Auburn Tigers football

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Auburn Tigers football
First season	1892
Athletic director	Jay Jacobs
Head coach	Gene Chizik
	0 year, 0–0
Home stadium	Jordan-Hare Stadium
Field	Pat Dye Field
Year built	1939
Stadium capacity	87,451
Stadium surface	Grass
Location	Auburn, Alabama
League	NCAA Division I
Conference	SEC (1932 - present)
Division	SEC West (1992 - present)
Past conferences	Independent (1892-1894) SIAA (1895-1920) Southern (1921-1932)
All-time record	681–395–47 (.627)
Postseason bowl record	19–13–2
Claimed national titles	1 AP
Conference titles	10 (6 SEC)
Heisman winners	2
All-Americans	62
Current uniform
Colors	Burnt Orange and Navy Blue
Fight song	War Eagle
Mascot	Aubie the tiger
Marching band	Auburn University Marching Band
Outfitter	Under Armour
Rivals	University of Alabama University of Georgia Louisiana State University
Website	AuburnTigers.com

The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium has a capacity of 87,451, ranking as the ninth-largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA. The team is coached by Gene Chizik, who was hired on December 13, 2008, replacing Tommy Tuberville, who resigned four days after the 36-0 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in an annual rivalry game, dubbed the Iron Bowl.

The Tigers played the first football game in the Deep South in 1892,^[1] with the program's first bowl appearance coming the 1936 season in the sixth Bacardi Bowl played in Havana, Cuba. As of 2007, AU Football has had 77 winning seasons, 34 bowl appearances, twenty-four 9+ win seasons, eleven undefeated seasons and ten conference championships. Auburn has played in the Southeastern Conference since its inception in 1933 and have won six SEC Conference Championships, and since the divisional realignment of the conference in 1992, six Western Division championships^[2] and three trips to the SEC Championship game.

[edit] Historical ranking

The College Football Research Center lists Auburn as the 14th best college football program in history,^[3] with eight Auburn squads listed in Billingsley’s Top 200 Teams of All Time (1869-2006).^[4] The Associated Press poll statistics show Auburn with the 11th best national record of being ranked in the final AP Poll^[5] and 13th overall (ranked 470 times out of 970 polls since the poll began in 1936), with an average ranking of 11.11.^[6] Since the Coaches Poll first released a final poll in 1950, Auburn has 33 seasons where the team finished in the top 20 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.^[7]

Auburn has the 13th most wins in D-1A college football.^[8] In terms of winning percentage, Auburn ranks as the 8th most successful team in the past 25 years with a 71.7% win rate (214–83–5)^[9] and 12th over the last 50 years with 68.4% (386–176–10).^[10] Of the 93 current I-A football programs that been active since Auburn first fielded a team 116 years ago, Auburn ranks 13th in winning percentage over that period.^[11]

[edit] Heisman links

Two Auburn players, Pat Sullivan in 1971 and Bo Jackson in 1985, have won the Heisman Trophy. The Trophy's namesake, John Heisman, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school where Heisman coached (among others, Georgia Tech and Clemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner.

[edit] National champion teams

There have been a total of eight Auburn teams that have been awarded some form of "National Champions" title. The NCAA's website states that "the NCAA does not conduct a national championship in Division I-A football and is not involved in the selection process", but goes on to state that "a number of polling organizations provide a final ranking of Division I-A football teams at the end of each season". The NCAA website then lists four Auburn squads that have been named National Champions by at least one organization.^[12] Here is the complete list of the Auburn teams ranked No. 1 and some of the organizations that recognized them as National Champion:^[13]

• 1910 6–1 team (Loren Maxwell)
• 1913 undefeated 8–0 team (Billingsley, James Howell)
• 1914 undefeated 8–0–1 team (James Howell)
• 1957 undefeated 10–0 team (Associated Press, Billingsley, Fleming, Football Research, Helms, James Howell, Massey Ratings, National Championship Foundation, Nutshell Sports, Poling, Sagarin, Sorensen, Williamson, David Wilson)
• 1958 undefeated 9–0–1 team (Montgomery Full Season Championship)
• 1983 11–1 team (ARGH, Billingsley, DKC, Eck, FACT, Fleming, Football Research, James Howell, Massey Ratings, New York Times, Nutshell Sports, Sorensen, Sparks Achievement, David Wilson)
• 1993 undefeated 11–0 team (Harry Frye, National Championship Foundation, Nutshell Sports, Sparks Achievement, David Wilson)
• 2004 undefeated 13–0 team (Darryl W. Perry, EFI, FansPoll, GBE, Hank Trexler, M Cubed)

