The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Equestrian Football Golf Golf Gymnastics Swimming & diving Soccer Tennis Softball Track & field Swimming & diving Tennis Track & field Volleyball Auburn sponsors 21 varsity teams in 15 sports and competes in the Southeastern Conference.
Football
Auburn claims nine national championships: 1910, 1913 (chosen by one selector in 1999), 1914, 1957, 1958, 1983, 1993, (one of four co-champions by one selector), 2004 and 2010. Auburn currently is 7th all time in total national championships tied with Ohio State and Pitt. Three Auburn players, Pat Sullivan in 1971, Bo Jackson in 1985, and Cam Newton in 2010 have won the Heisman 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 and Clemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner. Auburn's Jordan–Hare Stadium has a capacity of 88,048 ranking as one of the largest on-campus stadiums in the entire country.
Auburn played the first football game in the Deep South in 1892 against the University of Georgia at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tigers' first bowl appearance was in 1937 in the sixth Bacardi Bowl played in Havana, Cuba. AU Football has won 12 conference championships (8 SEC), has had seven perfect seasons, and since the division of the conference in 1992, six outright western division championships (1997, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2017) along with three additional co-championships. Auburn plays archrival Alabama each year in a game known as the Iron Bowl. In the overall series with Alabama, Auburn trails Alabama 42–35–1, despite holding an 18–14 advantage in games played since 1982. Of the 14 SEC member universities, Auburn currently ranks 5th in the number of SEC football championships, and has won the most SEC titles of any program in the last decade.
Auburn completed the 2004 football season with an unblemished 13–0 record winning the SEC 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 the BCS championship game in deference to two other undefeated, higher ranked teams, USC and Oklahoma. The 2004 team was led by quarterback Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins), running backs Carnell Williams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Ronnie Brown (Miami Dolphins), and cornerback Carlos Rogers (Washington Redskins).
Auburn completed the 2010 football season with a perfect record of 13–0 winning the SEC 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 the Oregon Ducks 22–19 in their first appearance in the BCS National Championship Game on January 10, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona. The 2010 team was led by quarterback Cam 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 by knocking off then #1 Alabama. Auburn went on to defeat #5 Missouri 59–42 in the 2013 SEC Championship Game to claim its eighth SEC championship. Auburn faced #1 Florida State in the 2014 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.
Swimming and diving
In the last decade under former head coach David Marsh, Auburn's swimming and diving program became a virtual dynasty in the SEC and the NCAA winning five consecutive NCAA men's championships from 2003 through 2007 and women's championships in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. The Auburn men have won the SEC Championship 14 out of the last 15 years and also won national championships in 1997, 1999, and 2009. The Auburn men won their 13th consecutive SEC Title in 2008, while the Auburn women took home their fifth SEC Championship in the last six years. The Auburn men's 44 consecutive, five-year, dual-meet win record came to an end on January 11, 2007, when they lost to Texas 130–113, exactly five years to the date of their last loss in 2001, also to Texas.
Auburn swimmers have represented the U.S. and several other countries in recent Olympics. Auburn's most famous swimmer is Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, winner of three gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Auburn's most successful female Olympic swimmer is Kirsty Coventry (swimming for her home country of Zimbabwe) who won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Marsh left Auburn after the 2007 season to become the Head Elite Coach and CEO of the United States Olympic Committee Center of Excellence in Charlotte, North Carolina and was succeeded by former Auburn head coach Richard Quick who led Stanford and Texas to 12 NCAA titles in two decades of coaching between 1984 and 2005.
Men's basketball
The Auburn men's basketball team has enjoyed off-and-on success over the years. Its best known alumnus is Charles Barkley.
Other NBA players from Auburn are Chuck Person, Wesley Person, Chris Porter, Marquis Daniels, Moochie Norris, and Pat Burke.
Women's basketball
Baseball
Softball
Volleyball
Men's golf The men's golf team has won five SEC Championships: 1976, 1981, 2002, 2018, and 2024. Chip Spratlin claimed the 1995 NCAA Championship and the men's golf team won the 2024 and 2026 NCAA Championship. Jackson Koivun was the recipient of the 2024 Fred Haskins Award, the first in Auburn history and first freshman to be awarded since 2012.
Women's golf Auburn's women's golf team has risen to be extremely competitive in the NCAA in recent years. Since 1999, they hold an 854–167–13 (.826 win percentage) record. The team has been in five NCAA finals and finished second in 2002 and then third in 2005. The program has a total of nine SEC Championships (1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2020). The nine titles is third all-time for women's golf. In October 2005, Auburn was named the #3 team nationally out of 229 total teams since 1999 by GolfWeek magazine. Auburn's highest finish in the NCAA tournament was a tie for 2nd in 2002.
