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The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
game between the
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 ...
Tigers 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 un ...
and
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 ...
Crimson Tide, both charter members 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) and both teams located in the state of
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 series is considered one of the most important football rivalries in American sports. The rivalry, which started in 1893, was played for many years at
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
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
. In the early 20th Century, Birmingham was the leading industrial city of the South, rivaling Pittsburgh in the production of
pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...
, coke,
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
and the manufacture of steel. Thus, the term "Iron Bowl" came to represent the rivalry. Auburn Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan is credited with actually coining it—when asked by reporters in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
how he would deal with the disappointment of not taking his team to a bowl game, he responded, "We've got our bowl game. We have it every year. It's the Iron Bowl in Birmingham." Alabama has a winning record against every
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 ...
team and leads the series with Auburn 49–37–1. The game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving weekend, but in 1993, the schools agreed to move the game up to the week before Thanksgiving to give themselves a bye for a potential
SEC Championship Game The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...
berth. In 2007 the conference voted to disallow any team from having a bye before the league championship game, returning the game to its traditional Thanksgiving weekend spot. The rivalry has long been one of the most heated collegiate rivalries in the country. It is all the more heated because the two schools have been among the nation's elite teams for most of the time since the 1950s. Together, they account for 36 SEC titles, 28 by Alabama and eight by Auburn. Both are among the most successful programs in major college football history; Alabama is second in all-time total wins among Division I FBS schools while Auburn is 13th. The two schools have been fixtures on national television since the late 1970s; the only time since then that the season-ending clash has not been nationally televised was in 1993, when Auburn was barred from live TV due to NCAA sanctions. For much of the 20th century, the game was played every year in Birmingham, with Alabama winning 34 games and Auburn 19. Four games were played in
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
, with each team winning two.Staff (2016
"The Iron Bowl—wins and losses through the years"
WSFA WSFA (channel 12) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on ...
website
Since 1999, the games have been played at
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 ...
in
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
every odd-numbered year and at
Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...
in
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
every even-numbered year.


