The Auburn Tigers are the
athletic teams representing
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
, a public four-year coeducational university located in
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The Auburn Tigers compete in
Division I of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) as a member of the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
(SEC).
Sports sponsored
![SEC logo in Auburn colors](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/SEC_logo_in_Auburn_colors.svg)
Auburn sponsors 19 varsity teams in 13 sports and competes in the Southeastern Conference.
Football
Auburn claims two
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
, 1957 and 2010, but has been recognized with three additional national championships from NCAA documented
selectors: 1913, 1983, and 1993. Three Auburn players,
Pat Sullivan in 1971,
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
in 1985, and
Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL ...
in 2010 have won the
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
. The Trophy's namesake,
John Heisman
John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...
, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school that Heisman coached at (among others,
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
and
Clemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner. Auburn's
Jordan–Hare Stadium
Jordan–Hare Stadium (properly pronounced n central Alabama dialectas ) is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama on the campus Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football team. The stadium i ...
has a capacity of 87,451 ranking as the tenth-largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA as of January 2011. Auburn played the first football game in the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
in 1892 against the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
at
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The Tigers' first bowl appearance was in 1937 in the sixth
Bacardi Bowl
The Bacardi Bowl was a college football bowl game played seven times in Havana, Cuba, at Almandares Park and La Tropical Stadium. The games were also referred to as the Rhumba Bowl and were the foremost event of Cuba’s annual National Sports F ...
played in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. AU Football has won 12 conference championships (8 SEC), has had seven perfect seasons, and since the division of the conference in 1992, six outright western division championships (1997, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2017) along with three additional co-championships. Auburn plays archrival
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
each year in a game known as the
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
. In the overall series with Alabama, Auburn trails Alabama 42–35–1, despite holding an 18–14 advantage in games played since 1982. Of the 14 SEC member universities, Auburn currently ranks 5th in the number of SEC football championships, and has won the most SEC titles of any program in the last decade.
Auburn completed the 2004 football season with an unblemished 13–0 record winning the
SEC championship, their first conference title since 1989 and their first outright title since 1987. However, this achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the Tigers being left out of the
BCS championship game in deference to two other undefeated, higher ranked teams,
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. The 2004 team was led by quarterback
Jason Campbell
Jason S. Campbell (born December 31, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college footbal ...
(
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
), running backs
Carnell Williams
Carnell Lamar "Cadillac" Williams (born April 21, 1982) is an American football coach and former running back in the National Football League. Williams was the interim head coach of the Auburn Tigers, the first African American to hold the posit ...
(
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
) and
Ronnie Brown
Ronnie G. Brown Jr. (born December 12, 1981) is a former American football running back. After graduating from Cartersville High School in Georgia, Brown attended Auburn University to play college football for the Auburn Tigers. He and Cadill ...
(
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
), and cornerback
Carlos Rogers (
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
).
Auburn completed the 2010 football season with a perfect record of 13–0 winning the
SEC championship when they defeated the University of South Carolina 56–17, which set an SEC Championship Game record for most points scored and largest margin of victory. The Tigers went on to defeat the
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...
22–19 in their first appearance in the
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...
on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The 2010 team was led by quarterback
Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL ...
, who became the Heisman trophy winner of 2010 along with multiple other awards.
Auburn completed the 2013 regular season with an 11–1 record by knocking off then #1 Alabama. Auburn went on to defeat #5 Missouri 59–42 in the
2013 SEC Championship Game
The 2013 SEC Championship Game was a college football game that was played on Saturday, December 7, 2013 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, with the kickoff at 4:12pm ET. The 22nd annual SEC Championship Game, determined the 2013 champion o ...
to claim its eighth SEC championship. Auburn faced #1 Florida State in the
2014 BCS National Championship Game
The 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game was the national championship game of the 2013 college football season, which took place on Monday, January 6, 2014. The game featured the Auburn Tigers and Florida State Seminoles. It was the 16t ...
at the Rose Bowl, falling to the Seminoles in the final seconds, 31–34. The Tigers finished the season with a 12–2 record and ranked #2 in the final AP and Coaches polls.