Since 1996, the team has been headed by Coach Kim Evans, a 1981 alumna, who has turned the program into one of the most competitive in the nation. Coach Evans has helped develop All-Americans, SEC Players of the Year as well as three SEC Freshman of the Year. She has led the Tigers to eight-straight NCAA appearances. She is by far the winningest Coach in Auburn Golf History, having over 1,100 wins and winning six of Auburn's seven total SEC Titles. Evans was named National Coach of the Year in 2003 and has coached 8 individual All-Americans while at Auburn.
Women's soccer Auburn Soccer has been one of the top programs of the SEC. The team started in 1993 and after some growing pains is now a constant player in the SEC Conference championship race. Auburn won four straight SEC West division titles between 2001–2004 and a fifth in 2006. They won the regular season SEC title in 2002.
The 2006 Auburn soccer season saw the Tigers playing only five seniors and 13 freshmen who saw significant playing time. Despite the youth, Auburn went on to an 11–5–3 including a 5–3–3 mark in the SEC to retake the SEC Western division title. The Season ended on a 3–1 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to California in Tallahassee, Florida.
The 2011 Auburn soccer team defeated Florida, 3–2 to win the SEC Tournament on 11/6/11.
Equestrian Women's equestrian debuted in 1996 and became the school's 21st varsity sport five years later. The team has been led by Greg Williams since its debut. In 2004, the team won its first championship at the Southern Equestrian Championships, which started in 2003. In 2006, the team won its first Varsity Equestrian National Championship, capturing Auburn's first national title outside of football and swimming and diving. The team earned its first Hunt Seat national title in 2008, while the Tigers finished third in the overall standings. The team won their second national championship in 2011, their third in 2013, fourth in 2016 and fifth in 2018.
Although equestrian is not yet sanctioned by the NCAA, Auburn competes with 19 other Division I schools, including SEC foes Georgia and South Carolina. The NCAA classified equestrian as an emerging sport in 1998. Forty Division I and Division II schools are required for the sport to be recognized by the NCAA. Currently, there are 23 programs, and more are expected to be added each year.
Track and field Auburn's Women's Track and Field won the 2006 National NCAA Outdoor title convincingly by outscoring USC 57–38.50. The track title was the 4th National Championship won by Auburn in 2006. In Outdoor Track and Field, the previous highest finish for the Women was 14th in 2002 and 2003. The Auburn men have finished second in the NCAA Outdoor championships twice in 2003 and 2008. The men have earned two third-place finishes in 2000 and 2007. The Auburn team was coached for 28 years by Mel Rosen, for whom the Hutsell-Rosen Track was in part named in 2006.
Women's gymnastics
Since its reinstatement in 1975, the Tigers women's gymnastics team has made two appearances in the Super Six.
Notable non-varsity sports
Wrestling At the conclusion of the 1980–1981 NCAA Wrestling season, Auburn University became the first SEC team to place Top 10 in the country. Coached by Ohio wrestling legend Tom Milkovich, Auburn claimed the SEC title en route to a historic season boasting 3 All-Americans and 6 NCAA qualifiers. However, with the emergence of Title IX and the decline of wrestling in the SEC, Auburn found itself without a varsity program after the historic 1980–81 season. Since 1997 Auburn has competed in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) as the Auburn University Wrestling Club and boasts 24 All-Americans and a National Champion, with six Top-10 finishes at the Division 1 National Championships. Auburn, headed by President Justin King, looks to further this success in its 26th year of membership in the NCWA.
Cycling
The Auburn Flyers are the premier cycling club in the Auburn / Opelika area for college students. With frequent rides and races, the team caters to all levels of riders, entry to advanced. The Flyers members have been riding anywhere from months to years, with all levels of competition represented by the team.
The team fields both road and mountain bike teams in the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference within USAC Collegiate Cycling. Other teams within their conference include traditional Auburn rivals Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Florida.
Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Champions 2013 (B Category Omnium) - Nathan Spence 2014 (B Category Omnium) - Frank Whittle 2016 (A Category Omnium) - Nathan Spence
Rugby The Auburn University Rugby Football Club was founded in 1973.SCRC Conference Members, Auburn plays Division 1 college rugby in the Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference against traditional SEC rivals such as Alabama and Georgia. Auburn rugby is one of only two club sports at Auburn with an endowment fund, resulting in the university allocating additional resources to rugby.Grow Rugby, Brad Kilpatrick on starting a rugby endowment, August 28, 2012, http://www.growrugby.com/2012/08/28/qa-brad-kilpatrick-on-starting-a-collegiate-rugby-endowment/
Championships NCAA team championships The Auburn Tigers have won 16 total NCAA team national championships.