CFB AM: Vulgar Alabama fans get Dixieland Delight banned from games

Published Dec. 4, 2014 10:00 a.m. ET

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Teddy Mitrosilis

Do you enjoy hearing the song "Dixieland Delight" sung by a packed Bryant-Denny Stadium during Alabama football games?

Well, it appears we’ve heard it for the last time – at least for now.

The singing of "Dixieland Delight" has been a Crimson Tide tradition for years, but the school has decided to put a stop to the song because Bama fans turn it into a vulgar taunt of the opponent.

An email was recently sent around Alabama’s marketing folks requesting the song be removed from all athletic events until the university’s AD decides otherwise.

The most recent example of Tide fans desecrating the song, and probably what drove athletic director Bill Battle to make this decision, was at last weekend’s Iron Bowl.

Throughout the song, Alabama fans match the melody with a well-timed “f--- Auburn” chant. A couple times, that line morphs into, “F--- Auburn … and LSU … and Tennessee, too.”

Here’s video of fans singing the song and chanting the f-bombs (probably not suited for some workplaces):

I find this all pretty entertaining. It’s certainly understandable why Alabama wouldn’t want this to continue, but will this stop Tide fans from chanting vulgar things at opponents? Of course not.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Jameis Winston’s Florida State code of conduct hearing concluded on Wednesday in Tallahassee after two days of testimony. Now it’s up to retired Supreme Court justice Major Harding, who presided over the hearing, to determine whether Winston is responsible for violating the policy or not.

The one notable thing that happened on Day 2 of the hearing was Winston closed it by reading a statement that detailed everything that he says happened that night, from meeting her at a bar to having sex with her and taking her home. The statement is published here (warning: graphic sexual language).

“This statement contains my best recollection of my involvement with (accuser),” Winston’s statement begins. “I apologize for the graphic nature of the matters I describe, but given the false accusations against me it is important to describe fully and accurately my interaction with (accuser) to demonstrate that she willingly engaged in multiple consensual sexual acts with me with her full knowledge and consent. (accuser) is lying about me. I have no choice but to tell the truth about her.”

Winston did not answer questions but closed his statement by saying, “At some point [the accuser] will be held accountable [for falsely accusing him], so I have determined that it is in my best interests to exercise my right pursuant to Rule 6C2R-3.004 (6)(d)of the Florida State University Student Code of Conduct and answer questions when experienced lawyers and other experts can assist me in confronting (accuser) false accusation and when (accuser) is subject to the penalty of perjury and other claims for (accuser) falsely accusing me of rape.”

2. Now we need something to feel good about, so here’s this: The director of development and community relations at an Ohio State satellite campus wrote Michigan QB Devin Gardner a very kind letter thanking him for the sportsmanship he showed when Buckeyes QB J.T. Barrett was injured against Michigan last Saturday. Gardner knelt down to console Barrett on the field, producing a photo that went viral. We’ll look back on this as one of the indelible moments of 2014 in college football. Well done, all around.

3. A couple coaching carousel notes: There were some rumblings on Wednesday about Nebraska being interested in Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, and while that may be true from the school’s side, Bielema said he’s at Arkansas for the long haul. “My professional life is one that I always thought needs to stay in my own mind with my wife and my family,” Bielema said on a teleconference with media from Indianapolis, where he was recruiting. “I’m not one of those coaches that gets my name involved or anything like that. When I started talking to Arkansas I told them, ‘Hey, I hear my name come in any way other than my own release then I’m probably going to be out of the conversation.’ That’s just how I’ve always operated. 

"I think the part that is fun for me right now is the building that we’ve done has really become apparent. All these little FBOs all over the country, people who come up to me and talk to me about what we’re doing at Arkansas and building and the support (athletic director) Jeff Long has given us is second to none. I can’t tell you how excited I am for next year, obviously my commitment to Arkansas is long term.”

(Update: Later Thursday, Nebraska hired Mike Riley away from Oregon State, so if Bielema goes anywhere, it won't be Lincoln.)

Also: News broke Thursday morning that Florida has reached a deal with Colorado State’s Jim McElwain to become the Gators’ new head coach. The negotiations hit a snag on Wednesday as Florida and CSU tried to work through McElwain’s $7.5 million buyout, but that issue has now been resolved. 

THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1. With the ACC title game coming up this weekend, Coy Wire has a great piece on why Jameis Winston has thrown so many interceptions this year (17) and why Florida State can’t afford the lousy version of Winston against Georgia Tech. If Winston plays anything like he did against Florida this week, the Noles are going down, Wire writes. This is worth five minutes when you have them.

2. I’m absolutely sure this was a mistake on Penn State’s part, but it’s one hell of a gaffe: In an apparent mass-produced letter blast out to PSU fans, the athletic department sent a letter to Jerry Sandusky asking him to renew his season tickets. Sandusky, obviously, won’t be doing that, as he’s serving a 30-60 year prison sentence for convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse. Here’s a photo of the letter:

3. Kansas is dialing in its coaching search and is targeting next week to make a hire, Bruce Feldman reports. Among the top candidates: Nebraska OC Tim Beck and Ohio State co-OC and offensive line coach Ed Warinner, plus a few others.

THREE THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW

1. Some Miami trustees are not happy with coach Al Golden or the direction of the Canes program. There has been chatter for a while about how Golden and Miami should part ways. It’s not that Golden isn’t a quality coach – and he deserves credit for how he handled the Nevin Shapiro mess that was dropped on him as soon as he took the Canes job – but rather that he’s not a natural fit with the South Florida school and it’s a vocal alumni and booster base that appears to want someone with stronger ties to Miami. I bet Golden enters 2015 as the coach there and then it’ll be a make-or-break season for him.

2. Kansas State coach Bill Snyder sent a really nice handwritten note to West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett after Trickett suffered a concussion in the game against the Wildcats last month. Here’s a photo of the note: 

3. According to AuburnSports.com, Will Muschamp has received lucrative offers from Auburn and Texas A&M to be their next defensive coordinator.

LASTLY

* After going winless in the SEC in his first season at Vanderbilt, head coach Derek Mason fired offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell, wide receivers coach Marc Lubick and strength coach Bill Hughan.

* Bill Connelly projects the championship games this week and lays out what’s at stake.

* Ohio State will wear a decal with Kosta Karageorge’s number on the back of their helmets during the Big Ten title game this Saturday to honor the late Buckeye, who was found dead on Saturday after going missing.

Have a great Thursday, everybody.

Teddy Mitrosilis is an editor and writer for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at tmitrosilis@gmail.com.

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