After Alabama narrowly missed the College Football Playoff in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season, athletic director Greg Byrne told fans in a letter on X on Wednesday that “now is a time for action” and “time for the Bama Nation to fight back.”

“Although we have been competitive from an NIL standpoint, our competition has us in their sights and are actively trying to surge ahead with NIL,” Byrne said in the letter. “You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back.”

The Crimson Tide went 9-3 under DeBoer, a former Washington coach, who replaced Nick Saban when he retired on Jan. 10. Alabama fell 40-35 at Vanderbilt on Oct. 5, its first loss to the Commodores in 40 years, and a 24-3 defeat at Oklahoma on Nov. 23 knocked the Tide out of the SEC championship game.

Alabama was No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. The Crimson Tide were left out of the 12-team bracket, however, because No. 12 Arizona State and No. 16 Clemson were conference champions and received automatic berths.

“We have been careful during this transitional period to protect our position at the top of college athletics while being mindful to listen, engage and learn from our generous supporters, proud alumni and unrivaled fans to make sure that we protect our great traditions here at Alabama,” Byrne said. “But there’s a time for talk and a time for action. Now is a time for action.”

Alabama signed the No. 4 recruiting class in the FBS, trailing only Oregon and SEC rivals Texas and Georgia, according to ESPN Recruiting. The Tide flipped quarterback Keelon Russell from SMU and safety Ivan Taylor from Michigan.

Alabama has lost 14 scholarship players to the portal so far.

Defensive tackle Jehiem Oatis, the No. 1 defensive player in ESPN’s transfer rankings, left the program in early October and is transferring to Colorado.

The Crimson Tide also lost starting defensive back DeVonta Smith to Notre Dame.

Four wide receivers — Kobe Prentice (Baylor), Kendrick Law, Caleb Odom and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. — have left the program, and backup quarterback Dylan Lonergan is transferring to Boston College. Running back Justice Haynes has also entered the portal.

Byrne encouraged Alabama fans to give to “Yea Alabama,” the athletic department’s NIL entity, and noted the school was focused “on providing our fans with a legitimate product rather than booster inducements.”

“At Alabama, we’ve not measured ourselves against our competition,” Byrne said. “We are the standard, and that measurement is against the mirror and against a rich and proud history, but it’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in college athletics. Hungry fan bases are acting decisively to give their respective programs competitive advantages. We must respond. We are Alabama.”

The Crimson Tide play Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 (noon ET/ESPN, ESPN+).

ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fred Lorenzen, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona 500 champion, died Wednesday. He was 89.

NASCAR released a statement that Lorenzen had died and had confirmed the death with his family. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Lorenzen had been in declining health for years.

In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.

One of NASCAR’s first superstars, Lorenzen was known as the “Golden Boy” for his rugged, movie-star looks. He won 26 career Cup races and made starts in 12 seasons from 1956 to 1972.

“Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s first true superstars. A fan favorite, he helped NASCAR expand from its original roots. Fred was the picture-perfect NASCAR star, helping to bring the sport to the silver screen — which further grew NASCAR’s popularity during its early years,” NASCAR chairman Jim France said in a statement. “For many years, NASCAR’s ‘Golden Boy’ was also its gold standard, a fact that eventually led him to the sport’s pinnacle, a rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

In 1964, Lorenzen entered 16 of the scheduled 62 races and won eight, including five consecutive starts. During that stretch, Lorenzen led 1,679 of the possible 1,953 laps, one of the more dominant stretches in NASCAR history.

He was the first driver in NASCAR to earn more than $100,000 in a single season, which he did in 1963.

Lorenzen battled dementia in his later years and pledged his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

His daughter, Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom, told The Associated Press in 2016 she was convinced Lorenzen had CTE from years of brutal wrecks and hits from the 1960s, one of the most dangerous eras in racing history.

“He never stopped to heal,” she said.

The Elmhurst, Illinois, native was one of NASCAR’s first stars to hail from outside the sport’s Southern roots.

“The hardest part right now is that his racing memories are starting to go,” Gardstrom said in 2016. “That was the one thing that was really wonderful, to connect and see him light up when he talked about racing.”

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was part of a 54-member panel that picked Lorenzen for induction into the hall in 2015. Tony Stewart introduced Lorenzen at his hall induction.

“He was such a humble guy, that I don’t think he ever realized what an impact he had on the sport,” Gardstrom said.

Colorado has signed Liberty transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

The Buffaloes are bringing in one of the most accomplished dual-threat quarterbacks in college football to compete for the chance to be Shedeur Sanders‘ successor in 2025. Salter started 29 games for the Flames and earned Conference USA MVP honors in 2023 while leading the program to a 13-1 season.

Salter has one remaining season of eligibility. He will compete with five-star freshman Julian Lewis, the second overall recruit in the 2025 ESPN 300, for the starting role as Colorado looks to replace Sanders, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and potential first overall draft pick.

Salter has accounted for 6,438 total yards of offense and 66 touchdowns during his two seasons in Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell’s spread option system. He has rushed for 1,676 yards since 2023, second among FBS quarterbacks behind Army‘s Bryson Daily (2,433).

In 2023, Salter led the first perfect regular season in Liberty history while throwing a school-record 32 touchdown passes. The Flames won the Conference USA title in their first season in the league and earned a New Year’s Six bowl bid in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon. Liberty finished No. 25 in the final AP poll following a 45-6 loss to the Ducks.

Salter threw for 1,886 yards, rushed for 587 yards and scored 22 total touchdowns for the Flames during an 8-3 run this season. The Cedar Hill, Texas, native announced Dec. 2 that he planned to transfer and visited Syracuse before deciding to play for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes.

After a breakthrough 9-3 season and a No. 23 finish in the College Football Playoff rankings, Colorado is looking to reload its roster via the transfer portal as Sanders and Heisman Trophy-winning two-way star Travis Hunter depart for the NFL.

The Buffaloes landed former Alabama defensive lineman Jehiem Oatis, the No. 1 defensive player in ESPN’s transfer rankings, earlier this week and have also secured commitments from tight end Zach Atkins (Northwest Missouri State), offensive lineman Carter Miller (UL Monroe), linebacker Reginald Hughes (Jacksonville State) and kicker Buck Buchanan (Louisiana Tech).

The Buffaloes will face No. 17 BYU in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28. The Big 12 opponents did not meet during the regular season and were part of a four-way tie for first place in the league standings.