University of Alabama football coaches' wives landscape Habitat house

The wives of the University of Alabama's football coaching staff joined forces Wednesday to landscape the new Habitat for Humanity home that was funded by the Nick's Kids Foundation.

The foundation had funded 18 houses, one for each of the Crimson Tide's national championships, but Terry Saban, the wife of UA coach Nick Saban, said they decided to make an exception this time and build this house in honor of the 2021 team's SEC championship.

Alabama earned the program's 29th SEC title by beating Georgia 41-24 on Dec. 4, 2021. However,  the same two teams met again on Jan. 10, 2022, in the College Football Playoff final with the Bulldogs winning 33-18 for Georgia's first national championship since 1980.

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"Nick says that I broke the rules because Nick's Kids Foundation has built a house for every national championship," Terry Saban said Wednesday. "But we came so close to getting house No. 19 that I thought it was only fair to the family who was waiting for us to win that last game to get a Habitat house.

"We decided that for winning the SEC championship and for beating the team that actually won the championship that we should go ahead and build house number 18 1/2 and hope that someday we can build house No. 19," she said.

The new house goes to Kanika Cotton, who is employed at the University of Alabama. Cotton spent 250 hours working on her house and on other Habitat projects as part of her "sweat equity," a part of every Habitat homeowner's obligation. The house was dedicated Thursday at 3016 Ash St. in Tuscaloosa.

Saban said it is very gratifying to help build homes through Habitat for Humanity. She said that, as she travels with her husband, people show her family gratitude for more than just the football wins.

"It makes me feel incredible. People don't always say thank you for the victories, but they often say thank you for all you do in the community," Saban said. "It has always been a part of who we are to give back to the community."

Saban said that as a coach, Nick Saban preaches that same message to his players.

"Use your platform, whatever you do, use that platform to help other people. Certainly we feel we have a lot of blessings we feel we should share with others," Saban said.

Carolyn Golding, wife of defensive coordinator Pete Golding, said, it was an honor to be involved in the project with Habitat for Humanity and the Nick's Kids Foundation.

"It has definitely helped us grow as individuals and learn how to be a blessing to be to the community and how rewarding it is to be involved in the community and help others in need," Golding said.

The Nick's Kids Foundation is the official charity of Nick and Terry Saban. The nonprofit foundation focuses on causes that benefit children, families, teachers and students.

The tradition of building Habitat homes began in 2011 after a massive tornado devastated Tuscaloosa, leading the foundation to build 13 Habitat homes for each football title UA had earned at the time. 

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: University of Alabama football coaches' wives landscape Habitat house