History

The contest became the extension of a bitter political debate which took place in the Alabama State Legislature regarding the location of the new land-grant college under the state's application under the
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or s ...
during the Civil War Reconstruction Era. The state legislature, influenced by a heavy contingent of representatives who were University of Alabama alumni, pushed to sell the land scripts of 240,000 acres acquired from the Morrill Act or have any new land holdings held in conjunction with the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The debate lasted over four years, until Lee County and the
City of Auburn The Auburn City Council (formally City of Auburn) was a local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to its 2016 merger, the council area was located about west of the Sydney central business ...
won the location of the new university in 1872, after donating more than a hundred acres and the remaining buildings and property of the East Alabama Male College. At the time of the Auburn decision the state legislature and governorship was controlled by
Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...
such as "
Scalawag In United States history, the term scalawag (sometimes spelled scallawag or scallywag) referred to white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts after the conclusion of the American Civil War. As with the term '' carpetb ...
" Southern Republicans and
Freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
African-Americans. By 1874, former Confederate and " Redeemer" forces from the Democratic Party gradually overturned the Radicals' control of the Alabama state legislature. The Democrats then attempted to overturn most legislation passed during the Reconstruction Period, including the founding of the new land-grant college at Auburn. During the 1870s, Auburn (then named the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama) which received no appropriated funds from the state, was on the edge of financial collapse. Collapse of Auburn meant that the University of Alabama could assume the remaining land scripts, thus profiting from the closure of the new land-grant college. The University of Alabama remained closed till 1871 following the Civil War, during which it was partially destroyed by Union forces.. "By 1877, competition between the University of Alabama and the Agricultural & Mechanical College for patronage had intensified. In January, Auburn President
Isaac Tichenor Isaac Tichenor (February 8, 1754December 11, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the third and fifth governor of Vermont and United States Senator from Vermont. Biography Tichenor was born in Newark in the Province of ...
reported to the board of trustees that Alabama had reduced its tuition and lowered its graduation standards. Tichenor responded by requesting that the board drop tuition and create a boarding department to further lower expenses." The University of Alabama had developed a reciprocal interest in th
Alabama Coal Operators Association
along with their
Big Mule
allies with vast timber holdings across the Black Belt of Alabama. Alabama and Auburn played their first football game in Lakeview Park in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, on February 22, 1893. Auburn won 32–22, before an estimated crowd of 5,000. Alabama considered the game to be the final matchup of the 1892 season while Auburn recorded it as the first matchup of 1893. In 1902, a bill was introduced into both houses of the U.S. Congress to fund the creation of a "School of Mines and Mining Engineering" at each land-grant college. Under the provision of the bill, each participating land-grant college would receive $5,000 annually with $500 each additional year for 10 years. The University of Alabama secretly sent Professor Dr. Eugene Smith to lobby against passage of the bill or to amend the bill to allow other universities to participate in the federal program. Auburn responded by sending Professor C.C. Thach to D.C. to lobby with the Association of Land-Grant Colleges for a compromise to allow passage of the bill. The bill would later fail to receive passage. During the 1907 state legislature session, a debate surfaced to move the land-grant college from Auburn to Birmingham. left, Fans of Alabama in 1907 One constant during the rivalry hiatus was Auburn’s Coach Mike Donahue. Donahue became a fixture at Auburn, coaching football from 1904 to 1922 along with basketball from 1905 to 1921 while also ascending to the position of Athletic Director. The first basketball game between Auburn and Alabama was by chance occurring in 1924 in the Southern Conference Tournament. This would be the only basketball matchup till 1941 which again was by chance in another conference tournament. During the 1930s and into the 1940s while the football rivalry was in hiatus, Auburn under the leadership of President Duncan, became the administrative home for several
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
agencies: the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the
Soil Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...
, and the
Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm Se ...
. The federal Government funding flowing into Auburn soon drew the ire of the University of Alabama trustees and their partisans in the Alabama Legislature. President Duncan was able to influence the placement of these agencies at Auburn due to his support for Governor Bibb Graves. Both the president and the governor supported the New Deal faction of the Democratic Party in Alabama. Graves was well connected in Washington D.C. with
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and often lobbied in D.C. on "plum-tree-shaking expeditions". Meanwhile, Duncan with his connections in the Alabama Farm Bureau and as the director of the Extension Service exercised great control over the organized farm vote. By the mid 1940s, the Democratic Party was splintering in Alabama, with the rise of the
Dixiecrats The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition t ...
and those who remained loyal to the national party. One of the most outspoken critics of Auburn was publishe
Harry Ayers
who would later endorse Harry Truman in 1945. In 1940 Duncan had successfully opposed Ayers' candidacy as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, which deeply offended the publisher. The Anniston editor had been a long-time advocate of consolidating Auburn and Alabama, "so that Auburn would become the dangling tail of a Tuscaloosa kite". In August, 1942, President Duncan wrote to Raymond Paty, the newly appointed president of the University of Alabama, that the relationship between their two schools was "of such magnitude and gravity" that he had given the question more attention than any other problem he faced as president. He urged Paty that Auburn and Alabama should agree upon a funding formula that would give each institution the same appropriation per in-state student, an idea which worked against the University of Alabama's self-image as the state's capstone university. During a 1945 legislative session, the University of Alabama's report to the commission (Alabama Educational Survey Commission) argued that the Tuscaloosa school had well-established and broad responsibilities for higher education in the state. Four times in Alabama history, higher education responsibilities had been delegated to other institutions. In three of the four cases, this occurred under a state government established during the Reconstruction period: creation of the normal schools, higher education for blacks, and establishment of the land-grant college at Auburn. The fourth case was the state women's college at Montevallo. In each case, this was argued to have resulted from "the illogic inherent in the evolution of a democratic government". The Alabama report drew a sharp response from then Auburn President
