West Virginia native Nick Saban works to bring relief amidst flooding tragedy

Nick Saban may have cemented his legacy in Alabama as the head football coach of the Crimson Tide, but he’ll always be a West Virginia boy. Amidst the tragic flooding in the Mountain State Saban, and fellow West Virginian and sometimes-rival Florida State University Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher are working together to bring relief.

The devastating flooding of June 23 destroyed more than 1,200 homes, taking at least 23 lives in the process, making it the deadliest flash flood since May 2010.

Saban and Fisher, who grew up in Monongah and Clarksburg, respectively, are rallying high schools in their new home states to help provide impacted schools with football equipment, including helmets, pads, and practice jerseys, so students there may more quickly return to the activities and traditions they hold dear.

“Football was such an important part of my childhood in West Virginia, and to see the devastation the flooding has caused, and how it has threatened so many high school football teams, we wanted to find a way to help,” Saban explained in a statement announcing the donation program. “We are asking each high school from across the state to donate a full uniform to help these schools get their kids back on the football field this season.”

We are taking uniform donations to aid high school football teams in West Virginia affected by recent flooding. pic.twitter.com/eKpBRB3ptT

— Crimson Tide FB (@CrimsonTide_FB) July 8, 2016

“As football coaches, we can do a small part to help the community heal by assisting the high school football programs affected by this tragedy,” Coach Fisher wrote in his letter to Florida’s high school coaches. “We have all seen how athletics can help heal and rebuild communities that have suffered through a tragedy.”

Saban and Fisher will be joined on Wednesday July 13 by FSU assistant coach and fellow West Virginia native Rick Trickett at Clay County High School to present the donations.