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| Auburn Tigers football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| First season | 1892; 133 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | John Cohen | ||
| Head coach | Hugh Freeze 3rd season, 11–14 (.440) | ||
| Stadium | Jordan-Hare Stadium (capacity: 88,043[1]) | ||
| Field | Pat Dye Field | ||
| Year built | 1939 | ||
| Field surface | Grass | ||
| Location | Auburn, Alabama | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | Southeastern Conference | ||
| Past conferences | Independent (1892–1894) SIAA (1895–1920) SoCon (1921–1932) | ||
| All-time record | 801–473–47 (.624) | ||
| Bowl record | 24–21–2 (.532) | ||
| Claimed national titles | 2 (1957,2010)[2] | ||
| Unclaimed national titles | 4 (1910,[3]1913,1983,1993)[4] | ||
| National finalist | 2 (2010, 2013) | ||
| Conference titles | 16 (8 SEC, 7 SIAA, 1 Southern) | ||
| Division titles | 10 | ||
| Rivalries | Alabama (rivalry) Clemson (rivalry) Florida (rivalry) Georgia (rivalry) Georgia Tech (rivalry) LSU (rivalry) Ole Miss (rivalry) Tennessee (rivalry) Tulane (rivalry) | ||
| Heisman winners | Pat Sullivan – 1971 Bo Jackson – 1985 Cam Newton – 2010 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 31 | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Burnt orange and navy blue[5] | ||
| Fight song | War Eagle | ||
| Mascot | Aubie the Tiger | ||
| Marching band | Auburn University Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Under Armour | ||
| Website | auburntigers.com | ||
TheAuburn Tigers football program representsAuburn University in the sport of Americancollege football. Auburn competes in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and theSoutheastern Conference (SEC).
Auburn officially began competing in intercollegiate football in 1892. The Tigers joined theSoutheastern Conference in 1932 as one of the inaugural members of the conference and the Tigers began competing in the West Division when the conference divided in 1992, doing so until the SEC eliminated divisions in 2024. Auburn has achieved 12 undefeated seasons and won 16 conference championships, along with 10 divisional championships. The Tigers have made 44 post season bowl appearances, including 12 historically major bowl berths.[6] With over 800 total wins, Auburn is the 13th winningest FBS program.[7] The Tigers claim two national championships;1957 and2010.[2]
The Tigers have produced threeHeisman Trophy winners:quarterbackPat Sullivan in 1971,running backBo Jackson in 1985, andquarterbackCam Newton in 2010. Auburn has also produced 31[8] consensusAll-American players. TheCollege Football Hall of Fame has inducted a total of 12 individuals from Auburn, including eight student-athletes and four head coaches:John Heisman,Mike Donahue,Ralph Jordan, andPat Dye. Jordan, who coached from 1951 to 1975, led Auburn to its firstnational championship and won a total of 176 games, the most by any Auburn coach.
Auburn's home stadium isJordan–Hare Stadium, which opened in 1939 and becomes Alabama's fifth largest city on gamedays with a capacity of 88,043.[9] Auburn's arch rival is in-state foeAlabama. The Tigers and Crimson Tide meet annually in theIron Bowl, one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports.
Auburn claims twonational championships: 1957 and 2010.[2] Three Auburn players,Pat Sullivan in 1971,Bo Jackson in 1985, andCam Newton in 2010 have won theHeisman Trophy. The Trophy's namesake,John Heisman, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school that Heisman coached at (among others,Georgia Tech andClemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner. Auburn'sJordan–Hare Stadium has a capacity of 88,043[10] ranking as the tenth-largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA as of January 2011.[11] Auburn played the first football game in theDeep South in 1892 against theUniversity of Georgia atPiedmont Park inAtlanta,Georgia. The Tigers' first bowl appearance was in 1937 in the sixthBacardi Bowl played inHavana,Cuba. AU Football has won 12 conference championships (8 SEC), has had seven perfect seasons, and during the division of the conference, six outright Western Division championships (1997, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2017) along with three additional co-championships.[12] Auburn plays archrivalAlabama each year in a game known as theIron Bowl. In the overall series with Alabama, Auburn trails Alabama 42–35–1, despite holding an 18–14 advantage in games played since 1982.[13] Of the 14 SEC member universities, Auburn currently ranks 5th in the number of SEC football championships.
