Auburn Plants Its Flag: Four Additional National Titles Claimed, Including 2004 Season That USC Vacated
The Tigers update their college football record books to recognize historic seasons, including the undefeated 2004 campaign.
After years of consideration, Auburn football has now decided to claim nine additional national championships to add to their collection of titles.
No, you weren’t reading that wrong, the Tigers say they have a legitimate reason for declaring the championships, and they have already updated their own record books.
Over the years, Auburn fans have wondered why the school doesn’t do the exact same thing other schools, namely Alabama, have done over the years and base their win-total on ranking systems that have voted for them as national champions.
As of a few weeks ago, the Tigers had only recognized the two Associated Press championships, while noting three others in their own media guide. The first two have been noticeable inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, while the others have been tucked away.
Auburn Now Following In Rivals' Footsteps With National Titles
Not any longer, as the school has announced that they will claim four additional championships, taking a page out of other college football teams.
The new list of championships includes the 1910, 1914, 1958 and the 2004 seasons, which was first reported by AuburnSports.com on Tuesday morning.
In 1910, they were declared national champions by the Maxwell Ratings, along with College Football Rankings. In 1914, the school had the ‘James Howell’s Power Rankings' as their source for the title. In 1958, it was the ‘Montgomery Full Season Championship.'
But, it's the 2004 championship they are claiming that has caught the attention of the college football world. If you remember, Auburn went 13-0 that season, winning the SEC title, along with the Sugar Bowl. But, the BCS system had calculated that Oklahoma and USC should play for the title, leaving the Tigers out.
But, thanks to the Trojans having to vacate the title, the Tigers used the ‘Darryl Perry and GBE College Football Ratings’ to claim this new championship.
Athletic Director John Cohen explained the decision to AuburnSports.com on Tuesday.
"For too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program’s storied history – choosing to recognize only Associated Press National Championships. Starting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn’s proud history," John Cohen said. "Our visible National Championship recognitions now align with the well-established standard used by the NCAA’s official record book and our peers across the nation."
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 2: Head coach Tommy Tuberville of the Auburn Tigers looks on while facing the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 2, 2004 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Auburn defeated Tennessee 34-10. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
I think we all remember how that offseason went, as USC was investigated and stripped of their national championship, leaving it open to be claimed. Since Oklahoma had lost that game, and had only beaten one top-10 opponent that year, while Auburn had already beaten four top-10 teams, the Tigers felt as though they should be recognized as champions.
The best part about this entire situation of Auburn adding titles is that fans have been joking with Alabama over the years about how many ‘championships’ the Tide has claimed over the past 100 years.
Oh, and the fact that Tommy Tuberville is now a national-championship-winning football coach. So, the potential Governor of the State of Alabama can now claim a title, which should make for a few interesting campaign commercials.