MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama lawmakers welcomed some special visitors to the State House Wednesday: Nick and Terry Saban.
The former championship-winning Alabama football coach and “Miss Terry” were in Montgomery promoting the Saban Center, a Tuscaloosa-based education hub for student learning, teacher training and workforce development.
Expected to open in 2027, the Saban Center is described as a first-of-its-kind campus that will blend STEM education, the arts and hands-on learning.
“We just want to promote young people’s opportunity for career development,” Nick Saban told Alabama Daily News. “We also have a STEM hub for teachers statewide, so they can develop better skills to take back home to the classroom so students have a better chance to be successful.
“It was always my goal as a coach to help players be more successful in life and this is a program that is going to be our legacy that lives on beyond us.”
The Sabans said they are seeking state support for the operation of the STEM hub. Lawmakers in 2023 appropriated $25 million for the center’s development, with $17 million earmarked for the development of materials related to teacher training.
“We have spent the last four years developing this plan for the Saban Center,” Terry Saban said. “We traveled all over the United States seeing what’s the best way to do this and talking to those who have built similar projects.
“We’ve raised $100 million to build this fabulous building – but the heart and soul is going to come from the programming. We need teachers to teach, we need strong programming and we need the state to help us with that.
“The whole thing is going to be based on the State of Alabama’s educational objectives.”
State Superintendent Eric Mackey accompanied the Sabans for their visit to Montgomery, including a meeting with Gov. Kay Ivey. He told Alabama Daily News that the Saban Center will be a “game changer” for teacher development.
“They did a great job this morning talking about the grand vision,” Mackey said of the Sabans’ meeting with lawmakers. “What we’re talking about is ongoing teacher development… Every single activity in the Science Museum will be related to one of our reading, math or science standards. They’ve made that a goal of theirs and we’ve been working with them for about three or four years now and excited to see it develop.”
It was great to have Coach and Ms. Terry Saban in my office.
They have always taken the time and energy to invest in young people and their futures.
I look forward to Alabama students soon immersing themselves in STEM education and the arts at the Saban Center. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/aTjYmTbeGM
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) January 28, 2026