Luther Duncan Luther Noble Duncan (October 14, 1875 – July 26, 1947) was a 20th-century American educator and administrator. He was a pioneer of 4-H youth development, a director of the Alabama Extension Service (now Alabama Cooperative Extension System) and ...
, who said that he had never seen "a bolder, more deliberate, more vicious, or more deceptive document". He predicted that if the friends of Auburn and Montevallo did not rise up to combat "this evil monster", it would consume them "just like the doctrine of Hitler". Duncan also remarked that according to Alabama, "Auburn is the illegitimate children... born out of the misery of the Reconstruction period." By 1945, with the end of World War II, the
GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
had inundated Auburn (then officially named the Alabama Polytechnic Institute), with students—doubling enrollment twice between 1944 and 1948. With the increased enrollment, it was now obvious that Auburn would never "become so weak that... it could be absorbed" by the University of Alabama. In March 1947, the Auburn Board of Trustees, with Governor
Jim Folsom James Elisha Folsom, Sr. (October 9, 1908 – November 21, 1987), commonly known as Jim Folsom or Big Jim Folsom, was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of the U.S. state of Alabama, having served from 1947 to 1951, and a ...
in attendance, unanimously approved the following resolution, "Whereas, The Alabama Polytechnic Institute and the University of Alabama are important educational institutions of the State of Alabama and are maintained and operated by the people of the State; and Whereas, many years ago athletic relationship between the Alabama Polytechnic Institute and the University of Alabama was discontinued; and Whereas, intercollegiate rivalry between the two institutions would be conducive to a better understanding among students of both schools and would tend to promote interest in athletic engagements in Alabama, therefore Be It Resolved by the Board of Trustees of Alabama Polytechnic Institute in meeting assembled, that the President of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, through its Athletic Director, make necessary negotiation with the Director of Athletics of the University of Alabama to resume athletic competition between the two institutions at the earliest possible date, and that a copy of this resolution be furnished to the President and Athletic Director of the University of Alabama." The Governor then suggested that the game be played not later than the first Saturday in December 1947. Also during 1947, the Alabama House of Representatives passed a resolution encouraging both universities to "make possible the inauguration of a full athletic program between the two schools". But the resolution did not have the effect of law, the schools still could not agree, the Legislature threatened to withhold state funding. In April 1948, Alabama president John Gallalee and Auburn president Ralph B. Draughon met and agreed to renew the series in 1948 and for the following 1949 season. It was agreed that the games would be played as a neutral site series in Birmingham. Legion Field held 47,000 fans in 1948, dwarfing both Tuscaloosa's Denny Stadium (31,000) and Auburn Stadium (15,000; expanded to 21,500 and renamed Cliff Hare Stadium in 1949). Also it is believed Alabama refused to travel to Auburn, citing poor roads and the small size of Hare Stadium. Alabama was joined in this sentiment by 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, ...
(who refused to play in Auburn until 1974) and
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 ...
(who did not travel to Auburn from 1900 to 1970). Auburn played its last home game at Legion Field, outside of the Iron Bowl, in 1978 against Tennessee. Between 1969 and 1987, Auburn made additions 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 ...
until it eclipsed Legion Field in size. Auburn was in the process of expanding Jordan-Hare Stadium from 72,169 seats to 85,214 for the 1987 season, almost 10,000 more than Legion Field. had a capacity of 75,808. (Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium then seated a little over 60,000, but expanded to 70,123 in 1988.) By this time, Auburn fans began feeling chagrin at playing all Iron Bowl games at Legion Field. Despite the equal allotment of tickets, Auburn fans insisted that Legion Field was not a neutral site. This, despite the fact that Auburn played many of their most important rivalry games in Birmingham for most of the 20th century (among those were Georgia Tech and Tennessee). Auburn's perceived feeling of chagrin was more a business decision than a real reason of Legion Field not truly being neutral. While was Legion Field just 45 minutes east of Tuscaloosa, the stadium had long been associated with Alabama football in Auburn's eyes. Well into the 1980s, Alabama played most of its important games in Birmingham—most of Alabama's "home" football history from the 1920s to the 1980s actually took place at Legion Field. For this reason, Auburn began lobbying to make the Iron Bowl a "home-and-home" series. When
Pat Dye Patrick Fain Dye (November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at East Carolina University (1974–1979), the University of Wyoming (1980), ...
became Auburn's head football coach and athletics director in 1981, he met with his longtime mentor, Alabama head coach and athletic director
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 ...
. Dye recalled that at that meeting, "the first thing he said to me, very first thing, he said, 'Well, I guess you're going to want to take that game to Auburn.'" Dye confirmed that hunch, saying, "We're going to take it to Auburn." When Bryant noted that the schools' contract with Legion Field ran through 1988, Dye replied, "Well, we'll play 89 in Auburn." Although Auburn would have possibly been within its rights to move its home games to Jordan-Hare before then, Dye knew that Bryant was adamantly opposed to playing ''any'' Iron Bowl games in Auburn. He knew Bryant's standing in the state was such that it would be folly to attempt making the Iron Bowl a home-and-home series as long as Bryant was still alive. In the late 80s, the schools agreed that Auburn could play their home games for the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare starting in 1989 (with the exception of 1991) and Alabama would continue to play its "home" games at Legion Field. On December 2, 1989, Alabama came to "the Plains" for the first time ever as a sellout crowd witnessed Auburn win its first true "home" game of the series, 30–20 over an Alabama team that entered the game undefeated and ranked No.2 in the country. Alabama continued to hold its home games for the rivalry at Legion Field. In 1998, Alabama expanded
Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...
to a capacity of 83,818, narrowly eclipsing Legion Field. Alabama moved their home games in the series to Bryant–Denny Stadium in 2000. That year, Auburn came to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1901 and won in a defensive struggle, 9–0. A new attendance record for the Iron Bowl was set in 2006 as the latest expansion to Bryant–Denny Stadium increased its capacity to 92,138. The record was reset again in 2010, after another expansion to Alabama's Bryant–Denny Stadium, when a crowd of 101,821 witnessed a 28–27 Auburn victory.


