William Raines Battle, III was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 8, 1941. From 1960-62 he was Coach Paul Bryant's first three-year regular at Alabama. Coach Bryant called Bill Battle, "the most underrated player in America." He was a leader on the 1961 national championship team. After serving in assistantships at Oklahoma, West Point and Tennessee, Bill was head coach at Tennessee from 1970 until 1976. During that time his Volunteers won the Sugar Bowl, the Bluebonnet Bowl and two Liberty Bowls. His record was 59-22-2.  In March of 2013 he was name Athletic Director at the University of Alabama.