Auburn High School Tigers
Encyclopedia
The Auburn High School Tigers are the athletic teams which represent Auburn High School in Auburn
, Alabama
. Auburn High School's athletics program fields twenty-one varsity team
s as a member of the large-school classification (6A) of the Alabama High School Athletic Association
. The Tigers' school colors are royal blue
and white and the school's mascot is a tiger named Samford.
AHS's track and field
teams have won fourteen state championships, while the cross country
squad has won six state titles. The golf
teams have won five state championships since 2004. Auburn High's women's and men's basketball
teams have each won a state title, in 1919 and 2005, respectively, while the baseball squad won titles in 1986, 2009, and 2010. Overall, the Auburn High Tigers have won 40 state championships since the program fielded its earliest teams around 1910.
The Auburn High School Tigers are generally referred to as the Auburn Tigers when context precludes confusion with the Auburn University Tigers.
Auburn High School currently fields a varsity team in eleven men's and ten women's sports. They are:
was one of the first sports organized at Auburn High, with the first game being played in 1911. In the nine seasons between 1915 and 1923, Auburn High lost only 5 of 62 games, scoring unbeaten records in 1915, 1918, 1919, 1921, and 1923. The Tigers also had unbeaten regular seasons in 1934, 1952, 2008, and 2009—Auburn's nine unbeaten seasons rank second among class 6A schools in Alabama. AHS's overall record of 534–354–33 is the sixth–winningest overall record in 6A.
Auburn High's football team competes in Region 3 of class 6A along with Central High School of Phenix City
, Dothan
, Enterprise
, Northview High
of Dothan
, Opelika
, and Smiths Station High Schools. AHS's primary football rival is the Opelika High School
Bulldogs from nearby Opelika, Alabama
. Auburn and Opelika have played 84 times, including each year since 1933. Auburn also has traditional rivalries with Central High School of Phenix City (46 games), Lanett High School (44 games), and Valley High School (51 games). The Tigers had previous rivalries with Sidney Lanier High School in the 1910s and Columbus
and Jordan High Schools of Columbus, Georgia
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Since 2004, Auburn High has produced more All-Pro
National Football League
players than any other high school. AHS alumni in the NFL include Marcus Washington
of the Washington Redskins
(Pro Bowl 2005), Osi Umenyiora
of the New York Giants
(Pro Bowl 2006, 2008), and Demarcus Ware
of the Dallas Cowboys
(Pro Bowl 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). Auburn High's Dee Finley was a USA Today
All-American in 2007, as was Philip Yost in 1999.
Auburn High has twice been ranked first in the state (in 1967 and 2009) and rose to 17th nationally in the USA Today
rankings in 2009. The Tigers proceeded deepest into the playoffs in 2001 and 2009, when the team reached the semifinal round. AHS has won the region, area or conference championship on twenty occasions since 1921: in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1948, 1952, 1967, 1972, 1973, 1987, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
The football team's home field since 1968 is 8,310 seat Duck Samford Stadium
. AHS previously played at Felton Little Park
(1949—1968), Auburn Stadium
(1939–1947), Drake Field
(1911–1920, 1935–1939), and Ross Field (1921–1935). The head coach of the Tigers is Tim Carter, who is 57–15 with six playoff appearances in his six years as AHS coach. Carter replaced Robert Maddox
, who in three years at Auburn led the team to three playoff appearances and a region title in 2004. Football games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
AM 1230 and WTGZ
FM 93.9.
was the first sport organized at Auburn High, with the first recorded men's match in the 1910–1911 season and the first recorded women's game in 1917. Two state championships have been won by AHS: the women claimed the 1919 state title, while the men won the 2005 crown. The 1919 women's squad were undefeated in–state, playing with men's rules (five-player) on outdoor courts; that team's Margaret Brown, Mary Tamplin, and Alice Beasley later later led Auburn University
to three straight undefeated seasons. The 2005 men's team won the state tournament with a 59–35 defeat of previously unbeaten and USA Today
's nationally 2nd–ranked LeFlore
.
The men's basketball program is coached by 28-year veteran Frank Tolbert, who holds a 650–315 record. Under Tolbert, Auburn has won the region championship twelve times, reached the playoffs twenty-one times, and the state final four seven times. In addition to the squad's 2005 state title, Auburn High has been state runner-up in 1924, 1987, 1991, and 1996.
The women's basketball program began sometime around 1914, but only lasted for about 15 years before being canceled amidst the cutbacks of the Great Depression
. Alabama law later prohibited state high schools from fielding women's basketball teams, but a 1975 repeal of that law allowed Auburn High to bring back women's basketball in 1978. The modern program's first coach was current AHS men's coach Frank Tolbert. Head coach of the women's basketball team is Terryland Dawson. Dawson's 2007 and 2008 squads both made the state tournament regionals, having generated 26–7 and 25–5 records, respectively.
