Previous Events

November 24, 2020

Wimp & Sonny

former basketball coaches Au & Ala

Charles H. "Sonny" Smith is a retired head basketball coach at Auburn. 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.

Smith is best remembered for his coaching years at Auburn University, where he was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1988. In 1985, he coached the Auburn Tigers to their first SEC Tournament Championship in school history. From 1984 to 1988, he guided Auburn to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth in 1985 and a Final Eight berth in 1986. To date, he is the only coach in Auburn men's basketball history to have three consecutive 20-win seasons, from 1984-86. On January 3, 2007, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson is the former head basketball coach at Alabama. He coached at Alabama from 1981 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.

In 1960 he became a graduate assistant under Hayden Riley at Alabama, and in 1961 he was made a full-time assistant. He served in this capacity for 20 years under both Riley and C. M. Newton, eventually becoming Newton's top assistant. When Newton resigned to become assistant commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Sanderson was named his successor. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267-119 record, and they won 5 SEC tournaments. They played in one NIT and ten NCAA tournaments making the "Sweet 16" six times. He is the only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987.

Sanderson was famous for wearing plaid sport jackets on the sidelines. During his glory years at Alabama, the Coleman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace" (with its midcourt logo painted crimson-and-white plaid), the Million Dollar Band was known as the "Plaid Players", and many fans came to games wearing plaid in Sanderson's honor.

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November 17, 2020

Shane Matthews

former NFL Quarterback ; played at Florida

Michael Shane Matthews (born June 1, 1970) is a former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was coach Steve Spurrier's first starting QB at the school and was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) player of the year in 1991 and 1992. Thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and four other NFL teams. Since retiring as a player, Matthews has lived near his college alma mater in North Central Florida, where he has hosted a sports talk radio program and coached high school football.

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November 10, 2020

Holly Rowe

ESPN Analyst

Holly Rowe is an American sports telecaster currently working for ESPN. Rowe is best known as a sideline reporter for college football games which are telecast on ESPN.

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October 20, 2020

Chris Doering

ESPN, SEC; played at Florida

Chris Doering is a college football analyst for SEC Network. He joined ESPN in August 2015 as a studio analyst after previously contributing to SEC Network+ events and ESPN specials. He signed a multiyear contract extension in summer 2018 and appears on SEC This Morning alongside SEC Network host every Monday from 7-10 a.m. ET.

Chris Doering is a Gainesville native who began his football career with the University of Florida as a top performing wide receiver. He started off as a walk-on player for Steve Spurrier in 1991. Doering set a single-season SEC record completing 17 touchdown catches during the 1995 season.

During Doering’s time in the NFL he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Washington Redskins.

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October 13, 2020

Lars Anderson

Sports Writer

Lars Anderson is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He covers college football among other sports. Anderson penned a regional cover story on Alabama's defense in 2011 and has written features on Cam Newton at Auburn, coach Frank Solich at Ohio and the history of spring practice. The most important piece of his SI career, according to Anderson, was his 2011 cover story on the tornado that struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., and how sports was going to play a role in rebuilding that sports-obsessed city.

Anderson is the author of five books: The First Star: Red Grange and the Barnstorming Tour that Launched the NFL (published by Random House in December 2009), Carlisle vs. Army (Random House, 2007), The All Americans (St. Martins, 2005), The Proving Ground: A Season on the Fringe in NFL Europe (St. Martins, 2001) and Pickup Artists (Verso, 1998). Both Carlisle Vs. Army and The All Americans have been optioned for movies. Of Carlisle, Booklist, in a starred review, called the work "a great sports story, told with propulsive narrative drive and offering a fascinating look at multiple layers of American pop culture." Anderson wrote a sixth book, The Storm and The Tide, about the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado and Alabama's national championship that season. It was published by Time Home Entertainment Inc., a division of Time Inc., in August 2014.

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Anderson joined SI in 1994 following a short stint as a general assignment reporter at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. He received a B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and an M.S., from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University

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October 6, 2020

Lauren Sisler

football reporter SEC & ESPN

Lauren Sisler is a sports broadcaster who joined ESPN and SEC Network in 2016 as a sideline reporter for both college football and gymnastics. In 2017, she became a reporter for SEC Nation. In addition, she continues to serve as a sports reporter and host at AL.com.

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September 29, 2020

Scott Hunter

former Alabama Quarterback

Scott played QB at Alabama where he participated in one of the Tide’s best games. In 1969, Alabama hosted the Ole Miss Rebels in a nationally televised game on October 4, in prime time for ABC. The game received legendary status for its back-and-forth scoring, as both the Tide and Rebels (Archie Manning was QB) set offensive records. Hunter was 22 for 29, for 300 yards passing and a touchdown, while adding another touchdown on the ground. Scott was drafted into the NFL by Green Bay and later played for Atlanta.

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September 29, 2020

Marty Lyons

played at Alabama; Jets color guy

Martin Anthony Lyons is a former Alabama & NY Jets football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League for 11 seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a member of the Jets' famed "New York Sack Exchange," the team's dominant front four in 1981 and 1982. Marty has been the radio color commentator for the New York Jets on 98.7 FM ESPN Radio-NY since 2002.

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September 15, 2020

Cole Cubelic

played at Auburn; Football Analyst

Cole Cubelic is a former college football player for the Auburn Tigers and current sports analyst. Cubelic 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, Cubelic hosted of the radio show "The Cube Show," which aired on 730 AM and 103.9 FM UMP in Huntsville, Alabama. In March 2018, Cubelic began hosting "3 Man Front" on WJOX-FM in Birmingham alongside Aaron Suttles and Landrum Roberts.

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September 1, 2020

Ronnie Baynes

former football official

Baynes was an SEC and NFL official for 26 years. He was a line judge in two Super Bowls (XXIX and XXXIII) and a member of officiating crews for three NFC and one AFC Championship Games. He has been Supervisor of NFL Officials since 2001. He was the 2011 winner of the Art McNally Award given by the NFL to a person who exemplifies professionalism, leadership and commitment to the art of officiating on and off the field. He played collegiately at Auburn University where he was a three-year starter on the football team (1962-1965) and a two-year starter on the baseball team (1963 & 1964).

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August 11, 2020

Greg Byrne

Alabama Athletics Director

Greg Byrne is the athletic director at the University of Alabama. Prior to this appointment, Byrne was the athletic director at the University of Arizona, the athletic director at Mississippi State University from 2008–2010 after serving as associate athletic director for the preceding two years. Previously, Byrne held associate director of athletics positions at University of Kentucky, and Oregon State University.

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