It's Not Just a Football Town…

Tuscaloosa combines small town atmosphere and big city opportunity. The city itself has a population of less than 100,000, but thanks to the presence of the University, is far more cosmopolitan than other cities its size. Tuscaloosa offers the big-time events of large cities with the outdoor recreation of a rural setting. In Tuscaloosa, you can attend football games that will be televised throughout the world, but you can also hike along secluded wooded trails and fish in quiet, still-water lakes.

There are also a variety of athletic and recreational activities for students on campus. Join the host of joggers around the University Quad or head to the Recreation Center and run, lift weights, or play racquetball. Join an intramural team in everything from flag football to softball to bowling. Play golf at the University-owned course or join your friends for a game of soccer or Frisbee on the Quad. Take a dip at any of the two indoor or one outdoor swimming pools on campus or take part in an aerobics or yoga class.

There is plenty to see and do off-campus as well. Aside from the standard public golf courses, bowling alleys, and movie theaters that most cities offer, Tuscaloosa has an outdoor personality all its own. The city rests between the Black Warrior River, one of the largest commercial waterways in the state, and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This means there are a wide variety of hiking trails, boat landings, and fishing venues available for discovery.

Known as PARA, the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority has enjoyed enormous success as one of Alabama's unique countywide recreational programs. PARA operates over 30 parks throughout Tuscaloosa County totaling more than 2,000 acres of public park and recreational land.

In addition, PARA provides citizens year-round with a full range of facilities, recreational programs and activities for every age. New, modern community centers are strategically located throughout the county.

Swimming pools; softball, baseball and soccer fields; lighted tennis courts; picnic and family pavilions; a 104,000 square-foot multi purpose arena; walking trails; boat landings; a new, award-winning public golf course, Ol' Colony; and various other athletic complexes all combine to provide the citizens of Tuscaloosa County exceptional opportunities and outlets for fun and family recreation.

Lakes and Rivers

From sailing to skiing to championship bass fishing, Tuscaloosa County is a Mecca for water sports. Among the most popular lakes for recreation include Lake Tuscaloosa, Holt Lake, Lake Lurleen, Lake Nichol, and Oliver Lake, and The Black Warrior River provides additional water sports and riverfront recreational opportunities.

 

Golf Courses

There are many great places and numerous opportunities to play golf in the Tuscaloosa area year-round.

The MBA Association hosts a golf tournament every semester, most recently at Hidden Meadows Golf Course. Hidden Meadows, while not as challenging as other courses in the area, is an enjoyable course with great atmosphere and friendly staff. Also in Tuscaloosa, you will find Ol' Colony Golf Course, which Golf Digest recently ranked as one of the top 5 new public courses in the nation. Additionally, the University of Alabama Golf Center is a bargain for students and faculty alike. The scenic layout makes this course enjoyable to play even for the high handicappers. What makes these courses even better is that they are all affordable, as it is possible to play at any of them for less than $20.

In addition to the public courses in Tuscaloosa, the Capstone Club is the site of the annual MBA Alumni Golf Tournament. This par 71 course is a private club exclusively for University of Alabama Alumni and their guests. Also in Tuscaloosa, you may purchase a membership to the NorthRiver Yacht Club, Indian Hills, or Woodland Forest. Since Alabama is a small state, any of the seven courses along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail are only a short drive away.

For anyone looking to improve on their game, lessons are offered at most of the courses in the area, specifically Hidden Meadows, Ol' Colony, and the University of Alabama Golf Center. All of these essentials make Tuscaloosa one of the best places in the Southeast for avid golfers.

Public:

Ol' Colony Golf Course 562-3202
Tannehill National 477-4653
U of A Golf Center 348-4653
Mimosa Golf Course 752-8112
Hidden Meadows Golf Course 339-3673

Private:

Country Club of Tuscaloosa 759-5535
Indian Hills Country Club 349-1504
NorthRiver Yacht Club 345-0202
Woodland Forrest Country Club 556-1232

Practice Ranges:

Delmar Golf Training Facility 349-4653
Hillcrest Golf Center 344-6502
Lakeside Driving Range 333-6933

 

University of Alabama Athletics

From its very beginnings, the University of Alabama has been at the forefront of athletic competition in the Southeast. In addition to its 12 national championships, Alabama's football team has won 21 Southeastern Conference titles and ranks in the top five nationally in all-time victories. Some the game's all-time greats - including Joe Namath, Bart Starr, Don Hutson, Ken Stabler, Dwight Stephenson, Derrick Thomas, and John Hannah - got their start wearing Crimson and White. The Crimson Tide first gained national attention with a pair of back-to-back Rose Bowl victories in the mid-1920s over purportedly superior West Coast teams. Alabama would go on to win the Rose Bowl three more times, until the game's committee (coincidentally or not) changed its rules so that only the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10 Conferences would meet in Pasadena. Alabama dominated Southern football under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who coached the Tide to 232 victories and six national championships from 1958 to 1982, when he retired as the all-time winningest coach in college football history.

More recently, the Crimson Tide won the national championship in 1992 and the Southeastern Conference title in 1999. You can learn more about Alabama football history and tradition by visiting the nationally renowned Bryant Museum, located just across Bryant Drive from Coleman Coliseum. For more information, visit the Bryant Museum online.

Although football dominates the spotlight and the conversation nearly year-round in Alabama, the Crimson Tide has done the University proud in other sports as well. Alabama's gymnastics team has won national championships in 1988, 1991, 1996, and 2002, while the baseball team has made trips to the College World Series in 1950, 1983, 1996, 1997, and 1999. The women's basketball team made a trip to the Final Four in 1994, while the men's basketball team won the SEC regular season championship in 2002. Alabama track and swim teams have turned out Olympians like Lillie Leatherwood, Calvin Smith, and Jon Olsen, and in 2002 boasted All-Americans like David Kimane and Miguel Pate. Former U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate played his collegiate golf at Alabama. The Crimson Tide softball and soccer teams, which first took the field in the mid-1990s, have quickly developed into national powerhouses.