Both basketball squads compete in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The basketball teams play at the 1,500 seat Auburn Fieldhouse on the Auburn High campus. Basketball games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
AM 1230.
team was still playing as late as 1923, but by the late 1930s had been replaced by a team playing in an FFA league. By 1947, Auburn High again fielded a team. The baseball Tigers have won three state titles, in 1986, 2009, and 2010, and were state runners-up in 1973.
Matt Cimo is the head coach of the AHS baseball team. Auburn High has reached the state playoffs eleven of the past thirteen years, reaching the semifinals in 1998 and 2001 in addition to state championships in 2009 and 2010. The most notable player produced by the Auburn High School baseball program is pitcher Joe Beckwith
, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1979–1983, 1986) and Kansas City Royals (1984–1985).
The baseball team competes in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The baseball team plays at Sam Welborn Field. Baseball games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
AM 1230.
team wasn't organized until the 1980s. That team played in the AHSAA slowpitch league for a decade until moving to the new fastpitch
division in the 1990s.
Until 2009, Auburn High softball team was coached by 15–year veteran Ed Crum, under whom the Tigers have a 393-250 record. AHS softball competes in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. Auburn High softball plays home matches at the five–field Auburn Softball Complex
The softball head coach is Chris Spencer.
program since at least 1969, while women's golf, started in the late 1990s, is AHS's newest sport. The men's golf team won four team state championships, in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Under 15–year veteran coach Duke Smith, the Tigers have won nine sectional championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), and were state runners–up in 1999. The men's golf program has produced four individual state titles, Bob Dumas in 1969 and 1970, John Oswalt in 2004, and Lowery Thomas in 2005.
The AHS women's golf squad won the state title in 2010, and placed second at the state tournament in 2007, 2008, and 2009, with additional top–five finishes in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2006.
The men's golf team competes in Section 2 of class 6A along with Carver, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery
, Central High School of Phenix City, Dothan and Northview High Schools of Dothan, Enterprise, Opelika, Prattville, Russell County, Smiths Station, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. The women's golf team also competes in Section 2 of class 6A, along with Central High School of Phenix City, Hillcrest, Northridge, and Paul Bryant High Schools of Tuscaloosa
, Hueytown, Huffman, Oak Mountain, Opelika, Russell County, Spain Park, Pelham, and Thompson High Schools. Auburn High's official home golf course is Indian Pines Golf Course
, though the Auburn University Club and the Robert Trent Jones
–designed Grand National
are often used as home courses.
and other running sports have been offered at Auburn High since 1921, when AHS won Alabama's first state track and field championship meet. The Tigers six track family sports—men's and women's outdoor track, men's and women's indoor track, and men's and women's cross country
—have combined for twenty state championships.
in 1970.
Both track squads compete in Section 2 of class 6A along with Carver, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery, Central High School of Phenix City, Dothan and Northview High Schools of Dothan, Enterprise, Opelika, Prattville, Russell County, Smiths Station, Selma, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. Dan Norton coaches the men's team, while Cindy Hunt is coach of the women's squad.
team has won six state titles, in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1979, and 1980. The men's squad has also produced seven individual state champions: Joe Elliot in 1967, 1968, and 1969, Alvin Floyd in 1970, Sam Barall in 1990 and 1991, and Patrick Gomez in 2008; while the women's team has three individual state championships: Rachel Hawk in 1993 and 1994, and Tara Enebak in 2002. Both squads compete in Section 2 of class 6A along with Central High School of Phenix City, Jeff Davis, Northview, Enterprise, Opelika, Russell County, and Smiths Station High Schools.
The first varsity volleyball
program at Auburn was started in 1978, but ended soon after and did not restart again until 2000. Since 2004, the volleyball team has lost only twice in area play, progressing to the state elite eight in four of the last six years. The coach of the Auburn High School volleyball program is Jan Vaughn. AHS volleyball competes in Area 8 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The team plays home matches at the Auburn Fieldhouse.
The Auburn women's soccer team has reached the state final four for six of the last seven years: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, taking the state runner–up trophy in 2008. The team progressed to the elite eight in 2003, and has won eight straight section titles. The Lady Tigers' coach is Mac Matthews.
Both squads compete in Section 4 of class 6A along with Robert E. Lee, Opelika, Prattville, Benjamin Russell, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. Auburn High School soccer plays at Duck Samford Stadium
.
has been a sport at AHS since at least 1974. The wrestling team competes in Section 1 of class 6A along with Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery, Central High School of Phenix City, Opelika, Prattville, Benjamin Russell, Smiths Station, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. The head wrestling coach at Auburn High is Nick Tucker.