Swimming and diving
In the last decade under former head coach
David Marsh, Auburn's
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and
diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), a ...
program became a virtual dynasty in the SEC and the NCAA winning five consecutive NCAA men's championships from 2003 through 2007 and women's championships in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. The Auburn men have won the SEC Championship 14 out of the last 15 years and also won national championships in 1997, 1999, and 2009. The Auburn men won their 13th consecutive SEC Title in 2008, while the Auburn women took home their fifth SEC Championship in the last six years. The Auburn men's 44 consecutive, five-year, dual-meet win record came to an end on January 11, 2007 when they lost to
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
130–113, exactly five years to the date of their last loss in 2001, also to Texas.
Auburn swimmers have represented the U.S. and several other countries in recent
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. Auburn's most famous swimmer is Olympic gold medalist
Rowdy Gaines
Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV (born February 17, 1959) is an American former competitive swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a swimming analyst fo ...
, winner of three gold medals at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
. Auburn's most successful female Olympic swimmer is
Kirsty Coventry
Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean swimmer and politician currently serving as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe since September 2018. A former Olympic swimmer and wo ...
(swimming for her home country of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
) who won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
Marsh left Auburn after the 2007 season to become the Head Elite Coach and CEO of the United States Olympic Committee Center of Excellence in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
and was succeeded by former Auburn head coach
Richard Quick
Richard Walter Quick (January 31, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was the head coach of the women's swim team at Stanford University, from 1988 through 2005. He was a coach for the United States Olympic swimming team for six Olympics—1984, 1988, 1992 ...
who led
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
and Texas to 12 NCAA titles in two decades of coaching between 1984 and 2005.
Men's basketball
The Auburn men's basketball team has enjoyed off-and-on success over the years. Its best known
alumnus
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
is
Charles Barkley
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Natio ...
.
Other NBA players from Auburn are
Chuck Person
Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. Person played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year. Person played college basketball at Aubu ...
,
Wesley Person
Wesley Lavon Person (born March 28, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Person became a women's basketball assistant coach and then the he ...
,
Chris Porter,
Marquis Daniels
Marquis Antwane Daniels (born January 7, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Auburn University before going undrafted in the 2003 NBA draft. He played his first three years for the Dallas Ma ...
,
Moochie Norris
Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push ...
, and
Pat Burke
Patrick John Burke (born December 14, 1973) is an Irish former professional basketball player. Burke (whose family moved from Tullamore, Ireland, to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was three years old) competed in the National Basketball Association ...
.
Women's basketball
Baseball
Softball
Men's golf
The men's golf team has won four SEC Championships: 1976, 1981, 2002, and 2018. Chip Spratlin claimed the 1995
NCAA Championship
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
.
Women's golf
Auburn's women's golf team has risen to be extremely competitive in the NCAA in recent years. Since 1999, they hold an 854–167–13 (.826 win percentage) record. The team has been in five NCAA finals and finished second in 2002 and then third in 2005. The program has a total of nine SEC Championships (1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2020). The nine titles is third all-time for women's golf.
In October 2005, Auburn was named the #3 team nationally out of 229 total teams since 1999 by ''GolfWeek'' magazine. Auburn's highest finish in the NCAA tournament was a tie for 2nd in 2002.
Since 1996, the team has been headed by Coach Kim Evans, a 1981 alumna, who has turned the program into one of the most competitive in the nation. Coach Evans has helped develop All-Americans, SEC Players of the Year as well as three SEC Freshman of the Year. She has led the Tigers to eight-straight NCAA appearances. She is by far the winningest Coach in Auburn Golf History, having over 1,100 wins and winning six of Auburn's seven total SEC Titles. Evans was named National Coach of the Year in 2003 and has coached 8 individual All-Americans while at Auburn.
