ATLANTA -- Five times. Five times Florida coach Jim McElwain explained the one thing that has helped the Alabama program be so successful for so long under coach Nick Saban.

Commitment.

"It's a credit to what they have committed to and given the ability to go be great," McElwain said Friday at a press conference ahead of the SEC Championship Game. "They've never said 'no,' and yet what it's done for that university and that brand since coach has been there has been unbelievable."

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Money for additional support staff? No problem. Top-notch facilities to impress recruits and make life easier on current players? Check. Blank checks to hire the best coordinators in the country? Done.

The Alabama machine has become the model for college football programs across the nation. It's the reason so many former Saban assistants have landed top jobs around the country. Look no further than McElwain, who got in on the ground floor as Saban's offensive coordinator from 2008-11 at Alabama, getting a first-hand look at the blueprint that has proven the best in the business.

"Being a part of it, I was really fortunate because I was able to see a commitment and understanding of the organization and what it takes on a daily basis to help yourself have the opportunity to be successful," McElwain said.

Florida had lagged behind considerably on the facilities front before McElwain arrived, and the second-year head coach has helped push for major, necessary upgrades. Those are still in the works, with a planned $100 million project that will include a stand-alone football facility still in the infancy stage.

McElwain, though, continued to bang the drum that the entire organization needs to buy into a vision for the future.

"The one thing that's really unique there (at Alabama) is the overall commitment of the people around coach Saban that has allowed him to build the organization, build the infrastructure, build the things in total support in him to be able to go out and be successful," McElwain said. "That commitment is something that is like no other."

He'd certainly like to get the same kind of commitment at Florida but admits its been a slow growth process since he arrived.

"In seeing where we're at, we're a long ways from getting where we're going to be, but you know what, we probably got here a lot quicker than a lot of people maybe even thought," McElwain said. "I can attribute that to a lot of the things that I was able to learn from coach along the way.

"I think that commitment is there. I think that the recognition of what they have built is there. Where is it right now? I know that we're talking about it. I know we've got a commitment to get some things built.

"Here's the great thing. We're talking about having a one-year, a three-year, a five-year, a seven-year, a nine-year, a 10-year plan so you can see it all develop, and that's a good thing. It's exciting to be a part of that."

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Contact Thomas Goldkamp by 247Sports' personal messaging system or on Twitter at @ThomasGoldkamp.