Broadcasters

In 2009 and 2010
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
and the two universities arranged to have the game played in an exclusive time slot on the Friday following Thanksgiving. The 2009 game was the sixth Iron Bowl to be played on a Friday and the first one in 21 years. CBS did not attempt to renew the agreement after 2010 due to criticism from both fan bases, returning the game to its traditional Saturday date. Although CBS has broadcast the majority of Iron Bowl games since 1996 through its SEC coverage,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
has aired the game several times, from 1995 through 1999, 2003, and 2007. In 2014, CBS's decision to broadcast the
Egg Bowl The Egg Bowl (traditionally named the “Battle for the Golden Egg”) is the name given to the Mississippi State–Ole Miss football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played annually between Southeastern Conference membe ...
due to a number of factors (which included contractual limits on how many times CBS may feature certain teams, and the larger prominence of the Egg Bowl due to its potential effects on
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
's participation in the
College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
) resulted in ESPN broadcasting the first Iron Bowl played in primetime since 2007.


Foy–ODK Trophy

The Foy–ODK Trophy is named after James E. Foy, a former dean of student affairs at both schools, and Omicron Delta Kappa, an honor society on both campuses since the 1920s. In 1948 Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity sponsored the purchase of the trophy. The trophy is presented at halftime of the Alabama–Auburn basketball game later in the same academic year at the winner's home court, where the SGA President of the losing football team traditionally sings the winning team's fight song.


