Nick Saban might not have been coaching during Monday’s national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. But he did appear on the field.

Alongside his wife Terry, the former Alabama football coach, who was in attendance in Atlanta as part of his role with ESPN’s College Gameday, helped hand out a check to help coaches. The donation was part of the College Football Playoff Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers.

Rich Clark, the CFP’s executive director, was among those who were with the Sabans to present the giant check, without much detail but earmarked for helping Pre-K through 12th grade coaches. Extra Yard for Teachers raises money and awareness for teachers around the country, and is the CFP’s community engagement arm.

The Sabans have supported teachers throughout Nick’s coaching career. The woman best known as “Miss Terry” hosted a luncheon for local teachers in Tuscaloosa, after working as a teacher herself.

“I’m a teacher, so I can relate to how hard their job is,” Terry Saban said at the 2023 edition of the lunch. “And it’s not just the hours in the classroom. You have lesson plans and bulletin boards and papers to grade.

“And sometimes our students don’t show their appreciation until years later, and they realize how important their education was and how good their teachers were. So it is important and it makes me feel good to be able to say ‘Thank you’ to them.”

The check presentation wasn’t the only donation to Extra Yard for Teachers. ESPN’s Marty Smith threw three footballs through a small target during an earlier TV timeout, resulting in a $600,000 donation to the organization.

As for the game itself, Nick Saban appeared on the College Gameday broadcast before kickoff, and made his selection. The man who won seven national championships himself picked Ohio State.

The national championship game is being aired on ESPN.