Auburn completed the 2004 football season with an unblemished 13–0 record winning theSEC 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 theBCS championship game in deference to two other undefeated, higher ranked teams,USC andOklahoma. The 2004 team was led by quarterbackJason Campbell (Washington Commanders), running backsCarnell Williams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) andRonnie Brown (Miami Dolphins), and cornerbackCarlos Rogers (Washington Commanders).
Auburn completed the 2010 football season with a perfect record of 13–0 winning theSEC 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 theOregon Ducks 22–19 in their first appearance in theBCS National Championship Game on January 10, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona. The 2010 team was led by quarterbackCam Newton, who became the Heisman trophy winner of 2010 along with multiple other awards.
Auburn completed the 2013 regular season with an 11–1 record byknocking off then-#1 Alabama. Auburn went on to defeat #5 Missouri 59–42 in the2013 SEC Championship Game to claim its eighth SEC championship. Auburn faced #1 Florida State in the2014 BCS National Championship Game 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.
In terms of winning percentage, Auburn ranks as the 15th most successful team of all time (1869-2019) with a 63.052% win rate.[14]
The College Football Research Center lists Auburn as the 14th best college football program in history,[15] with eight Auburn squads listed in Billingsley's Top 200 Teams of All Time (1869–2010).[16] The Bleacher Report placed Auburn as the 18th best program of all time in their power rankings conducted after the 2010 season.[17] In 2013, College Football Data Warehouse, a website dedicated to the historical data of college football,[18] listed Auburn 13th all-time.[19] After the 2008 season, ESPN ranked Auburn the 21st most prestigious program in history.[20] Additional noteworthy outlets to rank Auburn in the top 25 all time were College Football News, who put the Tigers at 13th all time after the 2018 season, and the Associated Press, who ranked Auburn 15th all time after the 2017 season.[21][22]
The Associated Press poll statistics show Auburn with the 11th best national record of being ranked in the finalAP Poll[23] and 14th overall (ranked 503 times out of 1058 polls since the poll began in 1936), with an average ranking of 11.2.[24] Since theCoaches Poll first released a final poll in 1950, Auburn has 26 seasons where the team finished ranked in the top 20 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.[25]
Auburn has also had success against teams ranked number one in the nation. The Tigers have beaten seven teams ranked number one in either the AP, Coaches,Bowl Championship Series (BCS), orCollege Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. The BCS was created in 1998 to guarantee bowl game matchups between the top teams, including anational championship game between the two top-ranked teams. The BCS was discontinued in 2014 and replaced by the CFP, which organizes a four-team playoff andnational championship game.
Auburn has been both independent and affiliated with three conferences.[26]: 184
Six Auburn teams have been awarded anational championship from NCAA-designated major selectors—1910, 1913, 1957, 1983, 1993, and 2010.[27]: 111–115 [28] The 1957 and 2010 championships are consensus national championships[27]: 120 and claimed by the university.[2]
| Year | Coach | Selectors | Record | Final AP | Final Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Ralph Jordan | Associated Press, Billingsley,Football Research,Helms,National Championship Foundation,Poling,Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess),Williamson | 10–0 | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| 2010 | Gene Chizik | Anderson & Hester, AP,Bowl Championship Series,Berryman, Billingsley, College Football Researchers Association,Colley,Dunkel,Football Writers Association,FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16,Massey,National Football Foundation, Sagarin,USA Today,Wolfe | 14–0 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
The 1913 team was coached byMike Donahue and was undefeated at 8–0, outscoring opponents 224–13. Auburn, led by senior captain Kirk Newell, finished as SIAA champions for the first time in school history. Newell, also a member of the Upsilon chapter ofPi Kappa Alpha, went on to be a World War I hero and member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.[29] In 1999, the 1913 Tigers were awarded a national title by theBillingsley Report under their Billingsley MOV (margin of victory) formula, one of two formulas used by Billingsley at the time.[30]
The 1957 Auburn Tigers, led by coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan, finished with a perfect 10–0 record, marking the school's first ever SEC championship. Auburn was recognized as national champions by the AP Poll even though they were on probation and did not participate in a bowl game. This was the school's first recognized national championship. The 1957 title is shared with Ohio State, who was named the national champion by the Coaches' Poll. This was the first of only two times in the history of the AP championship that it was awarded to a team on probation not allowed to participate in a bowl game (it would occur again in 1974 with Oklahoma).
