On Tuesday, the Auburn Football program claimed seven previous national championships moving their total to nine.
According to an announcement by athletic director John Cohen, the program will be claiming championships from 1910, 1913, 1914, 1958, 1983, 1993, and 2004. In 2004, the Tigers went undefeated at 12-0 but were not given a bid to play in the BCS National Championship game. The title was decided between LSU and Oklahoma with Nick Saban’s Tigers earning a 21-14 victory. After a Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech, Auburn finished the season No. 2 in the Coaches Poll.
Both LSU and Oklahoma suffered losses in the 2024 regular season, which makes the argument deeper as to why the BCS computer system was broken. Auburn will also add to its SEC title count, bringing it to 15.
“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,” Cohen said.
Auburn does not stand alone in claiming national championships. UCF did so in the 2017 season after going undefeated in the regular season and beating Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl. That same Auburn team beat the College Football Playoff champs, Alabama, that year. UCF was the first NCAA Division I program to improve to an undefeated season after being 0-12 two seasons prior.
The 1993 season saw the Tigers go undefeated, but they were not given a National Championship bid because of a postseason ban due to previous NCAA violations. Those violations included allegations of receiving extra cash and benefits, and the other for failing to meet eligibility requirements and exceeding the permissible number of grants-in-aid.
Claiming national titles is not far from ordinary for college football programs. Most well-known programs have done so like Alabama, Michigan and USC. The reason is simply that before national championships were not based on a playoff run, but instead by selectors or a computer ranking system. It is also why the NCAA does not have an official award for a Division I FBS national champion.
Instead of just acknowledging the 1957 and 2010 seasons as the only national championship titles Auburn will take full credit for the other seven.
Auburn’s season opener is Friday, August 29, on the road against Baylor with an 8 PM EST kickoff time.
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:
- Ed Orgeron announces decision on coaching future after hiatus
- Denzel Washington sends clear message to Shedeur Sanders haters
- Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers reacts to AP All-Time All-America honor (Exclusive)
- FOX Sports analyst slams NCAA over Michigan sign-stealing punishment