The AP Poll did not begin selecting a champion until 1936 nor the AFCA Coaches Poll until 1950, so many national champion titles previous to those date were awarded retroactively. However during the 1910s, it is difficult to dispute the legitimacy of the Auburn titles. The undefeated 1913 and 1914 teams coached by Mike Donahue were some of the best defenses in Auburn history. In fact, the 1914 squad allowed zero points all season, outscoring opponents 193-0. The 1983 team featuring Bo Jackson went 11–1 and finished the season by beating Michigan 9–7 in the Sugar Bowl. The undefeated 2004 squad (13–0) finished second in the AP and Coaches Top 25 polls, but the team was awarded the 2004 Fanspoll.com People's National Champion title.^[14] Auburn University officially only claims the Associated Press (AP) National Championship of 1957^[15] (although the school does acknowledge the 1913, 1983, 1993 and 2004 titles in their media guide).^[16]

[edit] Modern history

While Auburn football has a long and storied history, the Tigers have been quite successful in recent years. Since the expansion of the SEC and the split into divisions, Auburn has been the winningest SEC West team in league play since the conference realignment in 1992.^[17] As of December 2, 2008, Auburn teams have won 30 of their last 42 conference matchups including 15 of the last 21 SEC away games. The Tigers seem to perform best when facing their greatest challenge as, in addition to the success on the road in the SEC, Auburn teams have won 9 of their last 14 matchups versus top-10 opponents. The Tigers also have done well protecting Jordan-Hare Stadium, particularly at night where the home team has won 14 of the 17 night games since 2000. Over the last five seasons, Auburn has won 47 games.

[edit] 2009 season

While Auburn had finished ranked in the top-15 in four consecutive seasons starting with the 2004 undefeated season, the poor 5-7 showing in 2008 caused head coach Tommy Tuberville to resign. New head coach Gene Chizik was hired December 13, 2008 and brought in an entirely new staff. The 2009 season will see the Tigers face a difficult schedule, including away games at Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia, with non-conference foes including national power West Virginia and Ball State (coming off a 12-2 season).

[edit] Rivals

[edit] Iron Bowl (vs. Alabama)

Auburn's rivalry with Alabama is termed the "Iron Bowl". The first meeting came in 1893, but the teams only played 15 times before the series was suspended in 1907. In 1948, the two schools finally agreed to renew the series, with the games to be played at the neutral Legion Field in Birmingham, where the game was played every year from 1948 through 1988. In 1989, Auburn hosted the first on-campus meeting, after which the series became a "home and home," with Auburn's home games being played in Auburn (with the exception of the 1991 game, which was played at Legion Field), and Alabama's home games being played at Legion Field until 2000, when Alabama moved their home games to Tuscaloosa. Alabama holds the all-time edge in the series at 39–33–1, although Auburn leads 14-11 over the last quarter century. Alabama snapped Auburn's six game winning streak in 2008.

[edit] Deep South's Oldest Rivalry (vs. Georgia)

Georgia and Auburn compete in "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry", dating back to February 20, 1892. That first meeting was the first ever Auburn football game, a 10-0 win for the Tigers. The two teams met at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia and the annual matchup continued to be held there until 1903. It was played in Columbus, Georgia, from 1916 to 1958, except in 1929 and 1949, when the game was played in Athens, Georgia. In 1959, the series became an on-campus series. Auburn holds a 53–50–8 lead in the series.

[edit] Tiger Bowl (vs. LSU)

Auburn also has a competitive football rivalry with the LSU Tigers, as the last five games have been settled by a total of nineteen points and the two teams won at least a share of the SEC Western Division championship every year from 2000 to 2007, with Auburn taking the SEC West title in 2000 and 2004 and LSU in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007, winning the tiebreaker over Auburn in 2001 and 2005. Homefield advantage is historically significant in this series, with the home team winning every year between 1999 and 2007. LSU holds the series lead 23–19–1.

While the series has no formal name, many of the games themselves have been named by the media, most notably the Earthquake Game in 1988.

