If you joined in Acid'sTHREAD for the bowl game against NW ... or followed some of the subsequent discussions here, you probably remember Ben Tate's dunk.

You may find Ben Tate's and Coach Chizik's latest take on the incident interesting:

... Chizik told the crowd that he and his staff accomplished three important objectives in their first year on the Plains -- landing a top-five recruiting class, keeping the staff intact for another season, and building trust within the team. He illustrated this last point with a story about leading rusher Ben Tate, who he said was planning to skip his senior year at Auburn until coaches convinced him to return.
  
"In the bowl game ... he tried to dunk the ball over the goalpost. That was not something Gene Chizik really cared for," Chizik said of Tate. "Ben called me day after signing day and left a message on my phone. He said, 'Coach, I want to tell you congratulations on a great signing class.' And he said, 'Oh yeah, by the way coach, I want to apologize for dunking that ball over the goalpost. I was wrong.'
  
"That was the benchmark. When I heard that, I said, 'Our guys are all in.' And they are."

For more of Coach Chizik's comments CLICK HERE

"The welcome, to me, to my family, to the staff, has been overwhelming. When you hear about the Auburn family, you really don’t grasp it until you’re a part of it. As I’ve been across the state recruiting and speaking, you really get a sense of what it means. There’s a passion for this university and there’s a passion for these athletic programs here. That’s different than any place I’ve been."

"If you think you can sit behind the desk and be successful at this job, then you don’t know what this job entails … That’s why to me it’s not a burden, it’s an honor to be able to go on the Tiger Prowl or speak at whatever local club you want to throw out. It’s an honor and privilege that people want you to speak there and that’s the way you have to look at it. That’s when people truly feel a connection to you and the program."

                                                                                                                                 ~ Tony Barbee

You can read more from Coach Barbee here:

http://www2.oanow.com/oan/sports/college/article/au_hoops_barbee_hitting_road_in_order_to_sell_program/150235/

"I am currently stationed on Camp Bondsteel," the note said. "I will be making a 25 km road march hosted by the Danish Army called the Dancon. About a month ago when the initial news of Auburn signee, Shon Coleman, having cancer came out, I started a tribute fund with St. Jude with his mother's permission. In a matter of 3 weeks time I have raised about $7,600.00 in honor of Shon for research at St. Jude. I have been trying to spread the word around and set a goal of $10,000.00 for the fund. This has been a rather grassroots effort of me promoting to family, friends, auburn message boards, etc. I thought maybe with some bigger exposure to not just SEC rival fans but fans of college football around the nation we could make a huge, huge impact for children fighting against this terrible disease. This fund bears Shon Coleman's name, but the fund reaches far beyond that and I would really love to get any and everyone that I can involved."

Continue reading this post »

Dear Auburn Students,

As your new head basketball coach, I am thrilled about the opportunity to represent you and this great university at such an exciting time for Auburn basketball. When I accepted this job, I knew there would be challenges, but what struck me the most was the tremendous potential of this program with everything Auburn has to offer. The university, the community and the fan base are all top notch, and the new state-of-the-art Auburn Arena demonstrates a commitment to this program that will help us take Auburn basketball to new heights.

As your head coach, I promise to stay true to the Auburn Creed as I believe in work, hard work. With that said, my staff and I will not be outworked as we bring the Auburn Family what they deserve. I will give my all in every aspect of the job, from recruiting and coaching to promoting the program. I will do everything in my power to produce a winning program and change the culture of Auburn basketball.

I challenge you, the Auburn students, to create a real excitement around Auburn basketball. You are a part of the team, and I need you there at every game to make Auburn Arena the best home court advantage in the SEC.

You are critical to our success, and there has not been a more significant period to turn this program around than now. The administration shares my feelings, as the design of Auburn Arena prioritizes the experience of the students.

The Auburn Arena caters to students in every way and is designed to create an intimidating home court advantage. Very few students throughout the entire nation will enjoy the same amenities that this new arena will present to you. You will have your own private entrance to the arena, concourse area, restrooms and concession stand. As students, you will have the best seats in the building. The student section will surround three sides of the court on the floor level. You will have an effect on the game like never before, and our atmosphere will be contingent on you. With your help, I truly believe we can have a great basketball atmosphere.

