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.

Battle, a Birmingham native, played for Paul “Bear” Bryant, starting for three years from 1960-62. Alabama won the national championship in 1961, and Battle’s efforts also earned him a spot on the UA all-decade’s team for the 1960s as a tight end (first team) and a defensive end (second team).

“Coach Battle was a great player and top prospect in the South when he came to Alabama at a time when the program was down,” Paul Bryant Jr. said in a statement. “He started for Papa for three years including a national championship. He created the licensing industry that The University and schools nationwide still benefit from today. He was a major donor to The University. When we needed him again, he left retirement to help us as Athletic Director.”

Here’s a 2009 Bryant Museum video with highlights of Battle’s playing career at Alabama:

Battle came back to UA in 2013 to work as athletics director. He served in that role for four years, over a span in which Alabama won three national championships, 10 SEC championships across five sports and had 15 individual national champions, among other accomplishments.

“Bill Battle was first class in every way,” former Alabama football coach Nick Saban said in a statement. “He represented The University of Alabama with tremendous character and integrity. He was an outstanding football player at Alabama, a successful collegiate head coach and visionary who revolutionized the business of college athletics.

“I got to know him best when he returned to direct the Alabama athletics department where his vision and leadership were driving factors in the Crimson Tide’s success that resulted in our 2015 national championship. Terry and I are saddened by his passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Mary and their entire family. He will be deeply missed.”

Battle graduated from Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1963 before gaining his master’s degree from Oklahoma in 1964. He went into coaching out of school, working as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma under Bud Wilkinson.

Battle then became an assistant coach for the Army football team at the United States Military Academy in West Point. After two years there, Battle served as an assistant coach at Tennessee for four years prior to him becoming head coach in 1970.

Battle was just 29 when he took over the football program at Tennessee, making him one of the youngest head coaches in modern SEC history. He finished 59-22-2 over his seven seasons (1970-76) leading the Vols, winning four bowl games in five opportunities, but beating Bryant’s Alabama team just once, in his first season.

Battle told AL.com in a 2013 interview that his time spent with Bryant and a player, coach and business associate had a profound effect on his life. However, competing against him on the football field was not exactly enjoyable.

“As a player, you never socialized with Coach Bryant,” Battle said. “Usually if you talked to him, you were in trouble. … As a coach, he loved to be around his players that were coaches. Every year, he had a place down on Lake Martin, and he would have a thing for his coaches. We’d come in and we’d play golf and draw X’s and O’s and have more fun. And then he started having more players that he was having to compete with. … We were always friendly, but we never could be friends in the Alabama-Tennessee relationship.

“When I worked with him in business, we talked about anything and everything. It was so great. We talked about X’s and O’s and people. Everything. Anything. So I got to know him at three different levels.

“What was amazing to me was how much time he spent helping other people. In many cases, they never even knew he helped them. That’s the mark of a man, to me.”

After coaching at Tennessee, Battle founded the Collegiate Licensing Company, known as CLC, in 1981, where he worked as president and CEO for 21 years. The company became nearly ubiquitous in the world of sports apparel and memorabilia, eventually holding licensing deals with more than 200 college athletic programs.

Then later, Battle went on to succeed Mal Moore as athletics director at Alabama. Battle served in that role until 2017, when current athletics director Greg Byrne was hired.

“It’s difficult to put into words just how much Coach Battle means to The University of Alabama and college athletics, as a whole,” Byrne said in a statement. “He excelled in so many areas and was a true visionary. Beyond his accomplishments, he was an incredible man, and I am forever grateful for the friendship we built over the years. We will miss him tremendously and are praying for Mary, Pat, Mike, Shannon, Kayla and the entire Battle family.”

Among Battle’s accolades, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. He also earned a spot in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1981, the National Collegiate Licensing Association Hall of Fame, the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, and more.

Battle also received the 2005 Paul W. Bryant Alumni Athlete award. UA also named its strength and conditioning complex in his honor, calling it the Bill Battle Athletic Performance Center.

“Bill Battle’s legacy at The University of Alabama is profound and enduring,” UA president Stuart R. Bell said in a statement. “His generosity and visionary leadership elevated our institution and enriched the lives of countless students and colleagues. His dedication to excellence and steadfast devotion to UA will inspire generations to come. We are forever grateful for his friendship and his lasting impact on our community.”

In a sad coincidence, Battle is the third former Alabama football player who later served as the school’s AD to die this year. Steve Sloan passed in April at age 79, Cecil “Hootie” Ingram at 90 in May.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.