Notable games

February 22, 1893: This was the first meeting between Auburn and Alabama. Auburn beat Alabama in Birmingham 32–22. 1904: On November 12, Auburn coach
Mike Donahue Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, soccer, and golf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head fo ...
defeated Alabama in his first season, the purpose for his hiring. 1906: Alabama's star
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Auxford Burks Bennett Auxford "B. A." Burks, Jr. (January 24, 1883 – February 24, 1938) was a college football player and physician. University of Alabama Burks was a prominent running back for the Alabama Crimson White of the University of Alabama from 1 ...
scored all the game's points in a 10–0 victory. Auburn contended that Alabama player
T. S. Sims T. S. Sims was a college football player. Alabama Sims was a prominent guard for the Alabama Crimson White of the University of Alabama. 1905 Sims scored in the opening win of 17 to 0 over Maryville in 1905. A number of Alabama turnovers kep ...
was an illegal player, but the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...
(SIAA) denied the claim. Alabama coach Doc Pollard used a "military shift" never before seen in the south to gain an advantage over Auburn. 1948: The rivalry resumed after being suspended for 41 years due to issues related to player per diems and officiating. Alabama beat Auburn 55–0 at Legion Field, which remains the largest margin of victory in series history. 1964: In the first Iron Bowl broadcast on national television, quarterback
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
led Alabama to a 21–14 victory over Auburn. 1967: This was the first night game in the series. Thunderstorms soaked Legion Field, making the field extremely muddy. The game was frequently stopped to clear raincoats and other wet weather gear from the field. Late in the game, Alabama quarterback
Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played col ...
ran 47 yards for a touchdown to give Alabama a 7–3 victory. This run became known in Crimson Tide lore as the "run in the mud". 1971: Both teams entered the game undefeated and untied for the first time in the series. No. 3 Alabama defeated No. 5 Auburn 31–7 at Legion Field. 1972: Down 16–3 late in the game, Auburn blocked two punts and returned both for touchdowns, leading to an improbable 17–16 Auburn win and the coining of a new phrase among Auburn fans, "Punt Bama Punt!" In August 2010,
ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
ranked this game the 8th most painful outcome in college football history. Alabama would go on to win the next 9 games in a row (1973-1981), known to Auburn fans as the "Reign of Terror". 1981: Coach
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 ...
earned his 315th career win after Alabama defeated Auburn 28–17. With the victory, Bryant passed
Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...
to become the all-time winningest FBS coach at the time. This was the final game in Alabama's nine-game winning streak over Auburn, the longest streak in Iron Bowl history. 1982: Auburn won 23–22, driving the length of the field in the final two minutes with freshman running back
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 ...
scoring the winning touchdown. This was Auburn's first Iron Bowl win in ten years and the last to be coached by
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 ...
, who retired after the season and died exactly 60 days after this game. 1984: Trailing 17–15 late in the game, Auburn had 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line. Opting to go for it, Auburn called a pitch to running back
Brent Fullwood Brent Leanrd Fullwood (born October 10, 1963), from Saint Cloud High School, is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first ...
. Running back
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 ...
, who was supposed to block for Fullwood, ran the wrong direction, allowing the Alabama defense to easily push Fullwood out of bounds short of the goal line to seal the victory.. 1985: "The KICK" Alabama beat Auburn 25–23 on a 52-yard field goal by
Van Tiffin Van Leigh Tiffin (born September 6, 1965) is a former American football placekicker. Early life and education Van Leigh Tiffin was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He lived in Red Bay, Alabama, and attended Red Bay High School, attracting notice f ...
as time expired. A close game was elevated by the "epic" fourth quarter "with the teams trading haymakers and the lead changing hands four times." Alabama drove from their own 20-yard-line in the final minute, including a fourth-down flanker reverse to keep the drive alive. As recently as 2015, longtime sports reporter
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 ...
remarked, "It’s still the greatest football game I’ve ever seen." 1989 No. 11 Auburn hosted No. 2 Alabama in the first Iron Bowl game played on Auburn's home field. Auburn won 30–20, ending Alabama's national title hopes, and gave Auburn a share of their third straight conference championship. Alabama coach
Bill Curry William Alexander Curry (born October 21, 1942) is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry s ...
was tendered a contract after the season that contained no raise and removed his authority to hire and fire assistants, leading to his eventual resignation. 1993: No. 6 Auburn defeated No. 11 Alabama 22–14 to finish the season undefeated at 11–0. The game, at Jordan Hare Stadium, was not televised due to Auburn's probation but was shown on
closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
before 47,421 fans at
Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...
. 1994: Both teams entered the game undefeated for the first time since 1971. No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 6 Auburn 21–14 to win the SEC West. 1997: "The Fumble" (Auburn 18, Alabama 17) - Alabama fullback Ed Scissum fumbled on a screen pass that was meant to give the underdog Crimson Tide a game-sealing first down. Auburn kicker Jaret Holmes converted a go-ahead 39-yard field goal, and Alabama's last-chance attempt from 57 yards fell well short to give Auburn the SEC Western Division title. Auburn radio announcer Jim Fyffe is remembered by his dramatic call of the game winning field goal "long enough, high enough, It's good! it's good! it's good! it's good! it's good! it's good!" 2000: In the first Iron Bowl played in
Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...
and the first played in Tuscaloosa since 1901, Auburn kicked three field goals to beat Alabama 9–0. This would be
