A Sugar Bowl win and Sweet 16 appearance would signal a celebration to start the year for any athletics program, but for Alabama it’s been anything but.

Despite another 11-win season and following 2022 with the top-rated recruiting class in the country, Nick Saban’s football dynasty backed into the shadow of his former assistant Kirby Smart’s two-time defending champion Georgia Bulldogs. But the perception of the Crimson Tide’s wavering place among the college football elite pales in comparison to legal woes and public relations disaster facing the school and athletics director Greg Byrne.

Below is a timeline of events that have cast Alabama athletics in the national spotlight in 2023.

1/18

Darius Miles arrest

The Jan. 15 shooting death of Jamea Harris on Grace Street near the Strip in Tuscaloosa led to the arrests of then-Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend, Michael Davis, for capital murder. Miles was dismissed from the team the same day.

Two other Alabama basketball players at the time, Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley, were named in court by law enforcement as being present at the scene but are considered witnesses and not suspects. Miller left Alabama after one season to enter June’s NBA draft, where he is expected to be a top-three pick. Bradley entered the NCAA transfer portal after his freshman season and committed to the University of Arizona.

Following the report of Miller and Bradley’s involvement, Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats received scrutiny for his handling of the matter including public comments he made about his players and the case. As details emerged from the hearing preliminary hearing, Oats was asked during a press conference about Miller’s involvement, which had not yet been reported. “We knew about that,” Oats said. “Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time.” Oats issued an apologetic statement the next day. “I thought it was important for me to clarify the unfortunate remarks I made earlier,” he said in a statement.

In April, Miles pleaded not guilty to the capital murder charge filed against him after he was accused of providing the gun used in a fatal shooting near campus.

READ: More on Darius Miles

Roster turnover

Since Alabama’s Sweet 16 run ended, four members of Alabama’s postseason lineup have decided to at least explore the potential of a pro career — Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney are first-round options with Charles Bediako and Jahvon Quinerly maintaining their collegiate eligibility should they want it. Another rotational guard has transferred out (Nimari Burnett) and an expected freshman (Grissom’s R.J. Johnson) has asked for a release from his commitment. Former 5-star recruit and starting guard Jaden Bradley also entered the transfer portal and committed to the University of Arizona.

READ: Alabama left with ‘mixed feelings’ amid roster turnover and Sweet 16 exit

Tony Mitchell arrest

Alabama suspended freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell from “all team activities,” coach Nick Saban said after the first practice of the spring, after Mitchell was arrested in Holmes County, Florida, and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and/or deliver. Saban said Mitchell will remain suspended as the school gathers information about his arrest and his legal circumstance. “Everybody’s got an opportunity to make choices and decisions,” Saban said. “There’s no such thing as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Mitchell, who played at Thompson High School in Alabaster, was a four-star prospect in the 2023 class ranked No. 123 in 247 Sports’ composite rankings. He committed to Alabama in June 2022 over Auburn, Georgia and Texas A&M, then signed his letter of intent in December.

Police body camera footage obtained by AL.com in late April shows Mitchell identifying himself as am Alabama football player to police after his arrest last month in Florida, sobbing as he acknowledged the risk it posed to his career. “I’m an early-enrollee freshman. I play football at Alabama,” Mitchell said as he sat handcuffed in the back of a Holmes County Sheriff’s squad car. “I know what I’ve got at risk, sir.” Mitchell pleaded not guilty to the charge and waived his arraignment in March. He was scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing May 3 before that was continued this week to July 5.

READ: Police footage shows Alabama freshman football player sobbing after arrest, ‘I know what I got at risk’

Jaykwon Walton arrest

Former G.W. Carver-Montgomery prep star Jaykwon Walton, who last month announced his transfer to the Crimson Tide men’s basketball team, was arrested in Tuscaloosa in April. Walton, 21, was among two people arrested Saturday night while police were investigating a large crowd gathered.

Nate Oats announced in a statement that the school “is no longer recruiting Jaykwon Walton and he will not be a student-athlete at The University of Alabama” after news broke about Walton’s arrest.

After receiving complaints from residents nearby, police approached an occupied vehicle on Reed Street. Officers smelled marijuana and asked the three occupants to step out of the car. Walton, a front seat passanger, informed an officer of a loaded firearm under his seat. Police also found marijuana in the floorboard, along with two more loaded weapons in the vehicle. Walton was charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and was released after posting $500 bond.

READ: Jaykwon Walton no longer transferring to Alabama

Deputy AD domestic violence arrest

Matt Self, one of the senior members of the University of Alabama’s athletic department and the department’s administrator for the football program, was arrested April 30 by Tuscaloosa police on a domestic violence charge. Self was charged with third-degree domestic violence. He appeared Sunday evening in the inmate database of Tuscaloosa County jail. Self, 45, was placed on a 24-hour domestic violence hold and bond was set at $300.

“Alabama Athletics is aware of this incident,” an athletics department spokesperson said in a statement. “We take such matters seriously and will continue to gather more information to address this personnel matter.” According to his biography on the Alabama athletics website, Self is “responsible for all areas of compliance with NCAA, SEC and UA rules and regulations, monitoring efforts and investigations. In addition, Self, a member of the department’s executive staff, oversees equipment operations, sports medicine/athletic training, nutrition, strength and conditioning and is the sport administrator for football and volleyball.”

READ: Alabama deputy athletic director arrested on domestic violence charge

Baseball betting probe & Brad Bohannon

Alabama announced on Thursday the termination of baseball head coach Brad Bohannon days after an ESPN report raised questions about “suspicious wagering activity” surrounding Crimson Tide baseball games, leading to Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania halting all bets on the team’s games.

“Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees,” the university said in a statement. “Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach. There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”

While it is unclear if Bohannon or any Alabama players had any connection to the suspicious wagering activity that was detected, ESPN reported Monday evening that the Ohio Casino Control Commission had suspended betting on Alabama baseball games at the state’s legal sports books after U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas-based independent monitor, detected suspicious bets on last Friday’s Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge.

The betting probe comes weeks after Bohannon and Jackson were sued by a former player, along with UA’s athletic trainer Sean Stryker, due to alleged mistreatment after an injury. Bohannon had been under contract through June 30, 2025, after signing a two-year extension in 2021. The new deal paid him $475,000 for the 2022 season, with $25,000 raises the following three years.

READ: Trying to make sense of Alabama gambling probe, firing coach

Nick Alvarez, Carol Robinson and Mike Rodak contributed to this story.