I know we can accomplish all of our goals together. I cannot express how excited I am to be your new coach. I look forward to the next few months as we build enthusiasm for next season and beyond.

War Eagle!

Tony Barbee
Head Men's Basketball Coach

A96 Productions, quite simply, puts together some great AU videos.  here's their latest effort and it's terrific:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU3xxXgnBcQ&feature=player_embedded

I'm adding the following profile of the guy behind it all to get up to the required number of words to post this:

A96 Productions
Preserving Auburn Football since 2004


Please help out by subscribing and passing on video links.

I graduated from Auburn University in 1996 and currently live in Toronto, Canada. Started editing in 2003 on the side for various events and enjoy being able to bring Auburn Football Highlights to the internet.

If there was any doubt about Ben Tate's frame of mind, this post-game quote confirms it ... #44 appears to have lost it.  One would have thought that he would have been apologizing to his team-mates instead of trying to speak for them.

"This is going to be a memorable game.  I don't think I'll ever forget it. We wanted to have fun and we wanted to win, and we accomplished both." - Ben Tate

ISU 9    Neb 7

Now I'm not getting all tingly down my pants leg or anything -- like another guy on this blog did of late -- but, I must say it was a great win for a terrific coach and his team on the road in Lincoln Neb.

Things would be a little easier on the plains if Coach Chizik could have brought some of those ISU defensive players with him.

via cache.daylife.com

Paul Nix, Auburn's longest-tenured baseball coach, died Monday at the age of 76.

Nix, who coached the program for 22 years from 1963-84, had an overall record of 515-376 and guided the program to a pair of NCAA College World Series berths, three Southeastern Conference championships, one SEC Tournament title and six divisional titles. He was named the SEC Coach of the Year five times.

Prior to his tenure at Auburn, Nix was the head baseball coach at Troy State where he tallied a 77-37 record in six seasons. In 28 years, Nix was 592-413.

"Paul Nix was a great Auburn man. and we are extremely saddened by his passing," athletics director Jay Jacobs said. "He laid a strong foundation for our baseball program and brought it national recognition with Auburn's first-ever College World Series appearance. He was well-respected by his players and developed many that went on to have successful careers in and outside of baseball. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family."

Nix took the 1967 and the 1976 teams to the College World Series, finishing third in '67 and seventh in '76. He claimed SEC titles in 1967, '76 and '78,  along with the league tournament crown in '78.

Nix was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1963, '64, `67, '76 and '78 and was selected the NCAA District III Coach of the Year in 1967 and NCAA South Region Coach of the Year in 1976.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Coach Nix," Auburn head baseball coach John Pawlowski said. "Coach Nix elevated this program to new heights during his 22 years as the head coach at Auburn, twice taking his teams to the College World Series. This is a tremendous loss for the Auburn family."

During his tenure, Nix helped produce two All-Americans in pitcher Q.V. Lowe in 1967 and first baseman Dom Fucci in 1978, along with 37 first-team All-SEC players and seven all-district players.

Upon Nix's retirement after the 1984 season, he had won more games than any other active SEC baseball coach, and his 217 SEC wins were the most by any conference coach. He is currently ranked 10th on the SEC all-time wins list.

Nix's 1967 squad which was 32-10 and won a Southeastern Conference title with a 15-2 record, gave Auburn its first-ever trip to the CWS.

His second College World Series team in 1976 produced a then-school record 37 wins against 15 losses, while claiming the Southeastern Conference crown. Auburn won a third SEC title under Nix in 1978 after tallying a 33-21 mark, including a 15-8 league record.

Born on September 4, 1932, and a native of Greenville, Ala., Nix not only was the head baseball coach at Troy State for six seasons before coming to Auburn, but also an assistant football and basketball coach at the school.

Nix played baseball and football at Troy State until 1952 when he signed a pro baseball contract. He played three years at Single-A and Double-A ball and hit over .300 every year before graduating from Troy in 1955.

