Bill Battle III
William R. "Bill" Battle III (born c. 1941 in Birmingham) is a sports licensing pioneer, and a former head college football coach.
Football career
Battle played football at the University of Alabama from 1960 to 1962 and was part of Bear Bryant’s first national championship team in 1961. After graduating, he entered the coaching profession at the University of Oklahoma. From 1964 to 1965, he served a two-year military tour for the Army at the United States Military Academy at West Point while as an assistant coach. In 1966 he moved to the University of Tennessee, where he served as an assistant coach for four years until he was named head coach in 1970. At the time he began as head coach at age 28, he was the youngest college head coach in the country. Battle resigned from Tennessee in 1976, after amassing an overall record of 59-22-2. His .718 winning percentage ranks him as the 13th winningest SEC coach of all time.
Sports licensing
Battle is the founder and chairman of the Collegiate Licensing Company. In 1981, while working for Golden Eagle Enterprises in Selma, Battle signed Bryant to a licensing agreement. The University of Alabama signed on as CLC’s first university client. In 1983, Battle moved the newly-formed company to Atlanta where it resides today.
Battle is a member of the group that votes in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll.
Awards
Battle was the first member inducted into the National Collegiate Licensing Assocation Hall of Fame in 2000. He was awarded the 2005 Paul W. Bryant Award from the University of Alabama. He currenlty serves on the boards of Collegiate Images and Birmingham-Southern College, whose Panthers basketball teams play in the Bill Battle Coliseum, named for his father, Bill Battle, Jr.