. In Giambrone v. Douglas, the Alabama Supreme Court
ruled that Douglas did not enjoy State–agent immunity because he failed to follow the guidelines of the AHSAA and the National Federation of Wrestling provided to him by Auburn High officials. The limitation on State–agent immunity first elucidated in Giambrone v. Douglas has been cited in several cases since.
Auburn High's swimming
and diving
program competes in class 1A-6A of the AHSAA. Divers on the swimming and diving team have won ten state championships since 1988, the men's swimming and diving team placed second in the state in 1994, 1995, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and the women's swimming team was state runner-up in 2008 and 2009. Auburn shares practices and facilities with the 13-time national champion Auburn University swimming and diving
program, including the James E. Martin Aquatic Center. The coach of the Tigers' swim program is Jeff Dellinger.
Major sporting facilities and their main use include:
Former facilities include:
Auburn High School's primary fight song is "Hooray for Auburn!
". The lyrics to "Hooray for Auburn!" come from a cheer that was commonly used in the mid-twentieth century. In 1961, Auburn High School band director Tommy Goff wrote music to fit those lyrics to create the current fight song. In subsequent years, the fight song was adopted by other schools, including Prattville High School
and Opelika High School
. At football games, "Hooray for Auburn!" is played after a touchdown
.
"Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn"—often simply "Glory"—was Auburn High's fight song before "Hooray for Auburn!" was written in 1961 and is currently a secondary fight song of Auburn High. "Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn" has the tune of the chorus of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", while the lyrics are identical to those of the University of Georgia
's "Glory, Glory
" but substitute the word "Auburn" for "Georgia". At football games, "Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn" is played after a successful PAT conversion.
For the 1955 football season, Auburn High used the Alabama Polytechnic Institute
fight song "War Eagle
". An earlier school song, "Auburn Loyalty", was used from the 1920s through the 1940s. "Auburn Loyalty" has the melody of "Illinois Loyalty
".
is the tiger
. The tiger was chosen because of its association with Auburn in Oliver Goldsmith
's 1770 poem The Deserted Village. The first line of the poem is "Sweet Auburn! Loveliest village of the plain", while a later line describes Auburn as, "where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey."
Auburn High's costumed mascot is Samford, an anthropomorphic tiger. Samford was created in 1995 and named for three symbols of the school: Samford Avenue, which runs by the school; Duck Samford Stadium
, Auburn High's football stadium; and Samford Hall
, the most prominent building in Auburn. Kari Pierce was the first Samford in 1995.
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Auburn High School's athletics program fields twenty-one varsity team
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
s as a member of the large-school classification (6A) of the Alabama High School Athletic Association
Alabama High School Athletic Association
The Alabama High School Athletic Association , based in Montgomery, is the agency which oversees interscholastic athletic programs for public schools in Alabama....
. The Tigers' school colors are royal blue
Royal blue
Royal blue describes both a bright shade and a dark shade of azure blue. It is said to have been invented by millers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of which won a competition to make a dress for the British queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz....
and white and the school's mascot is a tiger named Samford.
AHS's track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
teams have won fourteen state championships, while the cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
squad has won six state titles. The golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
teams have won five state championships since 2004. Auburn High's women's and men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams have each won a state title, in 1919 and 2005, respectively, while the baseball squad won titles in 1986, 2009, and 2010. Overall, the Auburn High Tigers have won 40 state championships since the program fielded its earliest teams around 1910.
The Auburn High School Tigers are generally referred to as the Auburn Tigers when context precludes confusion with the Auburn University Tigers.
Varsity sports
Men's sports
|
Women's sports
|
Football
FootballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
was one of the first sports organized at Auburn High, with the first game being played in 1911. In the nine seasons between 1915 and 1923, Auburn High lost only 5 of 62 games, scoring unbeaten records in 1915, 1918, 1919, 1921, and 1923. The Tigers also had unbeaten regular seasons in 1934, 1952, 2008, and 2009—Auburn's nine unbeaten seasons rank second among class 6A schools in Alabama. AHS's overall record of 534–354–33 is the sixth–winningest overall record in 6A.
Auburn High's football team competes in Region 3 of class 6A along with Central High School of Phenix City
Phenix City, Alabama
Phenix City is a city and the county seat in Russell County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Portions of Lee County are addressed as Phenix City, 36870 ZIP code, for the sole purpose that Smiths Station does not have full incorporation to annex the area...
