Greg Byrne's whirlwind week culminated with a short walk to the podium Thursday afternoon.
The news conference announcing him as Alabama's next athletics director was the first step in a new era for the athletics department. The 45-year old is only the second since the Bear Bryant era who doesn't have direct connections to the Crimson Tide football program.
Byrne came up through the administrative ranks, from Oregon and Oregon State to Kentucky, Mississippi State and eventually Arizona. He's well known in the collegiate athletics realm, but maybe not a household name among casual observers.