Alabama
Ivey calls on Legislature to approve Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences
In her State of the State Address on Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey again called on the Legislature to fund the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences, a statewide, residential high school located in Demopolis. Ivey said the school is among her top legislative priorities for the 2024 session.
“Last year, I introduced the idea of the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences… This school will directly expose young men and women from around Alabama, and particularly rural students, to various healthcare fields,” Ivey said. “And it gives them options. Maybe they want to graduate with a credential to immediately start working a high-wage career, or maybe they want to go to college and become a nurse or maybe even attend medical or dental school. We will now give these students an opportunity and a state-of-the-art school to attend.”
For the first time publicly, Ivey also announced the results of a feasibility study requested by the Alabama Legislature after the school was first proposed last year. Demopolis, she said, is the best location for the school.
“Already, we have received tremendous community support [from Demopolis], and the gold standard of rural healthcare is just a few steps away from the proposed site where these students will learn,” Ivey said, referring to Whitfield Regional Hospital in Demopolis. “And on top of all of this, the feasibility report commissioned by the Legislature last year has once again validated Demopolis as the ideal location for this important school – folks, let’s get this important project done.”
After the address, ASHS Foundation Chairman Rob Pearson applauded Ivey’s dedication to making the school a reality, pledging his organization’s continued work to serve the school.
“Since the day Gov. Ivey publicly announced the concept of this school – exactly a year ago – and her intention of it being built in Demopolis, we have joined with stakeholders across the state to support the proposed school,” Pearson said. “From the development of this Foundation, to working with wonderful people like Dr. Majd Zayzafoon at UAB, to securing funding of $26.4 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, we have made it clear that we take the responsibility seriously.”
Pearson also said he was happy, though not surprised, about the results of the feasibility study.
“In the process of working with our healthcare partners and Bloomberg Philanthropies, we felt their support validated the school’s feasibility in Demopolis,” Pearson said. “To know the study commissioned by the Legislature says the same is further testament to this community’s ability to serve the entire state of Alabama.”
On Jan. 17, the ASHS Foundation joined with state and local leaders to announce that the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences was one of 10 educational programs across the United States to receive funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies. That money, contingent upon the school being built in Demopolis, is thought to be the largest philanthropic gift ever in West Alabama
Demopolis Mayor Woody Collins thanked Ivey for her trust in the city and said Demopolis understands the gravity of being home to a statewide, residential high school.
“As we have shown over the past year, the entire city of Demopolis has embraced the proposed Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences,” Collins said. “Along with agreeing to deed the land for the school to the ASHS Foundation, we understand there will be many resources needed to give students of this school the safety and support they need. Our citizens are committed to being guardians to our state’s future healthcare workforce.”
Melissa Fortenberry saw a problem and sought a solution, a solution Alabama football is buying into.
Fortenberry invented HeatSense, a fitness tracker that measures athletes’ individual core body temperature with the “goal of proactively managing heat strain.” In August, Alabama will be Heat Sense’s first customer.
“They are all in,” Fortenberry told The Tuscaloosa News. “They very much want their player health to be at the top of the list.”
With a background in technology, Fortenberry came up with the idea of HeatSense as a fan, watching her three kids play youth sports in from the stands. She became sick, feeling dizzy and nauseous and coming to the conclusion that the pads and turf were hotter for athletes on the field.
Fortenberry conducted her own research and saw more reactive solutions than proactive.
“You can see heat strain forming in people and proactively cool them or keep pushing, where today, you’re flying blind,” Fortenberry said.
Jeff Allen, senior associate athletic director for health and performance and Alabama football’s head athletic trainer, has already been on the forefront of innovation for player safety, introducing the injury tent in 2015 to allow training staff and medical personnel to examine athletes privately on the sideline during games.
When Carson Tinker, a former Alabama and NFL long snapper and Fortenberry’s neighbor, heard about her idea, Allen was the first person Tinker thought of.
“Jeff was like, ‘Man, this sounds super interesting. Keep me in the loop with this,’” Tinker said. “It’s something he felt he knew that he could use. That was over a year ago now. … Now it’s all kind of come together. It’s crazy how it all kind of works out.”
“Once we got Jeff’s attention, he was really intrigued,” Fortenberry said, adding Allen “wants to be on the forefront of making the game better.”
Members of the HeatSense team attended an Alabama practice during its fourth-quarter program in March and put sensors on 10 players.
“I think the feedback they heard from players was validated in what we saw,” Fortenberry said.
Tinker views this not only as a safety tool, but an advantage overall to find a player’s peak body temperature.
“You want to be able to use the heat to your advantage. You want to be able to play your best in all conditions, but nobody knows until it’s too late and you got to get through in the cold tub because you overheated.”
Alabama is just the start for HeatSense, which has the goal of reaching three to five Division I programs this summer.
According to Weather Spark, the average temperature in Tuscaloosa eclipses 90 degrees during Alabama’s fall camp. Fortenberry now has a way for the Crimson Tide to respond.