Women's soccer
Auburn Soccer has been one of the top programs of the SEC. The team started in 1993 and after some growing pains is now a constant player in the SEC Conference championship race. Auburn won four straight SEC West division titles between 2001–2004 and a fifth in 2006. They won the regular season SEC title in 2002.
The 2006 Auburn soccer season saw the Tigers playing only five seniors and 13 freshmen who saw significant playing time. Despite the youth, Auburn went on to an 11–5–3 including a 5–3–3 mark in the SEC to retake the SEC Western division title. The Season ended on a 3–1 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to California in Tallahassee, Florida.
The 2011 Auburn soccer team defeated Florida, 3–2 to win the SEC Tournament on 11/6/11.
Equestrian
Women's equestrian debuted in 1996 and became the school's 21st
varsity sport five years later. The team has been led by Greg Williams since its debut. In 2004, the team won its first championship at the Southern Equestrian Championships, which started in 2003. In 2006, the team won its first Varsity Equestrian National Championship, capturing Auburn's first national title outside of football and swimming and diving. The team earned its first Hunt Seat national title in 2008, while the Tigers finished third in the overall standings. The team won their second national championship in 2011, their third in 2013, fourth in 2016 and fifth in 2018.
Although equestrian is not yet sanctioned by the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, Auburn competes with 19 other
Division I schools, including
SEC foes
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. The NCAA classified equestrian as an emerging sport in 1998. Forty Division I and
Division II schools are required for the sport to be recognized by the NCAA. Currently, there are 23 programs, and more are expected to be added each year.
Track and field
Auburn's Women's Track and Field won the 2006 National NCAA Outdoor title convincingly by outscoring USC 57-38.50. The track title was the 4th National Championship won by Auburn in 2006. In Outdoor Track and Field, the previous highest finish for the Women was 14th in 2002 and 2003. The Auburn men have finished second in the NCAA Outdoor championships twice in 2003 and 2008. The men have earned two third-place finishes in 2000 and 2007. The Auburn team was coached for 28 years by
Mel Rosen
Melvin "Mel" Rosen (March 24, 1928 – March 25, 2018) was an American track coach.
He was head coach of the Auburn University Tigers track team for 28 years, from 1963 to 1991, during which time the team won four consecutive Southeastern Confere ...
, for whom the
Hutsell-Rosen Track Hutsell-Rosen Track (originally named Wilbur Hutsell Track) is an outdoor track and field facility located in Auburn, Alabama on the campus of Auburn University. It is the official outdoor track and field facility for the Auburn Tigers track and fi ...
was in part named in 2006.
Women's gymnastics
Since its reinstatement in 1975, the Tigers women's gymnastics team has made two appearances in the Super Six.
Notable non-varsity sports
Wrestling
At the conclusion of the 1980-1981 NCAA Wrestling season, Auburn University became the first SEC team to place Top 10 in the country. Coached by Ohio wrestling legend Tom Milkovich, Auburn claimed the SEC title en route to a historic season boasting 3 All-Americans and 6 NCAA qualifiers. However, with the emergence of Title IX and the decline of wrestling in the SEC, Auburn found itself without a varsity program after the historic 1980-81 season. Since 1997 Auburn has competed in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) as the Auburn University Wrestling Club and boasts 24 All-Americans and a National Champion, with six Top-10 finishes at the Division 1 National Championships. Auburn, headed by President Justin King, looks to further this success in its 26th year of membership in the NCWA.
Cycling
The Auburn Flyers are the premier cycling club in the Auburn / Opelika area for college students. With frequent rides and races, the team caters to all levels of riders, entry to advanced. The Flyers members have been riding anywhere from months to years, with all levels of competition represented by the team.
The team fields both road and mountain bike teams in the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference within USAC Collegiate Cycling. Other teams within their conference include traditional Auburn rivals Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Florida.
Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Champions
* 2013 (B Category Omnium) - Nathan Spence
* 2014 (B Category Omnium) - Frank Whittle
* 2016 (A Category Omnium) - Nathan Spence
Rugby
The Auburn University Rugby Football Club was founded in 1973. Auburn plays Division 1
college rugby
College rugby is played by men and women throughout colleges and universities in the United States of America. Seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side variants of rugby union are most commonly played. Most collegiate rugby programs do not fall under the ...
in the
Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC) is an annual college rugby competition played every spring among 10 universities from the Southeastern Conference.
The SCRC was formed in December 2010 by a core group of founding schools — Geo ...
against traditional SEC rivals such as Alabama and Georgia. Auburn rugby is one of only two club sports at Auburn with an endowment fund, resulting in the university allocating additional resources to rugby.
Championships
NCAA team championships
The Auburn Tigers have won 14 total NCAA team national championships.
*Men's (8)
**
Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
(8): 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
*Women's (6)
**
Outdoor Track and Field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...
(1): 2006
**
Swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
(5): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
*see also
**
SEC NCAA team championships
**
Other national team championships
Auburn has won eight national championships that were not bestowed by the NCAA. In the case of football, the NCAA does not recognize a national champion in Auburn's division.
* Men's
**Football (2)
a: 1957, 2010
* Women's
**Equestrian (6): 2006, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019
aAuburn's 1913, 1983, and 1993 football (Auburn was disqualified from post-season play in 1993 and did not play in a bowl game) championship selections by "major selectors" are not recognized by the school.
*see also
**
Aubie
![Aubie Flag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Aubie_Flag.jpg)
Aubie is an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
and the official
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
of
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
. Aubie's existence began as a cartoon character that first appeared on the Auburn/Hardin-Simmons football program cover on October 3, 1959. ''
Birmingham Post-Herald
The ''Birmingham Post-Herald'' was a daily newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama, with roots dating back to 1850, before the founding of Birmingham. The final edition was published on September 23, 2005. In its last full year, its average daily circu ...
'' artist Phil Neel created the cartoon tiger, who continued to appear on Auburn program covers for 18 years. Aubie's look changed through the years. In 1962, he began to stand upright and in the next year, 1963, wore clothes for the first time—a blue tie, polkadot pants, and straw hat. Aubie's appearances on game programs occurred during a successful period in head football coach
Ralph "Shug" Jordan's teams. The Tigers were victorious in the first nine games which had Aubie on the cover and in his first six years, Auburn posted a 23-2-1 home record. Auburn's home record during the eighteen years Aubie served as Cover Tiger was 63-16-2. Aubie's regular appearance on the game program cover ended on October 23, 1976, when Auburn beat
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
, 31-19, but Aubie returned to Auburn's cover in the
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
against
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
on November 30, 1991, Auburn's last home game at
Birmingham's Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
.
In 1979, Aubie came to life at the
Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. James Lloyd, Auburn spirit director for the Student Government Association, with help from the Auburn Alumni Association, contacted Brooks-Van Horn Costumes in New York, N.Y. The company was provided with copies of the 1961 Auburn-Alabama and 1962 Auburn-Georgia Tech game programs to use for reference in creating a costume of the cartoon character. The firm, which also provided costumes for Walt Disney, designed and produced a Tiger costume for $1,350. Individual contributions from various Auburn clubs, alumni and friends helped pay for the first costume.
Aubie was introduced at the
Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center on February 28, 1979, and helped lead first-year Auburn coach Sonny Smith's team to an upset of Vanderbilt in his first appearance as a live Tiger mascot. The following day, Aubie returned to the arena and the Tigers beat Georgia in the longest game in SEC tournament history, four overtimes. Before the weekend was complete, Aubie helped lead the ninth-place team in the regular season to the semifinals of the tournament.
