Petition Launched To Rename Bryant-Denny Press Box For Cecil Hurt

TUSCALOOSA, AL — One local media outlet is pushing to rename the press box at Bryant-Denny Stadium following the loss of longtime Tuscaloosa News Columnist Cecil Hurt on Tuesday.

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Online Alabama sports website Roll Bama Roll — an affiliate of SB Nation — started this petition to University of Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne, UA President Stuart Bell, Gov. Kay Ivey and the UA Board of Trustees.

Roll Bama Roll's Erik Evans writes:

"For four decades, he was a fixture at BDS: Not every outcome was certain for the Crimson Tide. But Cecil’s rumpled hair and clothes, his steady gaze, his droll jokes and wry smile, his encouragement and commiseration and professionalism were. Equally enduring was the quality of the story that he would undoubtedly get to press moments after the final whistle. There is no one worthier of that honor, nor is there a more fitting tribute to a man who gave almost 40 years of his life to Tuscaloosa, to Alabama, to the community."

ALSO READ: Column: Through The Good Times & Bad, Cecil Was There

As of the publication of this story, over 600 people had signed the petition for the Cecil Hurt Memorial Press Box at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Click here to view the full petition.

Hurt died Tuesday afternoon in Birmingham at the age of 62 following an extended battle with pneumonia and underlying complications.

First beginning his sportswriting career at the Tuscaloosa News in 1982, Hurt became a journalistic icon not just in Tuscaloosa, but across the county, and saw his name trend nationally on social media once news broke of his death.

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