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 teams as a member of the large-school classification (7A) of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. The Tigers' school colors are royal blue and white.
AHS's track and field teams have won fourteen state championships, while the cross country squad has won eight state titles. The golf teams have won four 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 58 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
Auburn High School currently fields a varsity team in eleven men's and ten women's sports.Auburn High School, Auburn High School Student Handbook, 2006–2007 . They are:
Men's sports Baseball Basketball Cross country Indoor track Track and Field Golf Football Soccer Swimming and diving Tennis Marching Band Wrestling
Women's sports Basketball Cross country Golf Indoor track Soccer Softball Swimming and diving Tennis Track and field Volleyball
Football Football was one of the first sports organized at Auburn High, with the first game being played in 1911.Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Auburn – 1911, retrieved July 28, 2008. 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."Lee Co. High Will Meet Tallassee on Ross Field Friday", Opelika Daily News, September 21, 1922; Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Auburn Yearly Record, retrieved July 28, 2008. The Tigers also had unbeaten regular seasons in 1934, 1952, 2008, and 2009—Auburn's nine unbeaten seasons rank second among class 7A schools in Alabama.Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Auburn Yearly Record; Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Team Records, retrieved July 28, 2008. AHS's overall record of 558–357–33 is the second–winningest overall record in class 7A."Lee Co. High Will Meet Tallassee on Ross Field Friday", Opelika Daily News, September 21, 1922; Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Auburn Football Team History, retrieved August 8, 2014; Alabama High School Football Historical Society, All–Time Team Records Sorted by Total Wins, retrieved August 8, 2014. Record as of the end of the 2013 season. Of teams in AHSAA Class 7A, only Enterprise (618 wins) has more wins than Auburn.
Auburn High's football team competes in Region 2 of class 7A along with Central High School of Phenix City, Enterprise, Jeff Davis High School of Montgomery, Robert E. Lee High School of Montgomery, Prattville, and Smiths Station high schools.Alabama High School Football Historical Society, 2014 Reclassification, retrieved August 8, 2014. AHS's primary football rival is the Opelika High School Bulldogs from nearby Opelika, Alabama. Auburn and Opelika have played 99 times, including each year since 1933.Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Auburn vs. Opelika, retrieved August 8, 2014. Auburn also has traditional rivalries with Central High School of Phenix City (48 games) and Valley High School (53 games).AHSFHS, Auburn vs. Central Phenix City, retrieved November 21, 2008; AHSFHS, Auburn vs. Central Phenix City, retrieved November 21, 2008; AHSFHS, Auburn vs. Fairfax, retrieved November 21, 2008. Fairfax was a previous name of Valley High School. 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.Thomas Hall, "Auburn High School Team Wins Annual Game from Sidney Lanier" Montgomery Advertiser, November 28, 1919; AHSFHS, Auburn vs. All Opponents , retrieved July 28, 2008. Columbus Industrial was a previous name of Jordan High School.
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 Denver Broncos (Pro Bowl 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010).NFL Enterprises, LLC, NFL.com - Probowl, retrieved January 21, 2007; databaseSports.com, , retrieved January 21, 2007. Auburn High's football program has produced four All-Americans: Rashaan Evans was an Under Armour All-American in 2013, Reuben Foster was a consensus All-American in 2012, and Dee Finley and Philip Yost were USA Today All-Americans in 2007 and 1999, respectively.naplesnews.com, Signing Day: Gators announce 2008 class , retrieved July 28, 2008; Scott Cain "Tigers primed to roar", Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 7, 2003.
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 2013, when the team fell in the 6A Championship Game.AHSFHS, Auburn Rankings, retrieved July 28, 2008; AHSFHS, Auburn – 2001. AHS has won the region, area or conference championship on twenty-one occasions since 1921: in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1948, 1952, 1967, 1972, 1973, 1987, 1990, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013.Region championship data collated from accounts in the Auburn Bulletin/Lee County Bulletin (1937–1969), Opelika Daily News(1921–1936), Opelika–Auburn News (1970–2006), and the Auburn Plainsman (1921–1936).
The football team's home field since 1968 is 8,310 seat Duck Samford Stadium."", August 17, 2010. 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 Keith Etheredge, hired in 2021, who had most recently coached at Oxford High School. Etheredge replaced Adam Winegarden, who made it to Round 2 of the AHSAA playoffs or further in all six years as Auburn High's Coach. Winegardgen left in 2021 to become the head coach of Tuscaloosa County High School. Auburn High Football games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by Scott Bagwell, Blake Ramsey, and Noah Gardner on Wings 94.3 (WGZZ-FM).
Basketball Basketball 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."Basketball Game on Friday Night", Columbus Enquirer–Sun, March 1, 1911; "Columbus High Girls Won Game", Columbus Ledger, February 4, 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 led Auburn University to three straight undefeated seasons."Lee County High Girls Claim Honors", Montgomery Advertiser, March 12, 1919; Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Lovliest Village (Auburn: s.n., 1996), 112. 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."Butler does it with 2nd straight title: In 6A, Auburn knocks out LeFlore ", Decatur Daily, March 6, 2005; Chris Monter, Talent ladened Academy National Invitational, retrieved July 28, 2008.
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.Bill Bailey, Auburn High School Basketball, December 8, 2007; AHSAA.com, 2005 Hall of Fame , retrieved July 28, 2008. In addition to the squad's 2005 state title, Auburn High has been state runner-up in 1924, 1987, 1991, and 1996.Alabama High School Athletic Association, Basketball Past State Champions (Boys) , retrieved January 21, 2007.
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.Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Lovliest Village, 87. 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.Jane Reid Petty, Almost as fairly: the first year of title IX implementation in six Southern States (Atlanta: The Program, 1977), 49; Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, April 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.Auburn Tigers Girls High School Basketball Winter 06-07, retrieved July 28, 2008; Auburn Tigers Girls High School Basketball Winter 07-08, retrieved July 28, 2008.
Both basketball squads compete in Area 4 of class 7A along with Central of Phenix City and Smiths Station high schools.Alabama High School Athletic Association 2010 - 2012 AHSAA Basketball Alignment 6A, retrieved July 28, 2008. 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 Scott Bagwell and Johnathon Middleton on ESPN 106.7.Auburn High School Sports from Tiger Communications , retrieved January 21, 2007.
Baseball The Auburn High baseball Tigers trace their lineage back to teams which played at least as early as 1912."Even Break at Auburn", Montgomery Advertiser, April 28, 1912. A school baseball team was still playing as late as 1923, but by the late 1930s had been replaced by a team playing in an FFA league."Young Earle Smith Makes Good Record With Auburn High", Montgomery Advertiser, May 27, 1923; "Lee County High School News", Lee County Bulletin, April 22, 1937. By 1947, Auburn High again fielded a team. The baseball Tigers have won five state titles, in 1986, 2009, 2010, 2018, and 2021. They were state runners-up in 1973, 2016, and 2017.AHSAAsports.com, Baseball Past State Champions , retrieved July 28, 2008; Alabama Laws and Joint Resolutions, 1973 v.1, 44. .
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, the state championship in 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017, and 2021. Auburn won state championships in 2009 and 2010.About the Baseball Program , retrieved July 28, 2008; AHSAAsports.com, "Baseball Playoff Bracket" 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , retrieved July 28, 2008. 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).Kimberly Shumack, Feature Story on Joe Beckwith , retrieved July 13, 2007.
The baseball team competes in Area 3 of class 7A along with Central of Phenix City and Smiths Station high schools.Alabama High School Athletic Association 2008-10 Baseball Alignment , retrieved July 28, 2008. Baseball games are broadcast on the radio and over the Internet by Scott Bagwell and Riley Hubbard on ESPN 106.7.
Softball