Mike Dubose Michael Lynn DuBose (born January 5, 1953) is an American football coach, most recently serving for Opp High School in Opp, Alabama. His most recent college coaching experience was serving as defensive line coach for the University of Memphis. Du ...
's final game as Alabama head coach. It is also to date the last time Alabama has been shut out in any game. 2005: No. 11 Auburn defeated No. 8 Alabama 28–18 at Jordan-Hare, recording 11 sacks on Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle, in what came to be known as "The Sack Game" among Auburn fans. 2007: No. 25 Auburn defeated unranked Alabama 17-10 at Jordan-Hare in the first Iron Bowl for Alabama Coach
Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
. The victory marked the sixth in a row for Auburn in the series and cut Alabama's all-time series lead over the Tigers to five games, the closest margin since 1974. 2008; No. 1 Alabama defeated unranked Auburn 36-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the last game at Auburn for Coach
Tommy Tuberville Thomas Hawley Tuberville ( ; born September 18, 1954) is an American retired college football coach and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Alabama since 2021. Before entering politics, Tuberville was the head football co ...
. The victory was the first ever for Alabama over Auburn in Tuscaloosa and snapped a six-game Auburn series winning streak. 2009: With Auburn leading 21–20 at home in the fourth quarter, the Crimson Tide engineered a 15-play, 79-yard drive that would last over seven minutes of game time. During the drive, Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy completed six consecutive passes, four to wide receiver Julio Jones covering 59 yards. At the Auburn 4-yard line with 1:24 left in the game, McElroy found fullback Roy Upchurch open in the right flat for the winning touchdown. Alabama, led by Heisman Award-winning running back Mark Ingram, won 26-21 and would go on to win the SEC and National Championship to complete a 14-0 undefeated season. 2010: No. 2 Auburn defeated No. 11 Alabama 28–27 in Tuscaloosa after erasing a 24–0 deficit — the largest comeback win in series history — led by Auburn's Heisman winning quarterback, Cam Newton. "The Camback" preserved Auburn's undefeated season, which eventually resulted in Auburn's second national championship. This is arguably the most contentious meeting in the rivalry's history, with Auburn fans decorating Bear Bryant’s statue with a
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 NF ...
jersey, and an Alabama fan poisoning the famous oak trees at Toomer’s Corner. 2013: No. 4 Auburn defeated No. 1 Alabama 34–28. With one second remaining and the game tied 28–28, Alabama's freshman kicker
Adam Griffith Adam Richard Griffith (born 11 February 1978) is a former Australian cricket player and Australian bowling coach. He was appointed as the cricket coach for Tasmania for the 2017–2018 season. He played first-class cricket for Tasmania and als ...
attempted a 57-yard potential game-winning field goal. The kick fell short, and Auburn cornerback Chris Davis caught the ball at the back of the endzone and returned it 109 yards for the game-winning touchdown as time expired in what became known as the "
Kick Six The Kick Six (also known as Kick Bama Kick) was the final play of the 78th Iron Bowl college football game played on November 30, 2013 at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The game featured the No. 1-ranked and two-time defending nationa ...
" game. The 2013 Iron Bowl won the
ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
for "Best Game" of the year in any sport, and the final play by Davis won the ESPY Award for "Best Play" of the year. 2014: No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 15 Auburn 55–44, the highest scoring Iron Bowl ever. 2017: No. 6 Auburn defeated No. 1 Alabama, 26–14, their largest margin of victory over Alabama since 1969. Despite not winning the SEC Championship or even the Western Division title, the loss did not prevent Alabama from winning the 2017 national championship. Auburn went on to lose to Georgia in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. 2018: No. 1 Alabama defeated unranked Auburn 52–21, led by sophomore quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Offensive MVP of the 2018 College Foo ...
, who passed for 5 touchdowns and ran for one more. It would be the first time that an Alabama player would account for six touchdowns in a single game. 2019: No. 15 Auburn defeated No. 5 Alabama, 48–45, in a classic back-and-forth match. After losing starting quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the Offensive MVP of the 2018 College Foo ...
to injury a few weeks earlier, sophomore
Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at University of Alabama, Alabama, where he set the Nationa ...
would be asked to step in against the Tigers. Auburn intercepted Jones twice, returning both for touchdowns. Alabama missed a game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter, but forced an Auburn fourth down on the next possession with just 1:04 remaining on the clock. Auburn lined up in a formation with the punter out wide which confused the defense and led to an Alabama penalty for having too many players on the field. The five-yard penalty gave Auburn a first down and allowed the Tigers to run out the clock. With the loss, Alabama was knocked out of playoff contention for the first time since the creation of the four-team format in 2014. This loss also marked the first time Alabama had two or more regular-season losses since 2010. 2021: No. 3 Alabama defeated unranked Auburn 24–22 in a four-overtime game. Auburn starting quarterback
Bo Nix Bo Nix (born February 25, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Nix played with the Auburn Tigers from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to Oregon in 2022. High school career Nix was born on February 25, 2000, in Arka ...
did not play due to an ankle injury. After allowing seven sacks and committing eleven penalties, Alabama trailed 10–3 with 1:43 remaining. The Tide, led by quarterback
Bryce Young Bryce Christopher Young (born July 25, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He holds the record for most passing yards in a single game by an Alabama quarterback (559) and was the recipient of the 2021 Heisma ...
, drove 97 yards for a game-tying touchdown to force the first overtime game in Iron Bowl history. (Although the rivalry game had been played 86 times, dating back to 1893, overtime in college football was instituted beginning with bowl games after the 1995 season.)


