Gaspard Resigns As Alabama Coach

Alabama on Monday announced Mitch Gaspard has resigned after seven years as head coach.

Alabama’s season ended Friday with a 5-4 loss Thursday to Florida in the Southeastern Conference tournament. With a record of 32-26 and a 15-15 mark in conference play, but an RPI of 62, the Crimson Tide were a bubble team for the NCAA tournament. They ultimately were not selected Monday when the NCAA announced the field.

Gaspard informed Alabama athletic director Bill Battle of his decision to resign Friday. Battle accepted the resignation on the condition it would not become official until Alabama’s season was complete.

In a statement, Gaspard said he had been considering resigning “for a while.”

“We have consistently fielded a competitive program in the nation’s finest conference throughout our seven seasons at Alabama, but I feel this is the right time to make a change—not only for me, but for the program as a whole,” Gaspard said. “I think a good foundation has been set for whoever takes over the program. And, with our new stadium, the chance to recruit at a high level is definitely there.”

Gaspard began his tenure at Alabama as an assistant coach, serving as an assistant coach under Jim Wells from 1995-2001, and again in that role from 2008-09. In between, he was the head coach at Northwestern State.

Alabama has missed the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years after making regionals in four of Gaspard’s first five years as head coach. He went 234-193 at Alabama, and won at least 30 games in all but one season.

While the Crimson Tide advanced to the NCAA tournament four times under Gaspard, they never hosted a regional and advanced to super regionals only in 2010—his first season.

Gaspard also guided the Crimson Tide through the 2015 season when they played their home games at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium while their on-campus ballpark, Sewell-Thomas Stadium, was going through significant renovations.

Battle said Gaspard had served the Crimson Tide well during his tenure.

“Mitch leaves the program in good shape,” he said. “He was a major factor in us being able to rebuild Sewell-Thomas Stadium into the nation’s finest baseball facility and his players have competed hard and handled themselves well on and off the field. I am most appreciative of the leadership Mitch has provided and his effort and drive to prepare our team to compete at the highest levels on and off the field.”