[edit] Former rivals

Before the Southeastern Conference expanded and split into Eastern and Western divisions, Auburn had annual rivalries with SEC East powers Florida and Tennessee. Auburn was forced to stop playing Tennessee every year, and stopped playing Florida every year in 2002, when the SEC implemented two rotating opponents on the schedule. Since 2002, Auburn only plays each of these two teams four times every ten years unless they meet in the SEC Championship game. The Tigers lead both teams all-time with a 42–38–2 edge over Florida and 26–21–3 series with Tennessee.

Auburn also had long standing rivalries with former conference foe Georgia Tech and also with Clemson, dating back to 1899 when all three teams competed in the SIAA. Auburn leads the Yellow Jackets 47–41–4, with Auburn also leading in the Clemson series 33–11–2 after winning the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl matchup.

[edit] Traditions

[edit] Tiger Walk

Before each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Avenue to cheer on the team as they walk from Sewell Hall (the athletes' dormitory) to Jordan-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 coach Doug Barfield, the coach urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did. 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—the Iron Bowl. 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," although there are older pre-game walks at Stanford and Williams College.^[18]

[edit] Toomer's Corner

The intersection of Magnolia and College streets in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known as Toomer's Corner. It is named after Toomer's Drugs, a small store on the corner that has been an Auburn landmark for over 150 years. Hanging over the corner are two massive old-growth oak trees, and anytime anything good happens concerning Auburn, toilet paper can usually be found hanging from the trees. Also known as "rolling the corner," this tradition is thought to have originated in the 1950s and until the mid 1990s was relegated to only to celebrating athletic wins. However, in recent years it has become a way to celebrate anything good that happens concerning Auburn.

In April 2007, it was reported that the landmark trees at Toomer's Corner are dying due to "years of abuse".^[19] While it is difficult to determine how long the trees have left, plans are already being made to replace the historic tree with another live oak when the day comes.

[edit] "War Eagle"

Nova, "War Eagle VII"

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. 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 of "War Eagle" also functions as a greeting for those associated with the University. For many years, a live golden 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 VII (nicknamed "Nova"), continues the tradition.

[edit] Wreck Tech Pajama Parade

The Wreck Tech Pajama Parade originated in 1896, when a group of mischievous Auburn ROTC cadets, determined to show up the more well-known engineers from Georgia Tech, 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, 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 has recently been renewed with Georgia Tech returning to Auburn's schedule after nearly two decades of absence.

[edit] Current staff

[edit] Head coaches

†Defensive coordinator Bill Oliver coached the last five games of the 1998 season after Terry Bowden's resignation.

[edit] Award winners

A number of Auburn players and coaches have won national awards, including 62 players being named as college football All-Americans. The Tigers also have eleven coaches and players that have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

[edit] Hall of Fame

[edit] National Awards

Players

Coaches

[edit] All-Americans

[edit] Tigers in the NFL

Ronnie Brown was the #2 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft

There have been 237 Auburn players drafted into the National Football League, with 15 earning 30 All-Pro honors, 27 making Pro Bowl appearances, and 23 playing in the Super Bowl.

The Dow Jones College-Football Success Index ranked Auburn as the eighth best program in the nation, with the second highest Draft Value which indicate "that a school's players perform better than NFL scouts seem to expect".^[27] Auburn is tied (with Miami) for second most Top 5 NFL Draft picks this decade, and The Plains have produced 25 first round draft picks overall.

[edit] Running back U

Cadillac Williams evades a tackler.

Auburn currently has several former running backs currently playing that position in the NFL (see below). They carry on a long legacy of top NFL backs from Auburn such as Tucker Frederickson, William Andrews, Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, Lionel James, Brent Fullwood, Tommie Agee and Bo Jackson. Over the years 1987-2008), there have been 15 Tiger running backs drafted into the NFL, with several more successfully signing as undrafted free-agents.

[edit] Current NFL players

There are a number of former Auburn players currently listed on NFL rosters. These players include seven running backs, seven linebackers, six wide receivers, two tight ends, five cornerbacks, one quarterback, one placekicker and fifteen linemen including four nose tackle, five guards, five tackles and three defensive ends.

[edit] 2008 NFL Draft

The following former Tigers were drafted in the most recent NFL Draft:

[edit] Hall of Fame

[edit] Bowl history

Auburn football teams have been invited to participate in 34 total bowls and have garnered a record of 19–13–2.

[edit] Future schedules

[edit] 2009 schedule

[edit] 2010 schedule

Schedule Source: 2010 Auburn Tigers football schedule

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Auburn Tigers football

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