Traditions
Tiger Walk
Before each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Avenue to cheer on the team as they walk from the Auburn Athletic Complex to
Jordan–Hare Stadium
Jordan–Hare Stadium (properly pronounced n central Alabama dialectas ) is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama on the campus Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football team. The stadium i ...
. The tradition began in the 1960s when groups of kids would walk up the street to greet the team and get autographs. During the tenure of coach Doug Barfield, the coach urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did. Auburn is the first known school to conduct an organized procession of players into the stadium. Today the team, led by the coaches, walks down the hill and into the stadium surrounded by fans who pat them on the back and shake their hands as they walk. The largest Tiger Walk occurred on December 2, 1989, before the first ever home football game against rival
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
—the
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
. On that day, an estimated 20,000 fans packed the one block section of road leading to the stadium. According to former athletic director David Housel, Tiger Walk has become "the most copied tradition in all of college football."
As it grew in popularity, the Tiger Walk has become a fixture for road games. Fans will gather at visiting stadiums and cheer the team on from the buses into the stadium.
Toomer's Corner
![toomers corner rolled](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Toomers_corner_rolled.jpg)
The intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known as Toomer's Corner. It is named for businessman and State Senator Sheldon Toomer who founded the Bank of Auburn on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in 1907. Toomer's Drugs is a small business on the corner that has been an Auburn landmark for over 130 years.
Toomer's Trees and the Rolling Tradition
Hanging over the corner were two massive
southern live oak
''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. ...
trees, and anytime anything good happened concerning Auburn,
toilet paper
Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of u ...
could usually be found hanging from the trees.
Also known as "rolling the corner", this tradition is thought to have originated in the 1950s to celebrate away victories; however, in recent years it has become a way to celebrate anything good that happens concerning Auburn. On January 10, 2011 when Auburn Football won the BCS National Championship game, a celebration was held at the corner which involved the traditional papering. The trees were removed on April 23, 2013 due to poisoning in 2010. A temporary structure will be erected by the city and university until the new gateway to Samford Park opens in 2014.
Toomer's Trees poisoned
On January 27, 2011, a man calling himself "Al" and claiming to be from
Dadeville, a town thirty minutes from Auburn, called into
Paul Finebaum
Paul Finebaum is an American sports author, former columnist, and television-radio personality. His primary focus is sports, particularly those in the Southeast. After many years as a reporter, columnist, and sports-talk radio host in the Birmin ...
's sports talk radio show. "Al" claimed to have poisoned the Toomer's trees with an herbicide called
Spike 80DF (Tebuthiuron) the weekend following the 2010
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
. He said he did this in retaliation for photos that he saw in an article in ''
The Birmingham News
''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...
'' that depicted Auburn fans rolling Toomer's Corner after announcement of former University of Alabama head-coach
Paul "Bear" Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of t ...
's death in 1983 as well as of an Auburn #2 (number of 2010 Auburn quarterback
Cam Newton
Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL ...
)
Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...
T-shirt taped to Bryant's statue earlier in the 2010 season. He ended his call by saying, "Roll damn Tide!" An exhaustive search of newspapers found no evidence of Toomer's Corner being rolled upon Bryant's death.
The caller's claims prompted Auburn to take soil samples. On February 16, 2011, Auburn officials announced that the live oak trees at Toomer's Corner had been poisoned with a large quantity of Spike 80DF, a herbicide governed by Alabama state agricultural laws and the Environmental Protection Agency; Spike 80DF was not used by Auburn University. Tests of soil samples showed the lowest levels of Spike 80DF to be 0.78ppm, which experts stated was enough to be a "very lethal dose." The highest levels of concentration were measured to be 51ppm. Gary Keever, an Auburn University professor of horticulture and a member of Auburn's Tree Preservation Committee has said "
pike 80DF
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
is extremely active and persistent
ndit's likely to be in the soil for 3 to 5 years." Concerns about the poisoned groundwater were dropped following further soil analysis, but later the soil from Toomer's Corner was completely excavated and replaced with untainted soil.