Game results

Since 1893, the Crimson Tide and Tigers have played 87 times. Alabama leads the series 49–37–1. The game has been played in four cities:
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Montgomery, and
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
. Alabama leads the series in Birmingham (34–18–1). Auburn leads the series in Auburn (10–6). The series is tied in Montgomery (2–2) and Tuscaloosa (7–7). Alabama leads the series since it was resumed in the modern era in 1948 (45–30). For the first time in the series history, five consecutive Iron Bowl winners went to 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 ...
: Alabama in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, Auburn in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and Alabama again in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. Auburn also went in
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, but lost to Florida State. Alabama's 2009 BCS National Championship followed by Auburn's 2010 BCS National Championship marks the first time that two different teams from the same state won consecutive BCS National Championships. One of the teams from this rivalry has gone to the BCS or CFP 12 times in 13 years from 2009 to 2021, with Alabama going 10 times (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021) and winning 6 (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020) and Auburn going twice (2010, 2013) and winning once (2010).


See also

*
List of NCAA college football rivalry games This is a list of rivalry games in college football in the United States. The list also shows any trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry between the teams. NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ...
* Alabama–Auburn men's basketball rivalry


References

Informational notes Citations Bibliography * Anderson, Lars,
Alabama: State Of The Rivalry—Auburn's national title stirred no Crimson pride in neighboring Tuscaloosa
, ''Sports Illustrated'' (January 24, 2011). * Groom, Winston. ''The Crimson Tide—An Illustrated History''. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2000. .


External links


Iron Bowl article in the Encyclopedia of Alabama



The Iron Bowl
{{Southeastern Conference football rivalry navbox College football rivalries in the United States