Auburn split with Tuberville echoes other SEC changes
By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com

You’re Auburn University and your cross-state rival Alabama, after lying dormant for a decade, has become formidable again. You’ve had a mediocre season and you won’t play in a bowl game for the first time in nine years. But you’re OK. You have a coach who has been the model of stability in an unstable business.

You’ve had Tommy Tuberville for 10 seasons. That became the longest tenure of any coach in the Southeastern Conference once Tennessee fitted Phillip Fulmer with a pair of cement coaching shoes. Even after going 5-7, your coach has won nearly 70 percent of his games against everyone (85-40, .680), and exactly 70 percent (7-3!) against the hated Crimson Tide.

Tuberville has won one SEC and five Western Division titles and been unbeaten one season. That 2004 team performed well enough to play for a national championship. Too bad the BCS ripped you off.

Having a coach like that is good. The last thing you want to do when facing Nick Saban Inc. is call in the moving vans and start over. Only someone with an athletic death wish would trade in a coach with 10 years of recruiting ties throughout the Southeast for a staff that might not be able to find 6A finalist Hoover High with a pack of bloodhounds and a Garmin.

You’re Auburn, and you’re too big, too sure of yourself to panic every time someone in Tuscaloosa raises a trophy. Once upon a time you panicked. Remember five years ago, when the university president led a secret delegation to interview Bobby Petrino at Louisville? That president and the genius boosters who egged him on forgot that Auburn still employed a football coach. They also proved to be about as clandestine as Inspector Clouseau.

The media mocked you for months, and you looked even dumber when Tuberville took the team to a 13-0 record a year later.

Good thing that president is long gone. You’ve got a new athletic director, too. Surely they wouldn’t be stupid enough to make the same mistake and run off Tuberville. During games, he barely has a pulse. They call him the Riverboat Gambler for his play-calling guts. And big games? Not only is he 7-3 against Alabama, he has won nine of his past 14 games against top-10 teams.

Off the field, his players don’t get in trouble. They go to class, too. In 2007, 20 players had at least a 3.0 GPA.

It’s like they say on Wall Street. When the masses are selling, the smart guys are buying. The SEC masses are selling. Tennessee is starting over with 33-year-old Lane Kiffin. Mississippi State forced out Sly Croom. You want to know what not to do? LSU fans are grumbling about Les Miles one year after he held the crystal football!

That leaves Ole Miss and Arkansas, and if you’re worried about them, you’re not the Auburn you claim to be.

Sure, Tuberville doomed this season to mediocrity the minute he hired that offensive coordinator, the high school guru who promised to install the spread offense. Turns out that knowledge-wise, the guy had outkicked his coverage. Tuberville fired him a month into the season, admitted his mistake, and tried to minimize the damage. He didn’t pawn off the responsibility on anyone else. He took the blame and promised to fix the problem.

Yeah, those boosters, the ones who embarrassed you over Petrino, are still unhappy, but you’re Auburn. You’re bigger than that. No coach is going to win in the SEC every season. Tuberville has delivered for you for 10 years. Surely that engenders some loyalty from you to him.

Besides, you signed a contract that promised him $6 million if you let him go after the 2008 season. In these economic times, with people everywhere trying to hold on to their jobs and their mortgages, you surely aren’t stupid enough to spend $6 million paying a guy not to coach. No one could be that insensitive to the message that would send. Talk about misplaced priorities.

What’s that?

You let him go?

You’re going to pay him $6 million not to coach?

And start over from scratch? Against Nick Saban?

You’re kidding, right? Is there something about Tommy Tuberville that causes you to make agonizingly stupid decisions?

Forget I ever brought it up. Good luck finding a coach better than the one you just forced out. Whoever he is, give him a message:

Hoover High is just south of Birmingham.

Source / Link: ESPN.com

All agencies have been keeping information regarding this case very close to the vest for fear that they didn’t want to tip off anyone of an impending arrest.

Stay tuned to AUBlog for updates on this tragic story.

Auburn University Faculty and Students:

Many students and parents have called, understandably concerned about a student who was found dead last night a few miles north of campus. City of Auburn Police are investigating. There is no indication of additional danger to campus or student safety. Even so, the Auburn Police Division and Auburn University officials are taking all necessary precautions, including increasing police presence, to ensure the safety of our students and employees. Meanwhile, students should be careful not just on campus, but within the larger community, and be alert at all times.

The following information was just provided by the City of Auburn Police:

On Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at approximately 9:08 p.m., Auburn Police responded to a call of an injured female on Alabama Highway 147 (North College Street). Upon arrival, officers found a female, later identified as 18-year-old Lauren A. Burk, an Auburn University student, suffering from a single gunshot wound. Ms. Burk was transported by EMS to the East Alabama Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries.

At approximately 9:27 p.m., Auburn Police received a call of a vehicle on fire in the Hinton Field parking lot located on Lem Morrison Drive on the Auburn University campus. The vehicle, a 2001 Black Honda Civic, was registered to the victim and was fully involved. Personnel from the Auburn Fire Division responded and extinguished the fire.

The case is under investigation by the Auburn Police Division with assistance from the Department of Forensic Sciences, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement officials are continuing to follow up on all leads.

Students acquainted with the victim or others who would like to seek counseling support are encouraged to call the Student Counseling Services, 844-5123, which will see students on a walk-in basis, or by appointment, for group counseling or other sessions.

Please send your thoughts and prayers to the family of the victim.

Source: AU Daily

A fish tale it’s not.

