Bill Battle, who won a national championship as an Alabama football player and later became UA’s athletics director after a highly successful turn in the business world, has died, UA announced Thursday. He was 82.

Bill Battle III, who was athletic director at his alma mater, Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant’s first national championship team, coached the Tennessee Volunteers and also founded the Collegiate Licensing Company,

Bill Battle, the household name of the Alabama football, breathed his last at the age of 82. Battle has been a legend both on and off the field and gave his best for the Tide. From 1960 to 1962, he showcased his athletic supremacy under coach Paul Bear Bryant and was a part of Bryant’s first national championship team in 62.