, Dothan
Dothan High School
Dothan High School is located in Dothan, Alabama, USA. It is located on U.S. Highway 231 inside Ross Clark Circle,about a mile and a half north of the southern tip of Ross Clark Circle. The school is one of Dothan's two public high schools...
, Enterprise
Enterprise High School (Alabama)
Enterprise High School is a 6A public high school at 500 East Watts Street in Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama, USA, in the Enterprise City School District. The school houses grades 10-12.-Desegregation:...
, Northview High
Northview High School (Dothan, Alabama)
Northview High School is a public co-educational institution encompassing 9th-12th grades. The high school is located in the southeastern portion of the state of Alabama in Dothan, Alabama and has the 36th largest high school student population in Alabama...
of Dothan
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
, Opelika
Opelika High School
Opelika High School is located in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama. Opelika High School, of the Opelika City Schools, serves students in grades 9-12. The principal is Dr. Farrell Seymore...
, and Smiths Station High Schools. AHS's primary football rival is the Opelika High School
Opelika High School
Opelika High School is located in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama. Opelika High School, of the Opelika City Schools, serves students in grades 9-12. The principal is Dr. Farrell Seymore...
Bulldogs from nearby Opelika, Alabama
Opelika, Alabama
Opelika is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. According to 2010 Census, the population of Opelika was 26,477...
. Auburn and Opelika have played 84 times, including each year since 1933. Auburn also has traditional rivalries with Central High School of Phenix City (46 games), Lanett High School (44 games), and Valley High School (51 games). The Tigers had previous rivalries with Sidney Lanier High School in the 1910s and Columbus
Columbus High School (Columbus, Georgia)
Columbus High School is located in Columbus, Georgia, USA. It serves as one of the Muscogee County School District's Liberal Arts Magnet school. It opened in 1890 and has been located throughout the city. In the 2006–2007 school year it was ranked #9. In 2005, the school shared the ranking as the...
and Jordan High Schools of Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Since 2004, Auburn High has produced more All-Pro
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players than any other high school. AHS alumni in the NFL include Marcus Washington
Marcus Washington
Marcus Cornelius Washington is an American football linebacker. After completing his college career with Auburn he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
of the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
(Pro Bowl 2005), Osi Umenyiora
Osi Umenyiora
-2003:Umenyiora was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the New York Giants out of Troy State University, now Troy University. He was number 72. As a rookie in 2003, he played in 13 games with one start.-2005:...
of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(Pro Bowl 2006, 2008), and Demarcus Ware
Demarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University...
of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
(Pro Bowl 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). Auburn High's Dee Finley was a USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
All-American in 2007, as was Philip Yost in 1999.
Auburn High has twice been ranked first in the state (in 1967 and 2009) and rose to 17th nationally in the USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
rankings in 2009. The Tigers proceeded deepest into the playoffs in 2001 and 2009, when the team reached the semifinal round. AHS has won the region, area or conference championship on twenty occasions since 1921: in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1948, 1952, 1967, 1972, 1973, 1987, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
The football team's home field since 1968 is 8,310 seat Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium is a stadium in Auburn, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football and soccer, and is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers. Duck Samford Stadium was constructed in 1968, and seats 8,310 spectators...
. AHS previously played at Felton Little Park
Felton Little Park
Felton Little Park is a municipal park in Auburn, Alabama, United States. Felton Little Park is the oldest park in Auburn. From 1949 until 1968, the park was the home stadium of the Auburn High School Tigers football team, and from 1949 through 1967, the Auburn High School baseball team...
(1949—1968), Auburn Stadium
Jordan-Hare Stadium
Jordan–Hare Stadium is the playing venue for Auburn University's football team located on campus in Auburn, Alabama, USA. The stadium is named for Ralph "Shug" Jordan, the University's winningest football coach, and Cliff Hare, a member of Auburn's first football team as well as Dean of the Auburn...
(1939–1947), Drake Field
Drake Field (stadium)
Drake Field was an American football, baseball, and track stadium on the campus of Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, United States. From 1911 to 1939, Drake field was the home field of the Auburn University Tigers football team...
(1911–1920, 1935–1939), and Ross Field (1921–1935). The head coach of the Tigers is Tim Carter, who is 57–15 with six playoff appearances in his six years as AHS coach. Carter replaced Robert Maddox
Robert Maddox (coach)
Robert Maddox was the head coach of the Troy State Trojans football team from 1988 through 1990. He had an overall 13-17 record as head coach at Troy.-Early career:...
, who in three years at Auburn led the team to three playoff appearances and a region title in 2004. Football games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
WAUD (AM)
WAUD is a radio station broadcasting a Sports, Music, News, and Talk format. Licensed to Auburn, Alabama, USA, the station serves the Lee County, Alabama, area. The station is currently owned by Tiger Communications...
AM 1230 and WTGZ
WTGZ
WTGZ is a commercial radio station in Union Springs, Alabama, broadcasting to the Auburn, Alabama, area. Until 2007 the station also broadcast to the Montgomery, Alabama, area on 104.9 FM. The Tiger is the area's only modern rock station and is popular with Auburn University...
FM 93.9.
Basketball
BasketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
was the first sport organized at Auburn High, with the first recorded men's match in the 1910–1911 season and the first recorded women's game in 1917. Two state championships have been won by AHS: the women claimed the 1919 state title, while the men won the 2005 crown. The 1919 women's squad were undefeated in–state, playing with men's rules (five-player) on outdoor courts; that team's Margaret Brown, Mary Tamplin, and Alice Beasley later later led Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
to three straight undefeated seasons. The 2005 men's team won the state tournament with a 59–35 defeat of previously unbeaten and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
's nationally 2nd–ranked LeFlore
LeFlore Magnet High School
John L. LeFlore Magnet High School of Advanced Communication and Fine Arts is a public high school in Mobile, Alabama, United States, enrolling 1400 students in grades 9-12. LeFlore Magnet High School offers academic and artistic programs while being accredited by the Southern Association of...
.
The men's basketball program is coached by 28-year veteran Frank Tolbert, who holds a 650–315 record. Under Tolbert, Auburn has won the region championship twelve times, reached the playoffs twenty-one times, and the state final four seven times. In addition to the squad's 2005 state title, Auburn High has been state runner-up in 1924, 1987, 1991, and 1996.
The women's basketball program began sometime around 1914, but only lasted for about 15 years before being canceled amidst the cutbacks of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Alabama law later prohibited state high schools from fielding women's basketball teams, but a 1975 repeal of that law allowed Auburn High to bring back women's basketball in 1978. The modern program's first coach was current AHS men's coach Frank Tolbert. Head coach of the women's basketball team is Terryland Dawson. Dawson's 2007 and 2008 squads both made the state tournament regionals, having generated 26–7 and 25–5 records, respectively.
Both basketball squads compete in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The basketball teams play at the 1,500 seat Auburn Fieldhouse on the Auburn High campus. Basketball games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
WAUD (AM)
WAUD is a radio station broadcasting a Sports, Music, News, and Talk format. Licensed to Auburn, Alabama, USA, the station serves the Lee County, Alabama, area. The station is currently owned by Tiger Communications...
AM 1230.
Baseball
The Auburn High baseball Tigers trace their lineage back to teams which played at least as early as 1912. A school baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team was still playing as late as 1923, but by the late 1930s had been replaced by a team playing in an FFA league. By 1947, Auburn High again fielded a team. The baseball Tigers have won three state titles, in 1986, 2009, and 2010, and were state runners-up in 1973.
Matt Cimo is the head coach of the AHS baseball team. Auburn High has reached the state playoffs eleven of the past thirteen years, reaching the semifinals in 1998 and 2001 in addition to state championships in 2009 and 2010. The most notable player produced by the Auburn High School baseball program is pitcher Joe Beckwith
Joe Beckwith
Thomas Joseph Beckwith is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher.Beckwith grew up in Auburn, Alabama, where he played for Auburn High School and Auburn University. In the Majors, Beckwith played for two teams in his career: the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals...
, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1979–1983, 1986) and Kansas City Royals (1984–1985).
The baseball team competes in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The baseball team plays at Sam Welborn Field. Baseball games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by station WAUD
WAUD (AM)
WAUD is a radio station broadcasting a Sports, Music, News, and Talk format. Licensed to Auburn, Alabama, USA, the station serves the Lee County, Alabama, area. The station is currently owned by Tiger Communications...
AM 1230.
Softball
While Auburn High fielded a women's baseball team as early as 1914 (see photo, at right), Auburn's first softballSoftball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
team wasn't organized until the 1980s. That team played in the AHSAA slowpitch league for a decade until moving to the new fastpitch
Fastpitch softball
Fast-pitch softball is a form of softball played commonly by women and men, though coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. The International Softball Federation is the international governing body of softball...
division in the 1990s.
Until 2009, Auburn High softball team was coached by 15–year veteran Ed Crum, under whom the Tigers have a 393-250 record. AHS softball competes in Area 7 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. Auburn High softball plays home matches at the five–field Auburn Softball Complex
Auburn Softball Complex
The Auburn Softball Complex is a softball complex in Auburn, Alabama. The facility is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers softball program, and served as the home field of the Auburn University Tigers softball team in 1997 and 1998...
The softball head coach is Chris Spencer.
Golf
Auburn High has fielded a men's golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
program since at least 1969, while women's golf, started in the late 1990s, is AHS's newest sport. The men's golf team won four team state championships, in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Under 15–year veteran coach Duke Smith, the Tigers have won nine sectional championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), and were state runners–up in 1999. The men's golf program has produced four individual state titles, Bob Dumas in 1969 and 1970, John Oswalt in 2004, and Lowery Thomas in 2005.
The men's golf team competes in Section 2 of class 6A along with Carver, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Central High School of Phenix City, Dothan and Northview High Schools of Dothan, Enterprise, Opelika, Prattville, Russell County, Smiths Station, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. The women's golf team also competes in Section 2 of class 6A, along with Central High School of Phenix City, Hillcrest, Northridge, and Paul Bryant High Schools of Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, Hueytown, Huffman, Oak Mountain, Opelika, Russell County, Spain Park, Pelham, and Thompson High Schools. Auburn High's official home golf course is Indian Pines Golf Course
Indian Pines Golf Course
Indian Pines Golf Course is an 18-hole public golf course located in Auburn and adjacent Opelika, Alabama, USA. In 2005, the course was cited by Golf Digest in their rating of Auburn as the "best golf city in America". It is a is a par 71 course with summer bermuda grass and a bentgrass/ryegrass...
, though the Auburn University Club and the Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. was a golf course architect who designed about 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 other countries all around the world...
–designed Grand National
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a collection of championship caliber golf courses, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., distributed across the state of Alabama, as part of investments by the Retirement Systems of Alabama. The Trail started with 378 holes at eight sites throughout the state,...
are often used as home courses.
Athletics
TrackTrack and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and other running sports have been offered at Auburn High since 1921, when AHS won Alabama's first state track and field championship meet. The Tigers six track family sports—men's and women's outdoor track, men's and women's indoor track, and men's and women's cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
—have combined for twenty state championships.
Track and Field
The Auburn men's track and field team is the oldest of Auburn's track family sports, having been founded prior to 1921 and fielded continually since 1966, while the women's track and field team was first formed in 1975. The men's squad has won nine state titles: 1921, 1923, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971. Auburn's seven consecutive tiles between 1965 and 1971 is the state record for men's track. The Auburn women's track team won the state crown in 1986. Men's and women's teams also compete in Alabama's winter indoor track season. The men's indoor track squad has won four state titles, in 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971. Auburn High's Steve Bear won the state decathlonDecathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
in 1970.
Both track squads compete in Section 2 of class 6A along with Carver, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery, Central High School of Phenix City, Dothan and Northview High Schools of Dothan, Enterprise, Opelika, Prattville, Russell County, Smiths Station, Selma, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. Dan Norton coaches the men's team, while Cindy Hunt is coach of the women's squad.
Cross Country
Auburn High's men's cross countryCross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
team has won six state titles, in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1979, and 1980. The men's squad has also produced seven individual state champions: Joe Elliot in 1967, 1968, and 1969, Alvin Floyd in 1970, Sam Barall in 1990 and 1991, and Patrick Gomez in 2008; while the women's team has three individual state championships: Rachel Hawk in 1993 and 1994, and Tara Enebak in 2002. Both squads compete in Section 2 of class 6A along with Central High School of Phenix City, Jeff Davis, Northview, Enterprise, Opelika, Russell County, and Smiths Station High Schools.
Track and field state records
| Auburn High School Track and Field State Records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Result | Name | Date |
| Men's 110 m high hurdles (6A) | 13.95 | Cedric Dowdell | 1990 |
| Men's 100 yard dash (Freshmen) | 10.02 | Robert Johnson | 1981 |
| Men's 880 yard run (Freshmen) | 2:02.23 | Curt Linder | 1980 |
| Men's mile run (Freshmen) | 4:35.58 | Curt Linder | 1980 |
| Women's 100 yard dash | 10.68 | Stephanie Brown | 1979 |
| Women's 220 yard dash | 24.18 | Stephanie Brown | 1980 |
| Men's 60 yard low hurdles (Indoor) | 7.0 | Harold Rese | 1972 |
| Men's 55 m high hurdles (Indoor) | 7.2 | Bill High | 1968 |
Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
program at Auburn was started in 1978, but ended soon after and did not restart again until 2000. Since 2004, the volleyball team has lost only twice in area play, progressing to the state elite eight in four of the last six years. The coach of the Auburn High School volleyball program is Jan Vaughn. AHS volleyball competes in Area 8 of class 6A along with Central of Phenix City, Opelika, and Smiths Station high schools. The team plays home matches at the Auburn Fieldhouse.
Tennis
Men's tennis was a varsity sport at AHS as early as 1937; the women's tennis team was organized after female students tried out for the men's team in 1974. Tennis coaches are Matthew Hooper (men) and Bob Cloud (women). AHS tennis teams compete in Section 4 of class 6A along with Carver and Sidney Lanier High Schools of Montgomery, Opelika, Prattville, Selma, and Wetumpka High Schools. Auburn High Tennis' home courts are the 34–court Yarbrough Tennis Center.Soccer
Auburn High's men's soccer program originated as a club sport in 1976, with the first interscholastic competition in 1979. The program played its first varsity season in 1983. In 1995, the first women joined the men's squad, leading to the full-fledged addition of women's soccer in 1997. The men's team reached the state final four in 2005, 2009, and 2010; placing as runner-up in 2010. Coach of the Tiger men is Bo Morrissey.The Auburn women's soccer team has reached the state final four for six of the last seven years: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, taking the state runner–up trophy in 2008. The team progressed to the elite eight in 2003, and has won eight straight section titles. The Lady Tigers' coach is Mac Matthews.
Both squads compete in Section 4 of class 6A along with Robert E. Lee, Opelika, Prattville, Benjamin Russell, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. Auburn High School soccer plays at Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium is a stadium in Auburn, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football and soccer, and is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers. Duck Samford Stadium was constructed in 1968, and seats 8,310 spectators...
.
Wrestling
WrestlingWrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
has been a sport at AHS since at least 1974. The wrestling team competes in Section 1 of class 6A along with Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee High Schools of Montgomery, Central High School of Phenix City, Opelika, Prattville, Benjamin Russell, Smiths Station, Stanhope Elmore, and Wetumpka High Schools. The head wrestling coach at Auburn High is Nick Tucker.
Giambrone v. Douglas
The Auburn High wrestling program was also the source of historic jurisprudence in Alabama case law on the topic of State–agent immunity. In 2000, then–coach Michael Douglas wrestled a "challenge match" with student Jake Giambrone, resulting in Giambrone suffering a severe spinal cord injury which left him quadriplegic. The following year, Giambrone's family sued Douglas for negligence. Douglas, however, claimed "State–agent immunity"—that as the injury occurred during Douglas's duties as an agent of the state of Alabama in his capacity as coach, he was immune from litigation under the principle of sovereign immunitySovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
. In Giambrone v. Douglas, the Alabama Supreme Court
Alabama Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...
ruled that Douglas did not enjoy State–agent immunity because he failed to follow the guidelines of the AHSAA and the National Federation of Wrestling provided to him by Auburn High officials. The limitation on State–agent immunity first elucidated in Giambrone v. Douglas has been cited in several cases since.
Swimming and diving
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
program competes in class 1A-6A of the AHSAA. Divers on the swimming and diving team have won ten state championships since 1988, the men's swimming and diving team placed second in the state in 1994, 1995, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and the women's swimming team was state runner-up in 2008 and 2009. Auburn shares practices and facilities with the 13-time national champion Auburn University swimming and diving
Auburn Tigers swimming and diving
The Auburn Tigers swimming and diving program is Auburn University's representative in the sport of swimming and diving. The Tigers compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 and are members of the Southeastern Conference. The program started in 1932 when the pool was in the...
program, including the James E. Martin Aquatic Center. The coach of the Tigers' swim program is Jeff Dellinger.
Swimming and diving state records
Auburn High School swimmers and divers hold four of twelve state records in men's swimming and diving and two of twelve state records in women's swimming and diving.| Auburn High School State Swimming and Diving Records | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Result | Name | Date |
| Women's One Meter Diving | 452.25 | Elizabeth Flint | 1996 |
| Women's 100 Yard Breaststroke | 102.46 | Megan Molnar | 2008 |
| Men's 400 Yard Freestyle Relay | 3:16.23 | Auburn | 1989 |
| Men's 50 Yard Freestyle | 20.95 | Jay Beeson | 1983 |
| Men's 100 Yard Freestyle | 46.38 | Jay Beeson | 1983 |
| Men's 500 Yard Freestyle | 4:32.18 | Brad Dillionaire | 1983 |
Championship history
Team state championships: (40)- Baseball (3)
- 1986, 2009, 2010
- Men's Basketball (1)
- 2005
- Men's Cross Country (6)
- 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1979, 1980
- Men's Diving (2)
- 1991, 1998
- Men's Golf (4)
- 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
- Men's Indoor Track (4)
- 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
- Men's Track and Field (9)
- 1921, 1923, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
- Women's Basketball (1)
- 1919 (outdoor)
- Women's Diving (8)
- 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996
- Women's Track and Field (1)
- 1986
- Women's Golf (1)
- 2010
Facilities
- Duck Samford StadiumDuck Samford StadiumDuck Samford Stadium is a stadium in Auburn, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football and soccer, and is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers. Duck Samford Stadium was constructed in 1968, and seats 8,310 spectators...
