ESPN SportsCenter’s “50 States in 50 Days” made its “tour stop” in Alabama on Tuesday.

As part of the coverage, Pardon the Interruption co-hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon engaged in a debates as to who is the “most important” person in the history of the state’s sports. While they conceded big-name figures such as Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Bo Jackson, Charles Barkley and Satchel Paige deserved consideration, they centered the discussion on college football, given the sport’s importance in Alabama.

That meant the choice was between Crimson Tide coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Nick Saban. Kornheiser had a difficult time picking between the two.

“When you say Alabama and sports, the number one thing that everyone says is college football. This is completely legitimate. It is college football in Alabama,” Kornheiser said. “… I’m not saying Bear Bryant is the most important, but he would be at the top of the list when you mentioned college football. You would mention Bear Bryant. You would also have to mention Nick Saban, who won all of those championships at the same place, at Alabama.

“… I can’t split Bear Bryant and Nick Saban up, so I would just put an asterisk there. And I would give them both the bouquet of flowers.”

Bryant and Saban both won six national championships at Alabama, though Saban did so in 17 years as opposed to 25 for Bryant. Saban also had a much-higher winning percentage at Alabama (.876) than did Bryant (.813).

Wilborn gave Bryant the edge due to his role in integrating college football, along with the fact he built much of the infrastructure and fan engagement from which Saban benefited.

“I’m going to give Bear Bryant the nod because he created it,” Wilbon said. “You know what I mean? Saban sustained it.

“I covered Bryant’s funeral … and I am forever shaped as a journalist, as somebody who cares about sports, as a Black man about going to Alabama, to Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, and covering the funeral of Bear Bryant and all that meant. … A person who then saw the integration of the University of Alabama football program, whether it was reluctant or not, all of that is historically important in a way that very few people are in very few states.”

Wilborn gets a few historical facts wrong. Bryant’s funeral was in January 1983, not February 1982. And Ozzie Newsome didn’t “help integrate Alabama football” — he signed five years after Wilbur Jackson became the school’s first African-American scholarship football player (though Newsome certainly was among the first superstar Black athletes for the Crimson Tide).

But it’s an interesting discussion nonetheless. Here’s the clip, via Trent Baker of 1819 News: