Greg Byrne Says it’s ‘A Bunch of Hooey’ that Alabama Doesn’t Care About Fans

Amid the constant changes in college athletics, fans can feel like they're being left behind. While the SEC has done a better job of maintaining fan engagement, largely by making sure most of the games can be viewed without an extra subscription service, it's more expensive than ever to be a college football fan.

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Without getting into politics, it's the flat-out truth that it is more expensive than ever to attend a college football game if you don't live in the city that your favorite team plays in. College football fans feel alienated by the constant demand for money to support their favorite team. Then on top of that, they're being asked to donate more money to their school's collective to "help with NIL" and the growing costs of college football rosters.

It can make fans feel like their favorite school doesn't care about them, and Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne has faced that criticism in recent months. Byrne spent time on various radio shows and television networks asking Alabama fans for more donations to Yea Alabama, the Crimson Tide's NIL collective. Fans took it as if Byrne doesn't care about you unless you donate money to his athletic department.

That simply isn't the case, however. On Tuesday, Byrne joined Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on Mac and Cube to discuss, calling the perceived lack of care for fans, 'a bunch of hooey.'

"The fans are critical," Byrne told the two former SEC stars. "I know sometimes people say the athletics department doesn't care about fans. That's a bunch of hooey. We may not charge the prices they want us to charge. I understand and appreciate the fact people are trying to make budgets work and be a part of things they're interested in, which we're fortunate we have so many fans at Alabama. We need to make sure we do everything we can to give them a good product out on the field and courts at the same time to give them outside the stadium from the time they get here to the time they get to their seats, hopefully it's as efficient a process as possible."

Byrne had spent time over the spring asking fans for more donations to Yea Alabama. According to Alabama's Athletic Director himself, that has now changed thanks to the House v. NCAA Settlement from federal judge Claudia Wilkin. Fans giving to the collective will now be "very limited going forward," according to Byrne. The collective will now convert into a content and marketing site.

Byrne said the Tide is constantly trying to evolve with what it provides to fans.

"We are trying to evolve with what the services that we offer to ur fans," Byrne said. "At the same time, too, we have to make sure the fans understand why we are changing the way we did."

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.