—football, soccer - Auburn Fieldhouse—basketball, volleyball
- Sam Welborn Field—baseball
- Auburn Softball ComplexAuburn Softball ComplexThe Auburn Softball Complex is a softball complex in Auburn, Alabama. The facility is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers softball program, and served as the home field of the Auburn University Tigers softball team in 1997 and 1998...
—softball - James E. Martin Aquatic Center—swimming and diving
- Yarbrough Tennis Center—tennis
Former facilities include:
- Felton Little ParkFelton Little ParkFelton Little Park is a municipal park in Auburn, Alabama, United States. Felton Little Park is the oldest park in Auburn. From 1949 until 1968, the park was the home stadium of the Auburn High School Tigers football team, and from 1949 through 1967, the Auburn High School baseball team...
—football, baseball (1949–1968) - Drake FieldDrake Field (stadium)Drake Field was an American football, baseball, and track stadium on the campus of Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, United States. From 1911 to 1939, Drake field was the home field of the Auburn University Tigers football team...
—football, baseball (1911–1949) - Auburn StadiumJordan-Hare StadiumJordan–Hare Stadium is the playing venue for Auburn University's football team located on campus in Auburn, Alabama, USA. The stadium is named for Ralph "Shug" Jordan, the University's winningest football coach, and Cliff Hare, a member of Auburn's first football team as well as Dean of the Auburn...
—football (1939–1947) - Ross Field—football (1921–1935)
Fight songs
Auburn High School's primary fight song is "Hooray for Auburn!
Hooray for Auburn!
"Hooray for Auburn!" is the fight song of Auburn High School in Auburn, Alabama, USA...
". The lyrics to "Hooray for Auburn!" come from a cheer that was commonly used in the mid-twentieth century. In 1961, Auburn High School band director Tommy Goff wrote music to fit those lyrics to create the current fight song. In subsequent years, the fight song was adopted by other schools, including Prattville High School
Prattville High School
Prattville High School, formerly Autauga County High School, is a high school in Prattville, Alabama and forms part of the Autauga County School System...
and Opelika High School
Opelika High School
Opelika High School is located in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama. Opelika High School, of the Opelika City Schools, serves students in grades 9-12. The principal is Dr. Farrell Seymore...
. At football games, "Hooray for Auburn!" is played after a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
.
"Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn"—often simply "Glory"—was Auburn High's fight song before "Hooray for Auburn!" was written in 1961 and is currently a secondary fight song of Auburn High. "Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn" has the tune of the chorus of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", while the lyrics are identical to those of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
's "Glory, Glory
Glory, Glory (fight song)
Glory, Glory is the rally song for the Georgia Bulldogs, the athletics teams for the University of Georgia. Glory, Glory is sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and was sung at football games as early as the 1890s...
" but substitute the word "Auburn" for "Georgia". At football games, "Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn" is played after a successful PAT conversion.
For the 1955 football season, Auburn High used the Alabama Polytechnic Institute
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
fight song "War Eagle
War Eagle
War Eagle is the battle cry of fans for the Auburn Tigers football team, and all other athletics teams of Auburn University, and for all intents and purposes, for Auburn University in general. It is also the title of the university fight song...
". An earlier school song, "Auburn Loyalty", was used from the 1920s through the 1940s. "Auburn Loyalty" has the melody of "Illinois Loyalty
Illinois Loyalty
Illinois Loyalty is the main school song of the University of Illinois.First performed March 3, 1906, 'Illinois Loyalty' is one of the oldest songs of its kind in the United States...
".
Mascot
Auburn High's mascotMascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
is the tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
. The tiger was chosen because of its association with Auburn in Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
's 1770 poem The Deserted Village. The first line of the poem is "Sweet Auburn! Loveliest village of the plain", while a later line describes Auburn as, "where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey."
Auburn High's costumed mascot is Samford, an anthropomorphic tiger. Samford was created in 1995 and named for three symbols of the school: Samford Avenue, which runs by the school; Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium
Duck Samford Stadium is a stadium in Auburn, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football and soccer, and is the home field of the Auburn High School Tigers. Duck Samford Stadium was constructed in 1968, and seats 8,310 spectators...
, Auburn High's football stadium; and Samford Hall
Samford Hall
William J. Samford Hall is a structure on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. It is an icon of Auburn University and houses the school's administration. The building is named for William J...
, the most prominent building in Auburn. Kari Pierce was the first Samford in 1995.