Kevin Scarbinsky | kscarbinsky@al.com
What is influence? Winning games? Changing the game? Hiring and firing coaches? Making money, building buildings, leaving a legacy? Influence means different things to different people. Here are the 25 individuals AL.com columnist Kevin Scarbinsky sees as the most influential in Alabama sports in 2017. Let us know who you think is overrated, underrated or just plain missing.
Ben Flanagan/al.com
No. 25 Sarah Patterson
Now retired after winning six national titles as the Alabama gymnastics coach, Patterson has long been one of the leading advocates in the state for women's sports. Alabama's Champions Plaza is named in her honor.
Julie Bennett | jbennett@al.com
No. 24 Steve Savarese
The former head football coach at four different Alabama high schools, Savarese is the most influential person in the state at the prep level as the executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Julie Bennett | jbennett@al.com
No. 23 Pat Dye
A quarter century after his last season as the Auburn football coach, with his name on the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Dye's distinctive voice still resonates in public and private and his strong opinions continue to make headlines.
Vasha Hunt vhunt@al.com
No. 22 Phil Savage
The former general manager of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and current Alabama football radio analyst for the Crimson Tide Sports Network shares his weekly opponent scouting reports with Nick Saban and serves as executive director of the Senior Bowl. He also has a national voice on SiriusXM radio.
Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com
No. 21 Deontay Wilder
The Tuscaloosa native has risen from Olympic boxing bronze medalist to undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, joining the legendary Joe Louis and Evander Holyfield as the only Alabamians to earn that prestigious title. The Bronze Bomber is 38-0 as a professional with 37 knockouts.
Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
No. 20 Bruce Pearl
He brought renewed attention to Auburn basketball and the sport in general in a football state when he was hired as head coach, which helped motivate Alabama to make a change the next year and bring in Avery Johnson. Pearl has raised the recruiting bar, signing Auburn's first 5-star recruits.
Vasha Hunt | vhunt@al.com
No. 19 Avery Johnson
The Alabama basketball coach has Tide fans and national analysts alike more excited about the program than they've been in ages after signing one of the best recruiting classes in school history. The former NBA coach of the year has Alabama ranked in early polls and power rankings for the 2017-18 season.
al.com file
No. 18 Bill Clark
He's been UAB's head football coach for only one season but 3 1/2 years, a unique distinction. Insiders believe had Clark not stayed committed to the program after it was shut down in 2014, it wouldn't have come back. His presence sparked #TheReturn and the construction of the Football Operations Center and Legacy Pavilion.
al.com file
No. 17 Bo Jackson
Auburn's second Heisman Trophy winner served on the search committee that landed Gus Malzahn as head football coach and is a regular on the Tigers' sideline. His annual Bo Bikes Bama charity event raises money for the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund.
al.com file
No. 16 Steve Shaw
The coordinator of football officials for the SEC and the Sun Belt Conference, Shaw added even more national responsibility to his plate when he was named NCAA secretary-rules editor for football.
Vasha Hunt / vhunt@al.com
No. 15 Greg Byrne
Alabama's new athletics director is one of the biggest national names in his profession, and his hire signaled a new direction for the school away from its traditional AD with Crimson Tide ties. He made an early splash by hiring Auburn assistant Brad Bohannon as Alabama's new head baseball coach.
Julie Bennett / jbennett@al.com
No. 14 Gus Malzahn
He won one national title as Auburn's offensive coordinator and played for another in his first year as head coach. Malzahn has helped change college football into a Hurry Up, No Huddle game. He's one of only two current SEC head coaches to win the conference championship.
Vasha Hunt | vhunt@al.com
No. 13 Jay Jacobs
Since he became Auburn's athletics director in 2004, the Tigers have won 12 national titles and upgraded facilities to include the new Auburn Arena for basketball and a 100-yard indoor football practice building. He's second in longevity among SEC ADs and was honored in June as an Under Armour AD of the Year winner.
al.com file
No. 12 Paul Bryant Jr.
The son of the legendary Alabama coach and retired president of the UA Board of Trustees isn't the go-to decision-maker he once was, but he still has allies on the board, and the chairman of Bryant Bank remains one of the university's largest donors.
al.com file
No. 11 Bobby Lowder
The long-time former Auburn trustee may not wield the same power he once did, but he's on the board of the Tigers Unlimited Foundation, the athletic department's official fund-raising arm, which has considerable influence on the budget.
Vasha Hunt | vhunt@al.com
No. 10 Mike Slive
The retired commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Slive oversaw the SEC's emergence as the most powerful intercollegiate athletics conference in the nation. He now serves as a consultant to the conference, and his words still carry weight.
al.com file
No. 9 Gene Hallman
The president and CEO of the Bruno Event Team has been a leader in landing and managing a variety of national and international events for the state, including the Regions Tradition, the SEC Baseball Tournament and the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
Julie Bennett | jbennett@al.com
No. 8 Charles Barkley
The heart and soul of the best sports studio show on TV, the NBA on TNT, the former Auburn basketball star is a go-to voice in the basketball world. The Leeds native also does considerable charity work in his home state.
Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com
No. 7 The UAB Gang of Seven
Birmingham business leaders Tommy Brigham, Justin Craft, Mike Goodrich Jr., Miller Gorrie, Craft O'Neal, Hatton Smith and Robert Simon led the fundraising efforts to bring UAB football back from the dead in 2015 and to build the program's Football Operations Center and Legacy Pavilion.
Photo courtesy of James Riley
No. 6 Jimmy Rane
The richest man in the state as founder, chairman and CEO of Great Southern Wood, Rane is a long-time Auburn booster and has been a member of the school's board of trustees since 1999. He's a friend to coaches beyond Auburn.
AP photo
No. 5 Dr. James Andrews
An internationally known orthopedic surgeon, Andrews has operated on some of the world's best athletes, co-founded the American Sports Medicine Institute and been a leader in injury education and research. He also works with a number of college and pro football teams, including Alabama, Auburn and UAB.
Photo courtesy of Auburn University
No. 4 Raymond Harbert
The founder, chairman and CEO of Harbert Management Corp. - pictured above on the right with Bo Jackson - Harbert was appointed to the Auburn board of trustees in 2009 and has taken an increasing interest in the school's football program. He's said to have Gus Malzahn's ear and is one of the rare visitors to practice.
al.com file
No. 3 Finis St. John
A member of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, St. John has influence on both Alabama and UAB as chairman of the board's Athletics Committee. He played a key role in the hires of Alabama AD Greg Byrne and basketball coach Avery Johnson.
Drew Champlin | dchamplin@al.com
No. 2 Greg Sankey
Being commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, the most powerful of the Power 5 conferences, would be enough to land Sankey high on this list, but he also carries additional national clout as chairman of the NCAA Infractions Committee.
Mike Kittrell / al.com
No. 1 Nick Saban
The most prominent college football coach and voice in the country, the Alabama coach has won five national titles, four with the Crimson Tide, and sparked a debate comparing his legacy to Bear Bryant's. After 10 years in Tuscaloosa, Saban shows no signs of slowing down. When he speaks, everyone in college football listens.
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