into the Fan Hall of Fame. ESPN
LINK
This post was edited on 5/29/16 at 9:05 pm
Posted on 5/29/16 at 9:06 pm to Lordofwrath88
quote:
Only 3 games all year were comfertable victories (FIU, Duke and UL-Monroe)
And those weren't comfortable victories. We were down 3-0 to FIU in the first quarter, and only led 10-3 at the half. And this was a team who was missing 19 players due to a fight against Miami two weeks prior. Duke led us 14-13 at the half. DUKE!!!
Posted on 5/29/16 at 9:38 pm to Lordofwrath88
I went to both the UT and LSU games on the road for football 
Posted on 5/29/16 at 9:42 pm to Gary Busey
I lost a friend after the MSU game.
I also went to the two games at UAB during the weeks that UA played at Arkansas and Florida. Saw UAB lose to MSU in OT the same day that Leigh Tiffin missed 23 field goals.
I also went to the two games at UAB during the weeks that UA played at Arkansas and Florida. Saw UAB lose to MSU in OT the same day that Leigh Tiffin missed 23 field goals.
This post was edited on 5/29/16 at 9:46 pm
Posted on 5/29/16 at 10:24 pm to Lordofwrath88
2006 was the first and damn sure the last time I will ever go to an away game in Knoxville.
Posted on 5/29/16 at 10:36 pm to Dubosed
quote:I've gone up there every other year since 2008.
2006 was the first and damn sure the last time I will ever go to an away game in Knoxville.
Posted on 5/29/16 at 10:50 pm to pvilleguru
how was the Kiffin Homecoming?
Posted on 5/29/16 at 11:34 pm to pvilleguru
I didn't go in '14, but I did in '08, '10' and '12.
Other than the seats being shitty, I've always had a fun time. It's a great drive and really fun from my experience. Downtown Knoxville is awesome.
Other than the seats being shitty, I've always had a fun time. It's a great drive and really fun from my experience. Downtown Knoxville is awesome.
Posted on 5/30/16 at 7:29 am to Lordofwrath88
quote:
how was the Kiffin Homecoming?
It was fine. I've never had any problems there.
However, UT fans were the loudest during that game than any other game I've been to in Knoxville.
This post was edited on 5/30/16 at 7:53 am
Posted on 5/30/16 at 8:11 am to pvilleguru
I will forever remember the media insisting that Bama was living in the past.
Posted on 5/30/16 at 8:17 am to Lordofwrath88
My sister graduated from UA that year.
Posted on 5/30/16 at 12:33 pm to Lordofwrath88
My freshman year at the Capstone.
Posted on 6/1/16 at 6:11 pm to Lordofwrath88
"FOOTBALL
Disappointment. That's all that can be said. Following a 10 win season that seemed to be heralding the end of Alabama's wander in the desert, Mike Shula brought in the (rivals.com) 11th ranked recruiting class in the nation, with man-freak Andre Smith as the crown jewel. Smith would give sophomore and Hoover High legend, John Parker Wilson the protection Brodie Croyle desperately could have used. Sadly, instead of building on success, the year was a quick return to earth."
But that disappointment led to St. Nick Saban so all's well that ends well.
RTR
Disappointment. That's all that can be said. Following a 10 win season that seemed to be heralding the end of Alabama's wander in the desert, Mike Shula brought in the (rivals.com) 11th ranked recruiting class in the nation, with man-freak Andre Smith as the crown jewel. Smith would give sophomore and Hoover High legend, John Parker Wilson the protection Brodie Croyle desperately could have used. Sadly, instead of building on success, the year was a quick return to earth."
But that disappointment led to St. Nick Saban so all's well that ends well.
RTR
Posted on 6/1/16 at 6:15 pm to RollTide4Ever
quote:
10 Years Ago - 2006 in Alabama
I will forever remember the media insisting that Bama was living in the past
Alabama has been passed
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
By Neal McCready
Mobile Register
Some Alabama fans are really funny. I mean, Eddie Murphy-at-his-peak hilarious.
In the wake of Mississippi State's win over Alabama, many Crimson Tide fans came out of the woodwork demanding immediate change.
So bring on Nick Saban. Bring on Rich Rodriguez. You can interview Bobby Petrino, too. Maybe Rutgers' Greg Schiano would make a good coordinator, a coach-in-waiting if Jimmy Johnson isn't willing to commit more than, say, five years to bringing Alabama football back to where it belongs. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to come stalk the same sidelines that the Bear once patrolled? Who wouldn't want to coach in the shadow of greatness? After all, if you're going to fantasize, take it the distance.
The problem, however, for the dreaming Tide nation is that when it wakes up to the real world, Mike Shula's still the coach and the hard truth is he just might be the best Alabama can realistically hope for. The line of prospective coaches just dying to come to Tuscaloosa isn't as long as Tide fans think.
Before every home game, there's that voice. I still can't understand what he says, but it's something about "class," and "we got class," or "win with class." Then the elephant roars and another voice says, "This is Alabama football."
No, that was Alabama football. Those days are long gone and until the powers that be at the Capstone recognize that, all the Tide is going to be able to embrace is history. The people who Alabama football is selling to -- the current high school recruits -- were born in 1988 or 1989. They were 3 years old when Gene Stallings led Alabama to an upset over Miami in the Sugar Bowl and the national championship. Their experience with Alabama football mostly has been controversy, scandal, NCAA sanctions, losing seasons and mediocrity. The ardent Alabama fans among that group remember Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuel leading Alabama to the 1999 SEC title, but they were 11 or 12 then. Since that national championship night in New Orleans, a lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge.
Here's reality: Alabama has been passed. Ask the kids. They're the only ones who really matter. They'll tell you Florida is cool. So is LSU. Ask them about winning tradition and they'll tell you about Auburn, Tennessee and maybe Georgia. South Carolina has Steve Spurrier. Arkansas kids are staying home. Ole Miss has built a great indoor practice facility. Kentucky has fabulous facilities. Mississippi State probably isn't far behind. Jimmy Johns would probably never admit it even if someone could extricate his foot from his mouth, but had the Brookhaven, Miss., native stayed home and gone to Mississippi State or Ole Miss, he'd be a hero in his home state and a starter on the field. Oh yeah, he would have won a football game Saturday. Instead, he went to Alabama, where he's now a highly publicized backup playing behind an underachieving senior.
So why would Saban leave sunny Miami for Alabama? Petrino might be preparing for the national championship game in early January. Why would he give that up to take on a rebuilding project that goes well beyond the football field? Rodriguez might leave his native West Virginia one day, but Alabama's a lateral move at best.
But if Alabama is intent on making that sort of splash, here's two pieces of advice: Ante up and get your eyes out of the rear-view mirror because the men the delusional Tide fans talk about are forward thinkers with healthy egos. In other words, if you expect them to come to Tuscaloosa and walk in a shadow, you'd better hope for nothing but sunny days because guys like Saban, Petrino, Rodriguez and the others aren't going to walk in a shadow that isn't their own.
This post was edited on 6/1/16 at 6:16 pm
Posted on 6/1/16 at 6:37 pm to Huddie Leadbetter
quote:
Neal McCready
Looked him up. He's working for the Ole Miss rivals.com affiliate now.
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