Crimson Tide Foundation bought Nick Saban's home for $3.1 million; Saban still lives there
The house in which Alabama coach Nick Saban and wife, Terry, live in Tuscaloosa, Ala., is actually owned by the Crimson Tide Foundation.
According to al.com, the charitable foundation purchased the home for nearly $3.1 million 10 weeks after Alabama won the BCS national Championship against Notre Dame in 2013.
The Sabans, who first purchased the 8,759-square-foot home in 2007 for $2.875 million, still live there and the foundation, which is part of the university, pays the property taxes — about $10,000 a year.
"It's not all that unusual in the world for universities to provide the housing," Scott Phelps, assistant secretary of the foundation, told al.com. "We want to keep him happy. We think he is the best coach in America."
Phelps is right. This isn’t unusual, however, most coaches usually have a housing stipend written into their contracts. It is a little unusual for a university — or a facet of a university — to buy the house in which a coach had already already been living for the prior six years.
Still, none of this is against NCAA rules. It’s merely one of the many perks that most coaches receive.
The timing of the purchase was not coincidental.
After Saban won his third national title with the Crimson Tide, there were rumors he was ready to seek out his next challenge elsewhere. He was courted by places such as Texas, but has remained faithful to Alabama.
The Crimson Tide Foundation is a nonprofit group founded in 2003 that provides money for scholarships, has given money for athletic facility renovation and has helped provide money for coaching positions.
The Saban home is the only piece of residential property the foundation owns.
For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.
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