![2013 Toomer's Corner trees removed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/2013_Toomer%27s_Corner_trees_removed.jpg)
Auburn University and city police both launched investigations into the matter. Finebaum later reported that Federal authorities were also involved due to concerns of the herbicide having entered the groundwater. Both Auburn University President
Jay Gogue
George Jay Gogue ( ; born 1947) is an American educator and 20th President of Auburn University, a position he held from 2007 until his retirement in July 2017 and again in 2019.
Biography
Jay Gogue was born in Waycross, Georgia, U.S. He graduate ...
and University of Alabama Athletic Director
Mal Moore
Mal Mathad Moore (December 19, 1939 – March 30, 2013) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the athletic director at the University of Alabama from 1999 to 2013. On November 23, 1999, he was hired as ...
condemned this act.
Police traced the call to the home of Harvey Updyke Jr. of Dadeville. Updyke, a retired
Texas state trooper, was taken into custody at 1:26 am CST on February 17, 2011, and charged with one count of criminal mischief, a class C felony in Alabama. On March 22, 2013, he received a 3-year split sentence, which includes 6 months' incarceration and jail credit for time already served. Upon release, Updyke was sentenced to 5 years' supervised probation with a 7 p.m. curfew. He was also prohibited from attending any collegiate sports event and banned from Auburn University property. The efforts made by the university to save the trees proved unsuccessful. "It came to a point where we realized it wasn't going to work, and the amount of poison in the ground was such that the trees were not going to survive," said Mike Clardy, Auburn University's Communications Director. The oak trees at Toomer's Corner were removed on April 23, 2013. On November 8, 2013, Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III ruled that Updyke (who had moved to
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
) owed Auburn University $796,731.98 in
restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to ''give up'' their gains to the claimant. It should be contrasted with the law of compensation, the law of loss-based recovery, in which a court o ...
, to be paid in installments of $500 per month. Auburn University sought more than $1 million in damages, the greater part of which was based on a soil-analysis estimate of $521,396.74 by the
Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries
The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) is an independent agency of the government of Alabama first created by an Act of the State Legislature on February 23, 1883. The Department is responsible for serving farmers and consum ...
. Updyke was released to 5 years' supervised probation after having served 104 days of incarceration. He died from natural causes on July 30, 2020 at the age of 71.
On February 14, 2015, two 35-foot-tall live oaks were planted to replace the original oaks. The university requested that fans not roll the trees with toilet paper until the Fall 2016 season, to allow the trees to acclimate to their new environment. Despite this precaution, one of the two replacement trees died within a few months and is scheduled to be replaced yet again. Wood from the original oaks was fashioned into memorabilia, the profits going to a scholarship fund. The replacement tree fronting Magnolia Avenue was set on fire on September 25, 2016, during celebrations for Auburn's victory against LSU the previous night. As of October 2016, an assessment of the tree's health revealed that 60–70% of the canopy was dead, and prospects for the tree's survival were not favorable. The other tree fronting College Street, while not damaged by the fire, had failed to become properly established. In February 2017, two 30-foot-tall live oaks were planted to replace the two previous failing trees.
''War Eagle''
There are many stories surrounding the origins of Auburn's battle cry, "War Eagle." The most popular account involves the first Auburn football game in 1892 between Auburn and the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. According to the story, in the stands that day was an old Civil War soldier with an eagle that he had found injured on a battlefield and kept as a pet. The eagle broke free and began to soar over the field, and Auburn began to march toward the Georgia end zone. The crowd began to chant "War Eagle" as the eagle soared. After Auburn won the game, the eagle crashed to the field and died, but according to the legend, his spirit lives on every time an Auburn man or woman yells "War Eagle!" The battle cry also functions as a greeting for those associated with the university. For many years, a live
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
has embodied the spirit of this tradition. The eagle was once housed on campus in The Eagle's Cage, but the aviary was taken down and the eagle moved to the nearby raptor center.