The 1983 Auburn Tigers, led by head coachPat Dye and running backBo Jackson, finished 11–1 after playing the nation's toughest schedule. Their only loss came against No. 3 Texas, who defeated the Tigers, 20–7. Auburn went on to defeat No. 8 Michigan, 9–7, in theSugar Bowl. Despite entering the bowl games ranked third in both major polls, and with both teams ranked higher losing their bowl games, the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP poll. The New York Times ranked Auburn number one at the conclusion of the season, as did several other math system selectors. Later, the Billingsley Report math system retroactively listed Auburn at number one. The universally recognized national champions for 1983 are the Miami Hurricanes.
Head coachTerry Bowden led the 1993 team to a perfect season in his first year on the Plains. The Tigers were the only undefeated team in major college football; however, they were banned from playing on television or post-season games due to NCAA violations. Rival Alabama was sent to the SEC Championship Game as the substitute representative of the Western Division. Auburn finished ranked fourth in the nation by the Associated Press. However, Auburn was on NCAA probation in 1993 and ineligible for post season play.
The Tigers, led by head coachGene Chizik andGus Malzahn, completed a 12–0 regular season record and defeated South Carolina in the 2010 SEC Championship Game. On October 24, 2010, Auburn was ranked first in theBCS polls for the first time in school history. On January 10, 2011, Auburn defeated Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona, 22–19. It was the school's second claimed national title, but their first undisputed title. Their quarterback,Cam Newton, became the Tigers' thirdHeisman Trophy winner. He had a total of 2,854 yards passing and 30 passing touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns. Auburn went on to have two first round picks in the 2011 NFL draft withCam Newton going number one andNick Fairley going 13th.
Auburn officially has won 16 total conference championships, including seven SIAA Championships, one Southern Conference Championship, and eight SEC Championships.
| Year | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900† | SIAA | Walter H. Watkins | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| 1904† | Mike Donahue | 5–0 | 4-0 | |
| 1908† | 6-1 | 4-1 | ||
| 1910† | 6-1 | 6-0 | ||
| 1913 | 9–0 | 8–0 | ||
| 1914† | 8–0–1 | 5–0–1 | ||
| 1919† | 8–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 1932† | SoCon | Chet A. Wynne | 9–0–1 | 6–0–1 |
| 1957 | SEC | Ralph Jordan | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1983 | Pat Dye | 11–1 | 6–0 | |
| 1987 | 9–1–2 | 6–0–1 | ||
| 1988† | 10–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 1989† | 10–2 | 6–1 | ||
| 2004 | Tommy Tuberville | 13–0 | 8–0 | |
| 2010 | Gene Chizik | 14–0 | 8–0 | |
| 2013 | Gus Malzahn | 12–2 | 7–1 |
† Co-champions
Since divisional play began in 1992, Auburn has won the SEC Western Division championship and gone on to the conference title game on six occasions and is 3–3 in theSEC Championship Game. The most recent appearance came in 2017 as Auburn completed the regular season 10–2, losing a rematch to Georgia in the2017 SEC Championship Game. Auburn has also shared the division title but did not play in the championship game due to tiebreakers on three occasions. Auburn also finished the 1993 season in first place in the division but was not eligible for postseason play.