Nix is survived by his wife Gwen, two children, daughter Paula Nix Hooks and son Gary along with three brothers Gordon, Tim and Mike.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. CT at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home in Opelika with the service being held on Thursday at Auburn United Methodist Church at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Bethany House in Nix's honor.

http://www.auburnundercover.com/news/articles/2009/4/13/former-baseball-coach-paul-nix-dies

Former Auburn Assistant Football Coach Paul Davis Passes Away

Davis, 87, was an assistant at Auburn under Jordan, Barfield, and Dye

March 31, 2009

Auburn, Ala. - Paul Davis, who served as an assistant football coach at Auburn from 1967-80 and 1987-89, passed away Tuesday at the age of 87. Davis was the Tigers' defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Shug Jordan from 1967-75, an assistant for Doug Barfield from 1975-80 and also was a member of Pat Dye's staff from 1987-90.

During his 17-year career at Auburn, Davis coached seven All-Americans and participated in nine bowl games as a member of the AU staff.

A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Davis was a two-year letterman and 1947 graduate of Ole Miss. Davis coached in six decades, starting as a high school and junior college coach for eight years before serving as an assistant at Memphis State from 1955-58.

After a two-year stint in the Canadian Football League, Davis was an assistant at Georgia for a season before becoming the head coach at Mississippi State from 1962-66.

Davis, who served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II, also worked as a recruiting coordinator at Alabama for two seasons from 1981-82 and as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Temple from 1983-85.

Born on Feb. 3, 1922, Davis is preceded in death by his wife, Mary Earle Samuels of Clarksdale, Miss. He is survived by two children, both Auburn graduates, son, Paul E. (Rett) Davis Jr. of Livingston, Ala., and daughter Becky Gibson of Lutz, Fla., and two grandchildren, Paige and Davis Gibson. Rett was a split end at Auburn from 1971-73.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home in Opelika, Ala., will hold visitation and memorial services on Saturday, April 4, beginning with visitation at 1 p.m. CT and

Tracy Rocker agrees to join Auburn coaching staff; Tigers looking at John Thompson, too

An Auburn football legend is returning to coach the Tigers on Gene Chizik's new staff.

Tracy Rocker has agreed to coach the Auburn defensive line, according to several people familiar with the hiring process. Auburn has also spoken with longtime SEC assistant coach John Thompson about coaching the secondary, said a source familiar with the coaching search.

Rocker was an All-American, SEC Player of the Year and winner of the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award for his play in the Auburn defensive line in the 1980s. Rocker is leaving his job as the defensive line coach at Ole Miss after one season. He was Arkansas' defensive line coach the five years before that.

Auburn University President Jay Gogue says he alone made decision to hire Gene Chizik as head football coach
Thursday, December 18, 2008
CHARLES J. DEAN
News staff writer

Auburn University President Jay Gogue said Wednesday that he alone made the decision to hire Gene Chizik as the school's new head football coach, based on the recommendation of Athletics Director Jay Jacobs.

Gogue said he did not receive or seek the advice of school trustees or other key program supporters.

Chizik, the Iowa State head coach, was the only coach that Jacobs recommended and the only coach that Gogue himself interviewed, he said. Although he read news accounts of other coaches interviewed, Gogue said he never asked for or received a list of candidates who interviewed.

Gogue said he was "somewhat surprised" by the negative reaction of many Auburn fans to Chizik's hiring.

"Auburn people care deeply about this place. Coaching changes are always difficult. So, while the reaction initially surprised me a little, I would have to say looking at it now that I am not as surprised given the fact that people do care so much about the program."

Gogue called Chizik a "good person.

"I think this is a person I am comfortable with," he said.

The president, in interviewing Chizik on Saturday, said that he had three areas of concern that he wanted the coach to address.

"I was interested in his views on graduating his athletes; taking care of your kids and making sure that I don't read about them in the newspaper in terms of off-field activities; (and) making sure the NCAA rules are followed. We have 10 years of no compliance problems at Auburn.

"And I finally asked him what would be among the first things he would do as coach and he told me that he wanted to return to Iowa to say good-bye to his players. I was impressed that he wanted to go back and talk to the kids face to face. I have been places where that didn't happen."

Gogue said he set up a process to fill the job that put Jacobs at the center of the search.

"The president was not going to be involved in the search process at its initial stage. I wanted the AD and a team he knew well to go out and find the best coach we could have."

He instructed Jacobs to "do it by the book," meaning that Jacobs was to first seek and receive permission from a school's athletics director before interviewing any coach.

"Don't call a coach, don't call an agent," Gogue said.

Gogue is keenly aware of complaints in Auburn's history about trustees meddling in the administration of the university, including the hiring and firing of football coaches. He was emphatic that he did not seek or receive the opinions of trustees in this decision.

"Not a single call with any advice or counsel was made to me," Gogue said.

He and Chizik did not discuss any pre-conditions for the hire, such as hiring any particular assistant coaches, Gogue said.

Note 1 - This partial set of Pat Dye quotes can be found at: http://jaygtate.blogspot.com/

Note 2 - Audio of the entire interview can be found here: http://www.finebaum.com/audio_current.html

Note 3 - You don't have to "listen to the PF Show" to hear the interviews which are archived the day after the live show.

Note 4 - Coach Dye usually is on every week during football season.

# "Nobody had any part in this hiring except Jay (Jacobs)."

# "The Houston Nutt thing was put out by Jimmy Sexton, his agent."

# He said someone told him Nutt had been offered $4 million. "That's a lie. I knew (Jacobs) wouldn't touch Nutt with a 10-foot pole. Jay said: `I haven't even thought about (Nutt).' I asked Frank Broyles about it and he said: `That's Jimmy Sexton. He did the same thing when Houston was out here with the Nebraska job. He did the same thing with Tommy last year with Arkansas and Texas A&M.'"

# Dye said he called former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum about Tuberville's alleged candidiacy last year: "Tommy's name hadn't even been mentioned out here."

# On Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp: "We ain't talked to them. That's Sexton."

# On Tony Barnhart reporting that trustees talked with Fisher and Muschamp: "They can talk to him all they want. Jay Jacobs is doing the hiring."

# "There's a lot of misinformation out there. It gets everybody stirred up."

# What is Sexton's motive?: "Money. Getting Nutt a raise at Ole Miss. Getting Jimbo a raise at Florida State. Getting Muschamp a raise. Getting Tommy (Tuberville) a raise. Money!"

# "It's Floirda nation. It's Alabama nation. It's the Auburn family. They're screwing around with our family. The press! They're calling us racists and saying we have a plantation mentality."

# "I probably would have gone and hired Rodney Garner or Patrick Nix -- two of my former players."

# "If you're going to coach at Auburn and everything is equal, I think it would be smart to have someone who loves Auburn on your staff. That would be a tremendous advantage. That's Gene Chizik's decision. I haven't recommended one person to him."

# On Chizik: "He's a polished guy. His players love him. For Carlos Rogers to fly to Atlanta and rent a car and drive to Auburn to be there for his coach -- that shows you."

# He mistakenly believes Travis Williams appeared at the press conference. It was Antarrious Williams. Totally different guy.

# "Kurt (Crain) called me this morning and wanted me to recommend him to Gene. I told him: I'm not recommending anyone."

# Watson Brown as OC?: "That ain't happening."

# "We really don't need to worry about what's being said on the radio. If they want to listen to you, fine. It doesn't bother me what you say. I know you talk about me when I get off the air ..."

# He claims to have written the note you read here yesterday (and Tigers Unlimited people read the day before).

# Chizik: "I like it and I do like it. War eagle."

# So why write a letter?: He gets up early. "I had a spell come over me while I was riding around on the farm. I felt like I needed to talk to the Auburn people. I didn't know how to do it -- if it should be an editorial. I don't know how you all do this electrical stuff nowadays."

# Is Harper Lee behind this?: He wants to see her in January. "I've got some unfinished business we need to talk about."

Ewwwww.

# On Barkley: "People don't need to get bent out of shape with him. He's an Auburn man. He did not have enough information and he over-reacted. I've done the same thing (in the past). On this issue, he's wrong. He needs to call Jay and talk to him or call Turner Gill and talk to him."

# On Nebraska's 41-7 win against Auburn in 1982. Gill was Nebraska's quarterback that day: "That was a good, old-fashioned, country ass-whooping."

# Advice to Paul: "Ease up a little bit. If you get away from Birmingham, come on down to the plantation."