When the announcement came less than two weeks ago that long-time Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore would be stepping down because of health issues, it was a sad day for fans and alumni of the university. But when the news came ten days later that he had passed away, it was a blow that took the wind out of the sails of a school and fan base that has been flying high for a long time now.

Sure, Moore will be remembered by many Crimson Tide fans as the man who hired Nick Saban and helped usher in the most prolific football era in Tuscaloosa since Bear Bryant. But he was much more than that.

Moore was part of a total of 10 national championship Crimson Tide football teams as either a player, a coach or an administrator. He earned his stripes on the field and later was part of the great tradition of Alabama football coaches, teaching young men not only how to play football, but how to live life.

As the athletic director, Moore was in charge of every sport played on campus at UA, and is credited with numerous national titles in many different sports, including gymnastics, softball and golf.

But more than anything else, Moore was part of the UA family and an upstanding member of the state of Alabama. His mark has been literally left on UA’s campus at the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility, but it has no doubt been more deeply imbedded in the minds and hearts of the players and coaches he worked with over the years.

Moore’s legacy is certainly one that will forever be a part of Alabama legend and pageantry at UA, but for a fan base that remembers who was AD at ‘Bama when they were born the way many remember who was President of the U.S., he will be a figure remembered alongside names like Bryant, Stallings and Saban.

A public memorial commemorating Moore’s life will be held tomorrow in Tuscaloosa at the Coleman Coliseum.

In his final correspondence announcing his retirement he told his athletic department staff, “I cannot put into words what this institution that I have been a part of for over 50 years means to me. I cannot adequately express what this institution and the people that have made it great means to me and my family and what it means to have a truly Crimson heart.”