No matter where you sit on the rivalry between Alabama and Auburn, you have to admit that the Crimson Tide’s 12-1 run is good for the state.

It means recruitment of students. Students want to have pride in their university. A winning athletics programs means more students will want to attend the university. Some of the brain drain from this state will cease, and Alabama has the opportunity to accept students from other states.

A successful football season also makes the alumni happy. Happy graduates mean more dollars for foundations and more dollars for foundations of the university in these tough economic times may result in some well-deserving student having the opportunity to achieve an academic dream through a scholarship.

Many studies point out that most graduates of universities settle in the area from where they finished college, if they find work. Again, that means our best and brightest likely will stay with us, pushing this state forward.

And there’s nothing like the pride one has in a state that sends a message to others: We are good at what we do; we will be better.

Alabama might have lost the title, but the state has won much more.