“People, I think, are afraid of the heat, but you don’t know you can do something about it,” she said. “Now you can.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
A new survey of likely Republican runoff voters in Alabama suggests the state’s four statewide runoff contests remain at different stages heading into the June 16 election, with one race showing a clear leader, another appearing highly competitive, and a third remaining largely unsettled.
According to The Alabama Poll, which surveyed 600 likely Republican runoff voters on May 28, U.S. Senate candidate Jared Hudson leads Congressman Barry Moore 48.7% to 39.2%, while 12.1% of voters remain undecided. The poll indicates Hudson has built support among voters whose preferred candidates did not advance to the runoff.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Wes Allen holds a narrow overall lead over Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl, 41.9% to 38.4%. However, the survey found Wahl performing slightly better among voters who report they are certain to vote and among the most frequent Republican primary voters, highlighting the potential importance of turnout in the contest. Nearly one in five voters, 19.6%, remain undecided.
The attorney general runoff shows the largest margin among the four statewide races surveyed. Katherine Robertson leads Jay Mitchell 49.1% to 31.2%, with 19.7% of respondents undecided. Poll analysts noted that Mitchell’s path to closing the gap would likely depend on winning support from voters who view him favorably but have not yet committed to a candidate.
Meanwhile, the Republican runoff for commissioner of agriculture remains the most unsettled race in the survey. Corey Hill leads Christina Woerner McInnis 33.1% to 27.3%, but nearly 40% of likely runoff voters remain undecided, leaving substantial room for movement before Election Day.
Beyond the candidate matchups, the poll found Republican voters generally optimistic about the direction of Alabama, with 63.6% saying the state is headed in the right direction. At the same time, economic concerns continue to dominate voter priorities. Nearly 79% of respondents identified an economic issue as the most important problem facing the state, with grocery prices and utility costs cited most frequently.
The survey also found President Donald Trump’s approval rating among likely Republican runoff voters at 83.2%. Researchers reported that endorsements from both Trump and U.S. Senator Katie Britt carried similar persuasive weight among respondents.
The Alabama Poll surveyed 600 likely Republican primary runoff voters using a combination of live telephone interviews and text-message surveys. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and was conducted May 28 among voters who said they are likely to participate in the June 16 Republican runoff election.
Former Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones and linebacker DeMeco Ryans are under consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2027 class, the National Football Foundation announced on Monday.
Dennis Franchione, who was Alabama’s head coach during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, is also under consideration. Franchione was a two-time NAIA National Coach of the Year before moving into Division I, where he led New Mexico to its first bowl in 36 years and TCU to its first postseason win since 1957. He took over a 3-8 Alabama team and led the Tide to a 10-win season in 2002, later guiding Texas A&M to consecutive victories over Texas (2006-07) and a berth in the 2005 Cotton Bowl.
Jones is a two-time First Team All-American (2011-unanimous, 2012-consensus) and winner of the 2012 NFF Campbell, 2012 Rimington, 2011 Outland and 2011 Wuerffel trophies. He Led Alabama to three national titles and two SEC crowns.
The three-time First Team All-SEC selection is arguably the most decorated offensive lineman in school history, winning national honors at three different positions (center, tackle, guard). The 2012 Alabama captain played through Lisfranc injury with at least two torn ligaments suffered in SEC Championship Game. He also played in the national title game before having surgery that kept him out of the NFL combine.
DeMeco Ryans, who is currently the head coach of the Houston Texans, could be considered the best player of the Mike Shula years as he was the program’s top draft pick between 1998-08 (between first-round selections Dwayne Rudd and Andre Smith).
During his senior season, the linebacker led Alabama with 76 tackles including 9.5 for a loss, en route to being named a first-team All-American, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and Lott Trophy winner as college football’s best impact defensive player.
These three are among 80 players and nine coaches from the FBS, along with 99 players and 39 coaches from the NCAA divisional and NAIA ranks.
Alabama currently has 28 representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame, with the most recent inductees being Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram in the 2026 class and seven-time national champion (six at Alabama) head coach Nick Saban in the 2025 class. Ingram was the first Crimson Tide player under Saban to be inducted.
Alabama in the College Football Hall of Fame
(Member, Year Inducted)
- Don Hutson, 1951
- Frank Thomas, 1951
- Fred Sington, 1955
- Wallace Wade, 1955
- Don Whitmire (transferred to Navy after two years), 1956
- Johnny Mack Brown, 1957
- Pooley Hubert, 1964
- Millard “Dixie” Howell, 1970
- John Cain, 1973
- Lee Roy Jordan, 1983
- Riley Smith, 1985
- Paul “Bear” Bryant, 1986
- Vaughn Mancha, 1990
- Harry Gilmer, 1993
- Ozzie Newsome, 1994
- John Hannah, 1999
- Johnny Musso, 2000
- Billy Neighbors, 2003
- Cornelius Bennett, 2005
- Woodrow Lowe, 2009
- Gene Stallings, 2010
- Marty Lyons, 2011
- Derrick Thomas, 2014
- E.J. Junior, 2020
- Sylvester Croom, 2022
- Antonio Langham, 2024
- Nick Saban, 2025
- Mark Ingram, 2026
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