Previous Events

November 20, 2018

Sonny and Wimp

Charles H. "Sonny" Smith (born November 15, 1936) is a retired American men's college basketball head coach. Originally from Roan Mountain, Tennessee, Smith served as a head coach for twenty-two seasons. He is credited with turning around losing programs at East Tennessee State University and Auburn University. Additionally, Smith coached Virginia Commonwealth University from 1989-1998.

Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (born August 8, 1937)[1] is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1981 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.

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November 13, 2018

Chris Doering

ESPN Analyst

Christopher Paul Doering (born May 19, 1973) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Doering played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts, the Denver Broncos, the Washington Redskins, and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.

Doering joined ESPN in 2015 as a studio analyst, though he had contributed to SEC Network+ and certain ESPN specials previously. These days, Doering most notably appears on SEC Network’s signature show, SEC Now, where he works alongside Dari Nowkhah and Gene Chizik. He also contributes to SEC Network’s spring football coverage in March and April and is the co-host of SEC Today on SiriusXM SEC Radio.

“I’m incredibly blessed to get to do what I love every week and call it ‘work,’” Doering said. “I have the opportunity to give back to a game and a conference that have given me so much. I feel so lucky to be a member of our SEC Now team with Dari [Nowkhah] & Chiz [Coach Gene Chizik]. We all have such a blast together and I couldn’t be more thrilled to continue as part of the SEC Network family.”

“Chris Doering has been a breath of fresh air for us since joining the network in 2015,” said SEC Network coordinating producer Pete Watters. “His easygoing style and willingness to work hard to get the job done make him stand out as a fan favorite and a favorite of our production team. Whether it’s his attention to detail on a football Saturday, or traveling to campus for our spring football coverage, Chris treats everyone he comes into contact with like a long-lost friend.”

College football fans might remember Doering from his on-the-field work before stepping into the analyst chair. He left Florida as the SEC’s all-time career leader in touchdown receptions and a first-team All-SEC selection in 1995.

Doering joins Paul Finebaum as recent on-air talents retained by SEC.

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October 30, 2018

Dari Nowkhah

SEC Network Anchor

Dari Nowkhah is currently an anchor on the SEC Network, regularly appearing on SEC Now and on Saturdays during the college football season. Additionally, he calls play-by-play for men’s basketball and baseball. Additionally, Nowkhah serves as co-host of ESPN Radio’s weekly Dari and Mel Show (Saturdays) with Mel Kiper Jr. He is also known for saying "Due to time constraints, we move ahead to further action" in replays.

Dari Nowkhah joined ESPN in June 2004 as an ESPNEWS anchor and in August 2011 was named the host of ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network based out of ESPN’s studios in Charlotte, N.C. He also previously served as a SportsCenter anchor and host of shows including Baseball Tonight and College Football Live.

Before joining ESPN, Nowkhah worked from 2002-04 as a sports anchor and reporter at KOTV, a CBS affiliate in Tulsa, Okla. Previously he served two years as sports anchor and reporter at KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Neb.

Nowkhah began his career in Kalispell, Mont., where he was sports director at KCFW-TV for two years. While there, he received a First Place in Sports Reporting in the Pacific Northwest from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Nowkhah, a native of Tulsa, Okla, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 with a degree in broadcast journalism. In 2013 he was recognized by his alma mater and named Young Professional of the Year by the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is married to his wife Jenn, with whom he has three children.

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October 23, 2018

Dr. Rob Pate

Former Auburn Safety

Dr. Pate, his wife, Dana, and their five children live in Auburn where Rob was a four year starter and All Conference safety for the Auburn Tigers from 1997-2000.

Dr. Pate has written about his struggles and achievements in two books. A Tiger’s Walk: Memoirs of an Auburn Football Player tells Pate’s entire story, starting when he first picked up a football. The Way of the Athlete explains itself in its subtitle: “The role of sports in building character for academic, business and personal success.”
“The valleys are surrounded by mountains and we keep climbing,” Pate says. “We put our faith in God, so I find my peace in knowing that I’ve given it everything I’ve got.”

He served his patients for eight years at EyeCare Associates in Hoover before joining Basden EyeCare in Auburn.

M. Rob Pate, O.D., of Alabama, was the 2014 Young Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Pate is a 2007 graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry.

Dr. Pate became a volunteer for the Alabama Special Olympics while receiving his optometric education. He has chaired the Eyecare Section for the Special Olympics since 2012 and organizes, promotes and directs eye exams at the state games on the campus of Troy University.

Dr. Pate is an active member in the Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA) and was recently elected to the ALOA Board of Directors. He has served ALOA in numerous leadership roles, including Legislative Keyperson and InfantSEE® Committee chairman, for which Dr. Pate has traveled across the state to every local optometric society to lecture on the InfantSEE program, how to perform the exam, and provide ideas on implementing the program within all optometric offices.

