William Raines Battle III (born December 8, 1941) is an American former college athletics administrator and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

coach. He was the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...

from 2013 to 2017. He was appointed by University President Judy L. Bonner and approved by the board of trustees March 22, 2013. He succeeded long-time director Mal Moore, who stepped down for health reasons at age 73.

Career

Battle was formerly a licensing executive and a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

player and coach. He was the head football coach at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

from 1970 to 1976. At the time he began as head coach, he was at 29 the youngest college head coach in the country. A native of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

and a graduate of the

, Battle was one of many of

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

's former players and assistant coaches who would later become head coaches. Despite a 59–22–2 record in seven seasons in Knoxville in an era in which Alabama dominated the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

and annually contended for the national championship, Battle was forced out after the 1976 season, allowing Volunteer legend Johnny Majors to return to his alma mater after leading Pittsburgh to the 1976 national championship. Battle is the founder and chairman of The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC). In 1981, while working for Golden Eagle Enterprises in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abo ...

, Battle signed Paul "Bear" Bryant to a licensing agreement. The University of Alabama signed on as CLC's first university client. In 1983, Battle moved the newly formed company to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

. Battle is also a member of the group that votes in the

Harris Interactive College Football Poll The Harris Interactive College Football Poll was a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams. The rankings were compiled by Harris Interactive, a market research company that specializes in I ...

Personal life

Battle was born in

. Battle's father, William Raines "Bill" Battle Jr., was athletic director at

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) is a private college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). More than 1 ...

from 1952 to 1974. His grandfather William Raines Battle was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister. Battle was also inducted into

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

- the National Leadership Honor Society at the

in 1962.

Head coaching record

References

1941 births Living people American football ends Alabama Crimson Tide athletic directors Alabama Crimson Tide football players Army Black Knights football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Sportspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub