William “Bill” Raines Battle III, former director of athletics and student-athlete at The University of Alabama, collegiate football coach and founder of Collegiate Licensing Company, has passed away at the age of 82.

Bill Battle, who won national championships as an Alabama football player and later became UA’s athletics director, has died, UA announced Thursday. He was 82.

Former Alabama AD Bill Battle III, who also played for Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama and served as Tennessee's head coach, has died at age 82.

Bill Battle, a former football coach at Tennessee, has died. The University of Alabama, where he played football and later would serve as athletic director, made the announcement Thursday. He was 82. Battle was the coach of the Vols from 1970-76, going 59-22-2 with five bowl appearances in seven seasons.

Bill Battle III, who was athletic director at his alma mater, Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant’s first national championship team, coached the Tennessee Volunteers and also founded the Collegiate Licensing Company,

Bill Battle, who was a former Alabama football player and athletic director died Thursday at the age of 82. Battle attended Alabama on a football scholarship and was a three-year starter under Paul “Bear” Bryant from 1960-62.

He was an outstanding football player at Alabama, a successful collegiate head coach and visionary who revolutionized the business of college athletics."