He is also very involved with his local school district, for which he serves as the team optometrist for the Spain Park High School football team. Dr. Pate also organizes and performs eye screenings for the Hoover City Schools middle and high school athletes and serves as a preceptor for the Hoover High School Science Academy. In this role, he provides job shadowing internships to high school seniors taking part in the Health Science Academy.

Dr. Pate has participated in several volunteer health screenings, including the Cahaba Hispanic Health Screenings and at Brook Hills Community Church Hispanic Medical Clinic, for which he provided full eye exams for non‐English-speaking patients at no charge.

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October 16, 2018

Bill Hancock

Executive Director College Football Playoff

Bill Hancock has achieved a unique trifecta at the highest echelon of intercollegiate athletics. He was the first full-time director of the NCAA Final Four, the first executive director of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and the first executive director of the College Football Playoff.

Using experiences gained during his remarkable five-decade career Hancock led the conference commissioners and university presidents in creating the playoff. Then he directed a talented staff in launching the event from scratch. The playoff is a phenomenal success; in its first year, it was named Sports Event of the Year by SportsBusiness Journal. His five-decade career began in 1971 when he became assistant sports information director at the University of Oklahoma.

He spent 16 years with the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, 13 years as its director. In 2005, he was appointed administrator of the BCS. He became executive director in 2009 and was named to the same role for the playoff when it was created in 2012. Hancock has served on the United States Olympic Committee staff at 13 Olympic Games and two Pan American Games.

He has been inducted into the halls of fame of the state of Oklahoma, College Sports Information Directors and the All College Basketball Classic. A former newspaper editor, Bill has written two books. His memoir about the cross-country bicycle journey he undertook in the aftermath of his son's death, Riding With the Blue Moth, was among the top sports books after its release in October, 2005. It was re-issued in 2015. His second book, This One Day in Hobart is a history of his home town. He is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Nicki Perry.

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October 9, 2018

Kirk McNair

Kirk McNair was the editor and owner of Bama Magazine and BamaMag.com, which he founded in 1979 after serving as sports information director at the University of Alabama. He has won national awards for sportswriting and is the former president of the National Collegiate Sportswriters Association and of the Alabama Sportswriters Association. He is the coauthor of Always a Crimson Tide, Gamechangers, and What It Means to Be Crimson Tide. Kirk now works with BamaOnLine a part of 247sports.com.

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October 2, 2018

Allen Green

Auburn University Athletic Director

Allen Greene, known as a dynamic and energetic leader, is in his first year at Auburn after being named the program’s 15th director of athletics on January 18, 2018. Greene served in the same capacity at the University at Buffalo from November 2015 until his arrival at Auburn.

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September 25, 2018

Hugh Freeze

former Ole Miss Head Coach

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September 18, 2018

Kristy Curry

University of Alabama’s Head Coach Women’s Basketball Team

Kristy Curry is the head coach of the University of Alabama's women's basketball team. It did not take long to realize that Kristy Curry was just who Alabama needed to take over the reins as head coach of the women’s basketball program. Since being formally introduced on May 16, 2013, Curry and her staff have established a culture that has helped the Crimson Tide make positive strides, both on and off the court, year after year.

Each season under Curry, who has now coached at Alabama for five seasons, has produced significant wins and new milestones. In 2017-18, UA earned its first victory in program history in Knoxville against Tennessee and graduated its winningest senior class in 16 years in Quanetria Bolton, Hannah Cook, Alana da Silva, Coco Knight, Meoshonti Knight and Ashley Williams. This group, along with several other key role players, helped Alabama record back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the late 90s. In addition, the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in both 2017 and 2018 and made an appearance in the 2017 SEC Tournament quarterfinals, a first for the Tide in over a decade.

Prior to arriving at The Capstone, Curry spent seven seasons at the helm of the Texas Tech Lady Raider basketball program where she compiled a record of 130-98 (570). She guided the Lady Raiders to a 21-11 record in 2012-13 and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

Coach Curry has also coached at Purdue.

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September 11, 2018

Cole Cubelic

Cole Cubelic (born September 25) is a former college football player for the Auburn Tigers. Cole played center for the Tigers from 1996-2001 where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Communications and Media Studies. He joined ESPN in 2011 working as an analyst covering SEC football. In addition to the SEC, he also covered the Sun Belt Conference football games. Beginning in 2009, Cole hosted of the radio show "The Cube Show," which aired on 730 AM and 103.9 FM-UMP in Huntsville. In March 2018, Cubelic began hosting "3 Man Front" on WJOX-FM in Birmingham alongside Aaron Suttles and Landrum Roberts. During the 2015 season Cole was honored as one of the many captains in the history of Auburn football. Cole was born in Homewood, Alabama.

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August 28, 2018

Coach Gene Stallings and Coach Pat Dye

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