| Year | Division | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record | Opponent | SEC CG Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993† | SEC West | Terry Bowden | 11-0 | 8-0 | Ineligible for postseason | |
| 1997† | 10–3 | 6–2 | Tennessee | L 29–30 | ||
| 2000 | Tommy Tuberville | 9–4 | 6–2 | Florida | L 6–28 | |
| 2001† | 7–5 | 5–3 | LSU won divisional tiebreaker | |||
| 2002† | 9–4 | 5–3 | Arkansas won divisional tiebreaker | |||
| 2004 | 13–0 | 8–0 | Tennessee | W 38–28 | ||
| 2005† | 9–3 | 7–1 | LSU won divisional tiebreaker | |||
| 2010 | Gene Chizik | 14–0 | 8–0 | South Carolina | W 56–17 | |
| 2013 | Gus Malzahn | 12–2 | 7–1 | Missouri | W 59–42 | |
| 2017 | 10–4 | 7–1 | Georgia | L 7–28 | ||
† Co-champions
Auburn has had 28 head coaches, and three interim head coaches, since it began play during the1892 season.[31] On November 29, 2022,Hugh Freeze was named the 31st head coach of the Tigers. The team has played more than 1,200 games over 120 seasons.[31] In that time, eight coaches have led the Tigers in postseasonbowl games:Jack Meagher,Ralph Jordan,Pat Dye,Terry Bowden,Tommy Tuberville,Gene Chizik,Gus Malzahn, andBryan Harsin.[32]Billy Watkins,Mike Donahue,Chet A. Wynne, Jordan, Dye, Tuberville, Chizik, and Malzahn won a combined 12 conference championships.[33] During their tenures, Jordan and Chizik each wonnational championships with the Tigers.[33][34]
Auburn has participated in 45 bowls in total, with the Tigers garnering a record of 24–19–2.[26]: 172–183, 125–132
Historically, Auburn has two main rivals, the cross-stateAlabama Crimson Tide in theIron Bowl, and the borderingGeorgia Bulldogs in theDeep South's Oldest Rivalry.
Alabama leads the series 51–37–1 through the 2024 season.[35]
Auburn leads 34–15–2 through the 2018 season.[36]
Auburn leads 43–39–2 through the 2019 season.[37]
Georgia leads 64–56–8 through the 2023 season.[38]
Auburn leads the series 47–41–4 through the 2017 season.[39]
LSU leads 30–24–1 through the 2023 season.[40]
Auburn leads the series 35–12 through the 2023 season.[41]
Auburn leads 29–22–3 through the 2020 season.[42]
Tulane leads the series 17–15–6 through the 2019 season.[43]
Before each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Drive to cheer on the team as they walk from the Auburn Athletic Complex toJordan–Hare Stadium. The tradition began in the 1950s when groups of kids would walk up the street to greet the team and get autographs. During the tenure of coachDoug Barfield, the coach urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did. Today the team 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 rivalAlabama—theIron Bowl. On that day, an estimated 20,000 fans packed the one block section of road leading to the stadium. According to former athletic directorDavid Housel, Tiger Walk has become "the most copied tradition in all of college football".[44]
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 theUniversity of Georgia. According to the story, in the stands that day was an old Civil War soldier with an eagle 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 of "War Eagle" also functions as a greeting for those associated with the university. For many years, a livegolden eagle has embodied the spirit of this tradition. The eagle was once housed on campus in The A. Elwyn Hamer Jr. Aviary (which was the second largest single-bird enclosure in the country), but the aviary was taken down in 2003 and the eagle moved to a nearby raptor center. The eagle, War Eagle VI (nicknamed "Tiger"), was trained in 2000 to fly free around the stadium before every home game to the delight of fans. The present eagle, War Eagle VIII (nicknamed "Aurea"), continues the tradition. War Eagle VI is believed to be the inspiration behind the 2005–2006 Auburn Cheerleading squad's chant, "Tigers, Tigers, Gooooooo Tigers!"
The intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known asToomer's Corner. It is named after Toomer's Drugs, a small store on the corner that has been an Auburn landmark since 1896. Hanging over the corner were two massive old oak trees, planted in 1937, and whenever there was cause for celebration in the Auburn community,toilet paper could usually be found hanging from the trees. Also known as "rolling the corner", this tradition originated after Auburn upset No. 2 Alabama in the 1972 Iron Bowl, The famous 'Punt Bama Punt' Game. "We beat the 'number 2' out of Alabama." Until the mid-1990s, the tradition was relegated to only celebrating athletic wins.
