TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama Sport Management Program will present the 2006 Orman Harris Lecture with guest speaker William R. “Bill” Battle, founder of The Collegiate Licensing Co., on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 11:30 a.m. in room 33 of the College of Human Environmental Science’s Child Development Research Center.

Battle played football under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and was a member of Bryant’s first national championship team in 1961. After leaving the University, Battle went on to coach at the University of Oklahoma and the U.S. Military Academy before joining the University of Tennessee where he led the volunteers to victory in the Sugar Bowl, Bluebonnet Bowl and two Liberty Bowls.

After leaving Tennessee, Battle went on to help start a company called Golden Eagle Enterprises, which eventually became The Collegiate Licensing Co. The company is now the nation’s oldest and largest company dedicated to providing licensing services to the collegiate market, representing more than 200 colleges, universities, bowls and conferences.

Battle was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of fame in 1982 and was the first member inducted into the National Collegiate Licensing Association Hall of Fame in 2000. He was named one of Street & Smith’s 20 Most Influential People in College Athletics.

The Sport Management Lectures Series is a collaborative effort between the UA Colleges of Human Environmental Sciences and Education.

For more information, contact Dr. Ken Wright (kwright@bama.ua.edu), Dr. John Vincent (jvincent@bamaed.ua.edu), or go to www.sportmanagement.ua.edu.