Nick Saban Shares Devastating Personal News

Alabama’s legendary head coach Nick Saban announced the tragic loss of a close family member on Thursday, and the Crimson Tide nation is coming out to show its support for their longtime leader.

Mary Saban Pasko, Saban’s mother, passed away at the age of 92, according to an obituary obtained by AL.com. The avid sports junkie and her husband Nick raised two children, Dene (Leroy) Thompson and Nick (Terry) Saban, and she lived long enough to enjoy the company of four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Both her husband Nick and second husband Bobby Pasko previously passed away, according to the obit.

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members of the Saban clan began leaving their tributes online as the news spread. Kristen Saban, in a post on Instagram, shared a photo of her grandmother along with a clip of her favorite song, “Heaven by Noon.”

Born in 1932, Mary was born to Jane and Harry Conaway and grew up in Michigan but spent most of her formative years in the small town of Farmington, West Virginia. She married her first husband Nick after the two struck up a relationship while classmates at Farmington High School. The baseball standout went on to form the town’s first Pop Warner football league and would later coach his namesake son into the annals of football greats.

Mary encouraged her son Nick to play with Dene, who he always admitted was the better athlete, on the Pop Warner Black Diamond Football team. Their mother manned the concession stand, decorated the team bus, and stayed close by while both boys lived their love of the game that would come to define Nick Saban’s legacy. The family asked supporters to “consider donating to Nick’s Kids Foundation at nickskidsfoundation.org or by mail at 1130 University Blvd. Ste. B9-201, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.”

Saban used his upbringing to launch a collegiate football career at Kent State where he played football and baseball for the Golden Flashes from 1970 to 1972. He played in the safety position during the team’s 1972 MAC Championship appearance where they lost to the University of Tampa in the Tangerine Bowl. After his playing career ended, Saban coached eight years in the NFL, including under future Patriots coach Bill Belichek at the Cleveland Browns, before making his way back to college athletics. He led the Crimson Tide from 2007 until this season and attained an almost mythological status while coaching Alabama to the BCS and AP national championships in 2009, 2011, 2012, and to College Football Playoff championships in 2015, 2017 and 2020. Among head coaches, he is peerless with a record of 292–71–1.

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