Wreck Tech Pajama Parade
The Wreck Tech Pajama Parade originated in 1896, when a group of mischievous Auburn
ROTC
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
Overview
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
cadets, determined to show up the better-known engineers from
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, sneaked out of their dorms the night before the football game between Auburn and Tech and greased the railroad tracks. According to the story, the train carrying the Georgia Tech team slid through town and didn't stop until it was halfway to the neighboring town of
Loachapoka, Alabama
Loachapoka () is a town in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is located less than 1/2 mile west of Auburn and approximately west of Auburn University, in west-central Lee County. The population was 180 as of the 2010 census. It is part o ...
, The Georgia Tech team was forced to walk the five miles back to Auburn and, not surprisingly, were rather weary at the end of their journey. This likely contributed to their 45–0 loss. While the railroad long ago ceased to be the way teams traveled to Auburn and students never greased the tracks again, the tradition continues in the form of a parade through downtown Auburn. Students parade through the streets in their pajamas and organizations build floats. This tradition was renewed in 2005 with Georgia Tech returning to Auburn's schedule after nearly two decades of absence.
Rivals
Auburn's two traditional rivals are the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
and the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
. The stretch of games, at the end of the season, against these two schools is known as "Amen Corner". The
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...
is the most heated rival, and this rivalry is considered to be one of the most intense in the country. Competitions between the schools are known as the
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
. Alabama holds the all-time edge with a record of 42 wins, 35 losses and 1 tie.
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and Auburn compete in the
Deep South's Oldest Rivalry
The Auburn–Georgia football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between the Auburn Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs.
The two teams first played each other in 1892, and the rivalry has been renewed annually since 1944 for a total of 126 gam ...
, dating back to 1892. The game was played in
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The series is tied at 55–55–8 as of the end of the 2014 season. It is one of the longest running and most played series in the NCAA.
Auburn also has a heated rivalry with the
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...
, commonly referred to as the
Tiger Classic
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...
. The two share more than just a nickname, as they have both enjoyed success in the SEC's Western Division. Auburn or LSU has won at least a share of the SEC Western Division championship eight times between 2000 and 2011, and appeared in the SEC Championship game in seven of those years. Auburn won it outright in 2000, 2004, and 2010, LSU won it outright in 2007, 2011, and LSU won tiebreakers against Auburn in 2001 and 2005, and against Ole Miss in 2003. The only four times Auburn or LSU did not go to Atlanta in the during that span was 2002 when Arkansas won the three-way tie breaker with the two Tiger teams, in 2006 when Arkansas made it to Atlanta with a win over Auburn, and 2008 and 2009 when Alabama won the division.
Some of Auburn's former rivals included the
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
, the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
, the
Tulane Green Wave
The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interco ...
, and the
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Rambl ...
, each of which was mitigated (or, in the case of Georgia Tech, ended) with the SEC expansion and division restructuring, as well as past long series with the
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...
, the
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
, and the
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
.
While basketball does not enjoy the popularity as football at Auburn, the
Iron Bowl of Basketball
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundance ...
is very competitive. It is also popular for the halftime ceremony in which the
Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the school that won the football matchup earlier that academic year.
The baseball team also has in-state rivalries with the
Samford Bulldogs
The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams (8 men's and 9 women's) that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000.They were led by Reed Raw ...
and
Troy Trojans
The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...
.
Swimming and diving
Auburn's swimming and diving team has a fierce rivalry with
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, as the two have combined for 17 NCAA National Titles since 1981 (9 for Texas, 8 for Auburn) and between 1999 and 2007 won every national title awarded. The two regularly face-off in a meet during the regular season, Auburn's men own a 12–9 record over the Longhorns. The women just recently began an annual series, with the Tigers winning the series so far 3–1. Texas was the only team to beat the Auburn men between 2001 and 2007.
References
External links
*
{{Alabama Sports