The oak trees were cut down by the university in April 2013, as a result of their being poisoned by Harvey Updyke Jr., a fan of rival Alabama.[45]
The Wreck Tech Pajama Parade originated in 1896, when a group of mischievous Auburn students, determined to show up the more well-known engineers fromGeorgia Tech, snuck 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 Tech team slid through town and didn't stop until it was halfway to the neighboring town ofLoachapoka, Alabama. The 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.[46]
A number of Auburn players and coaches have won national awards, including 66 players being named as college footballAll-Americans. The Tigers also have 11 coaches and players who have been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame inAtlanta.
| Auburn Tigers player statues | |||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cam Newton | QB | 2010 |
| 7 | Pat Sullivan | QB | 1969–71 |
| 34 | Bo Jackson | RB | 1982–85 |
| HC | John Heisman | HC | 1895–99 |
The Tigers have retired three numbers to date, honoring the following players:[47]
| Auburn Tigers retired numbers | ||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tenure | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Pat Sullivan | QB | 1969–1971 | [48] |
| 34 | Bo Jackson | RB | 1982–1985 | [48] |
| 88 | Terry Beasley | WR | 1969–1971 | [48] |
| Players Year Inducted | Coaches Year Inducted |
|---|---|
| 1954 –Jimmy Hitchcock 1956 –Walter Gilbert 1991 –Pat Sullivan 1994 –Tucker Frederickson 1998 –Bo Jackson 2002 –Terry Beasley 2004 –Tracy Rocker 2009 –Ed Dyas | 1951 –"Iron Mike" Donahue 1954 –John Heisman 1982 –Ralph "Shug" Jordan 2005 –Pat Dye |
Players
| Heisman Trophy[49] Best player | Walter Camp Award[50] Best player | Maxwell Award Best player | Davey O'Brien Award Best quarterback | Lott IMPACT Trophy Defensive IMPACT player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 –Pat Sullivan,QB 1985 –Bo Jackson,RB 2010 –Cam Newton,QB | 1971 –Pat Sullivan,QB 1985 –Bo Jackson,RB 2010 –Cam Newton,QB | 2010 –Cam Newton,QB | 2010 –Cam Newton,QB | 2019 –Derrick Brown,DT |
| Manning Award Best quarterback | Outland Trophy[51] Best interior lineman | Lombardi Award[52] Best lineman/linebacker | Jim Thorpe Award[53] Best defensive back | Rimington Trophy[54] Best center |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 –Cam Newton,QB | 1958 –Zeke Smith,G 1988 –Tracy Rocker,DT | 1988 –Tracy Rocker,DT 2010 –Nick Fairley,DT | 2004 –Carlos Rogers,CB | 2014 –Reese Dismukes,C |
Coaches
| Paul "Bear" Bryant Award[55] Coach of the Year | Eddie Robinson Award Coach of the Year | Sporting News Award Coach of the Year | Home Depot Award[56] Coach of the Year | Bowden Award[57] Coach of the Year | Broyles Award[58] Best assistant coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 –Terry Bowden 2004 –Tommy Tuberville 2010 –Gene Chizik 2013 –Gus Malzahn | 1993 –Terry Bowden 2013 –Gus Malzahn | 1993 –Terry Bowden 2004 –Tommy Tuberville 2013 –Gus Malzahn | 2010 –Gene Chizik 2013 –Gus Malzahn | 2010 –Gene Chizik 2013 –Gus Malzahn | 2004 –Gene Chizik 2010 –Gus Malzahn |
† Consensus All-American
‡ Unanimous All-American
From 1992 to 2023, Auburn played in the West Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the East Division. The SEC expanded to 16 teams and eliminated divisions in 2024, causing a new scheduling format for the Tigers to play against the other members of the conference.[61] Only the 2024 conference schedule was announced on June 14, 2023, while the conference still considers a new format for the future.[62]
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| atAlabama | ||
| Arkansas | ||
| atGeorgia | ||
| atKentucky | ||
| atMissouri | ||
| Oklahoma |
| |
| Texas A&M |
| |
| Vanderbilt |
|
Announced schedules as of August 26, 2024.[63][64]
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| atBaylor | Baylor | North Alabama | atMiami (FL) | Miami (FL) | |
| Ball State | Southern Miss | ||||
| South Alabama | Jacksonville State | ||||
| Mercer |
Located in:Auburn, Alabama | ||
| Academics |  | |
| Athletics | ||
| Campus | ||
| Student life | ||
| Traditions | ||
| Outreach | ||
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