Nick Saban joins ESPN as college football analyst
By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — Nick Saban, the recently retired coach with the most national championships in major college football history, is joining ESPN, the network announced Wednesday.
The 72-year-old will serve primarily as an analyst on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and also appear on the network’s NFL Draft and SEC Media Day coverage.
“ESPN and College GameDay have played such an important role in the growth of college football, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to join their team,” Saban said in a release. “I’ll do my best to offer additional insights and perspectives to contribute to College GameDay, the ultimate Saturday tradition for college football fans.”
Saban, who spent the last 17 seasons at Alabama, retired as the football head coach with the most national titles in the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision with seven – including six at Alabama.
Saban also coached collegiately at Louisiana State University (where he also won a national title), Michigan State University and the University of Toledo, where his teams went to bowls or the Bowl Championship Series title game in 25 of his 28 seasons, and he never had a year with a losing record.
“Nick Saban is a singular, iconic presence in college football. He is also an extremely gifted communicator, who will immediately add even more credibility, authority and entertainment value to ESPN, including our esteemed College GameDay show,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said.
Additional details including Saban’s first assignment will be announced later, ESPN said.
Alabama named Kalen DeBoer, recently the head coach at the University of Washington, as Saban’s replacement. DeBoer this past season took the Huskies to the national championship game, where they lost to the Michigan Wolverines 34-13.
CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
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