TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 24: A general view of Bryant-Denny Stadium during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers on October 24, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Alabama football does everything big. That goes for the aesthetics around Bryant-Denny Stadium as well.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have the elephant as the school mascot. That will be very apparent with the seven-ton animal statue being added outside the stadium.
The 21-year old statue called Tuska already exists, outside the nearby North River Yacht Club. Alabama trustees are set to vote on whether it should be moved outside the stadium. It would cost the school $415,000 in athletics funding to move the statue to a spot “Adjacent to the Walk of Champions.”
“It would go on the northwest side of the stadium in the vicinity of the corner of University Boulevard and Wallace Wade Avenue,” AL.com‘s Michael Casagrande reports. “UA will construct a 6-foot, 4-inch precast pedestal for Tuska with a paver apron surrounding it. The architectural drawings show the plaza nestled into the corner of the open lot once occupied by a fraternity house. A sign welcoming visitors to the campus currently occupies the location.”
The unveiling of @Terry Mathew's life sized bronze elephant in Tuscaloosa, AL. September 2000
Posted by Mathews Safaris on Friday, April 20, 2012
The bronze statue is life-sized, measuring 19-feet, 1-inch from the bottom to the “tip of the trunk,” according to the Alabama proposal. It is a pretty impressive piece of artwork.
Unlike some of its SEC rivals, Alabama doesn’t have a live animal mascot. Many are beloved on their campuses, though there is plenty of controversy surrounding mascots like LSU’s Mike the Tiger. Bringing a live elephant Tuscaloosa would probably welcome plenty of scrutiny. Alabama previously had an on-campus elephant named Alamite in the 1940s, but she did not remain for long due to the cost to the school.
A big, powerful bronze statue is probably a solid option here. If the Alabama trustees vote to bring it to Bryant-Denny Stadium, we’re sure there will be thousands upon thousands of Instagram photos taken with it ahead of Alabama football games this fall.
[AL.com]
