Gary Stokan believed in Nick Saban so much that he put his job on the line for him when he was in his first year coaching at LSU in 2000.
Stokan was in his second year in charge of running the Peach Bowl.
The Tigers went 8-4 that season. The Peach Bowl was setting its matchup. It had Georgia Tech. Then, for what he said was the only time in his career, Stokan received a call from a coach asking for his team to be selected.
It was Saban, telling Stokan that he was trying to build a program. The Tigers needed the Peach Bowl to strengthen its recruiting.
Stokan flew to LSU to meet with officials. He came back and recommended to the Peach Bowl board that they select LSU. Some members of the board weren’t as enthused. They weren’t sure about the ticket sales.
Saban said he told the board that he would put his job on the line.
The Tigers sold 16,421 tickets on the first day of sales, according to Stokan. LSU then beat Tech 28-14 in front an announced attendance of 73,614, the then-largest crowd in Peach Bowl history.
Two years later, with a class of recruits that the Peach Bowl helped lure, LSU won the 2003 national championship.
In 2007, Stokan wanted to start what became the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game. He needed a marquee team to sell the idea. Stokan called Saban, who had taken over at Alabama in 2007. Saban remembered what the Peach Bowl did for LSU’s recruiting. Stokan said Saban told him that if Alabama could win the recruiting battle in-state, and finish second in Georgia, the Crimson Tide were going to win national titles. Alabama played in the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff game in 2008 and beat Clemson 34-10. Alabama was on the cover of the next week’s Sports Illustrated.
The Tide returned in 2009 and beat Virginia Tech 34-24. Alabama went 14-0 that season and won the first of its six national titles under Saban.
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