Was Saban worth the money?

[turbotim]

USA Today says this.

He shrugs off attention to his salary. "That's the business part of what we do," he says.

So is this:

•The waiting list for priority-seating tickets — requiring a donation atop the price of the seat — has jumped from about 1,200 four summers ago to 15,000.

•The school launched its first capital campaign for athletics in 2002, with a goal of $50 million in five years. By the 2007 spring game, it had raised $70 million. The drive ended, but the flow of money has continued, and donations total $102 million.

•Alabama's take from its media and marketing rights contract with Learfield Sports and ISP Sports will jump $1.3 million this year, to $8.5 million, according to senior AD Finus Gaston, the school's chief financial officer for athletics.

•Football revenue jumped 16% in Saban's first two years — from nearly $56 million before he arrived to almost $65 million in 2008 — and the sport turned a $38.2 million profit in 2008. Gaston conservatively projects a $39 million profit for 2009 and, with the expanded stadium and ticket demand, says he expects the climb to continue.

The school's overall athletic profits went from $10.5 million in 2006-07 to a little more than $22 million a year ago.

Even so, says Moore, a former Alabama player and assistant coach who took over as AD in 1999, "The greatest return on investment is our return to the national stage. ... Everybody was anxious for that to happen and fearful it might not."

A friend of mine who is on the school board here is a dentist was wanting to get on the list but said he didn't know if he wanted to pay to get on the list. Are you on the list Dolfan? Or are you already a season ticket holder? I can't remember how much he said it cost to get on the list.

Wow!!!

[dolfan]

I never joined Tide Pride, believe it or not. I can, but I haven't. With the additional seats in Bryant-Denny next season (seating capacity will be about 102,000) the demand for seats is actually higher. Unless there's a massive die-off, paying money to get in line just isn't worth it. If I want to pay a premium, I can buy scalped tickets (and have).