Nick Saban has said in the past that the reason he liked coaching college athletes as opposed to professional ones was because of the ability to mold young men. College sports offer the opportunity to instill a culture and a vision. To build a program in your eyes. It’s why the Alabama Crimson Tide is a powerhouse.

It’s a little harder to do that as a coach in professional leagues, where general managers, presidents, and owners all have their own vision. But there is one way to mold a professional team in your image: become an owner. Well, Nick Saban did just that.

Nick Saban becomes minority owner of Nashville Predators

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The Predators have only been around for 27 years, but the franchise has really started to take off in the past decade. They won the Presidents’ trophy as the best regular season team in the NHL for the 2017-2018 season, and they have a conference championship under their belt.

However, they have never won the Stanley Cup, and perhaps the inclusion of Nick Saban will change that. Here’s more insight on the Preds from A to Z Sports college football analyst Adam Holt, a Nashville native, and Nick Saban’s business partner, from Justin Churchill of A to Z Sports.

What is Nick Saban buying into to?

“The Preds have recently been playing much better hockey, and that’s partially due to the veterans making a massive offensive difference. Nashville started off the season with about a month of nearly league-worst play. Both the offense and defense were lackluster, and goalie Juuse Saros dealt with some inconsistency as well. A stretch in the middle of November saw them lose six of seven matchups in regulation. Since then, the tides have started to turn a bit, though.”

“Nashville’s core at the top is an experienced group that knows how to find the back of the net, yet the bottom two forward lines for them (as well as a majority of their defense) is rather young. With that, there have been ups and downs so far. The Predators have won seven of their last ten games and seem to be hitting a bit of their stride. The Central division is the best one in hockey, so getting back into that race is quite unlikely. That being said, the Wild Card picture is one they can jump into early into 2026 if they continue this sort of surge.” – Holt

Who is Nick Saban’s new business partner?

“Joe Agresti is a Billionaire and one of the more successful people in the world. Coming in at No. 2790 on Forbes’ Billionaire List, Agresti has put his time into making money in ownership groups. Currently, he is the CEO of Dream Motor Group, a dealership chain that has sold over 20,000 Mercedes-Benzes a year. Legendary coach Nick Saban also owns a stake in this dealership group. So, it’s safe to say that the two are familiar with one another before making this business venture into the hockey world, and investing in a city that has become one of the fastest-growing hockey markets in America. Agresti is from New Jersey, where he studied at Rutgers while also wrestling. He’s familiar with sales, making money, and sports. So, pairing him with Saban, one of the greatest American sports figures, seems like a nice duo that could help the Preds.” -Churchill

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