Alabama coach Nick Saban, touched by Twitter campaign, writes letter to family of late N.C. prep football coach

Last week, South Davidson High football coach Mike Crowell died suddenly. Tonight, on homecoming, the school will honor his memory.

Crowell as an Alabama native and the community began a twitter effort with the hastag #crowellforsaban, in an effort to get the Crimson Tide coach to come to the game. Alabama had a bye this week and wasn't playing.

Saban, who didn't know Crowell, isn't able to attend tonight but a Greensboro-area TV station reports that he's sent a letter to Crowell's family, showing support.

NCAA rules and a busy schedule might keep Saban from appearing, but he did send a personal letter to Coach Crowell's family. Crowell's sister-in-law said he would have been thrilled with the correspondence.

"Mike would just be so delighted," Karen Pierce said. "[Saban] was an idol to Mike, and he would certainly be ecstatic knowing that Saban took the time to recognize him for the work that Mike's done."