The prospect of bringing the 6 million gallon Alabama Aquarium to Auburn University is part of a vision that sets a comprehensive public facility for aquatic and environmental education on a 100-acre site at the E.W. Shell Fisheries Center on North College Street.

Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers was introduced to the idea of having The Alabama Aquarium in Auburn and presented a copy of a related proposal by District 2 Lee County Commissioner Johnny Lawrence Wednesday.

“There is a group called The Alabama Aquarium, and they want to build a world-class aquarium in Alabama,” Lawrence said. “Right now they are looking at Auburn University and its fisheries program.”

The county commissioner said the group wants to build an aquarium with education as its primary focus.

“Not just for the children and parents that come there, but this could become the training center for aquariums all over the country and the world for that matter.

“They are preparing this (proposal) to go to the (AU) president,” Lawrence told Rogers. “We want to make you aware that this proposal is on the table.”

Pointing out the locations of a new aquarium, Auburn University and the Celebrate Alabama project in Opelika, Lawrence said, “You have AU here, Celebrate Alabama project here and then add an aquarium here, then Auburn, Opelika and Lee County become a place for people to come and stay for the weekend and boost tourism for the area.

Rogers asked who served on the group’s board and finished with, “It’s a great idea.”

The internal proposal, which suggests AU as a potential site, hasn’t gone to the university’s president for consideration of committing 100 acres of university land at the E.W. Shell Fisheries Center for the site.

In a telephone interview, the executive director for the organization said the non-profit The Alabama Aquarium was formed in 2002, and has a seven-member board made up of an attorney, educators, a judge and a city councilman. Locally, Dr. John Jensen of Auburn serves on the board.

While the aquarium’s future waters may be muddy now, The Alabama Aquarium’s vision is clear.

“Jensen came to me and asked me if we wanted to look into Auburn as a possible site,” said Dr. R Will Vanoy, executive director for The Alabama Aquarium. “Just looking at the tie-in of what we have planned for The Alabama Aquarium and just some of the remarkable potential in partnering with Auburn University is intriguing and something we want to pursue.

“We are looking at other areas,” Vanoy said.

He said he hopes the white paper, or proposal, will be presented to AU’s president in the next few weeks.

“I am hopeful. I am intrigued by Auburn,” Vanoy said. “I am very interested in pursuing that location.

“I think it would be a wonderful, wonderful place for us, but we are looking at some other areas as well and very soon will send out requests for proposals to various cities throughout the state of Alabama.”

Asked about the vision, Vanoy said the concept is Alabama’s waters all the way to the Gulf of Mexico — rivers, streams, lakes and ponds.

“The concept of this aquarium came many, many years ago and the purpose behind it was Alabama has the most natural resources of water among any state in the United States with more than 77,000 miles of navigable waters in our state.

“Alabama seems like the no-brainer place to discuss natural resources,” he said.

“The goal for The Alabama Aquarium is that of an educational facility foremost,” Vanoy said. “A tie-in with Auburn University, a partnership with them, really strengthens the education concept of the aquarium.”

Vanoy said, “The exciting thing for us and for Auburn University really should be how this project affects all of the departments,” The proposal suggests that the aquarium would benefit the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures by allowing AU to develop new teaching, research and outreach programs in aquatic sciences and possibly establish a Center for Advanced Studies in Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture as well as business, architecture, building science, education, engineering, vet medicine, forestry and wildlife sciences, and others like all of the arts.

“There is a huge impact the university can have on us, and we can have on the university,” Vanoy said.

He said the impact of the two of us partnering together can have on this state and nation are enormous.

“The more I talk about it the more excited I get,” the executive director said.

The proposal suggests there is a strong local interest in the aquarium and a willingness by Lee County and the city of Auburn to fund a $30,000 to $50,000 market survey to assess the feasibility of the project.

The Alabama Aquarium is expected to be an $120 million dollar investment that includes the main aquarium, an education center and an amphitheater.

By the Numbers:

The Georgia Aquarium:
- 3.6 million visitors the first year
- 50,000 students in education programs
- largest by gallons of water (8 million gallons)
- world’s largest by number of animals
- a non-profit organization run by a board of directors
- a $250+ million gift to Atlanta

The Tennessee Aquarium:
- a million visitors a year
- 100,000 students in education programs
- opened in 1992 as the world’s largest freshwater aquarium
- in 1999, 20,000 of the visitors were international
- research arm in the Tenn. Aquarium Research Institute

The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (Mobile):
- Mobile’s fourth most-well attended tourist attraction in 2003, hosting 77,475 visitors
- 16 of the 22 member universities sent undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. candidates
- Summer programs attracted K-12 academic classes, teacher workshops and summer programs for middle and high school students.
- includes The Equestarium, an education facility highlighting the Mobile Tensaw River Delta, Mobile Bay, the Barrier Islands and Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Source: Opelika-Auburn News

House votes to stop out-of-state college plates By BEN SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/21/08

Georgia House members dumped two things off their plates Thursday: Gators and Tigers.

In a 142 to 10 vote, the chamber voted to stop making out-of-state university mascot tags if neighboring states don’t return the favor.

“Whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander,” said state Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem), speaking with great earnestness on the matter.

Fleming was really talking about Bulldogs. He and the vast majority of his House colleagues think the citizens of the Bulldog nation living in South Carolina, Alabama and Florida, should get mascot tags of their own in those states.

After all, the state of Georgia offers Clemson and Auburn Tiger tags along with those for Florida alumni living in the Peach State.

The Gators fans’ response to the House vote was essentially: Grow up.

“Now this is really a joke, isn’t it?” said Martha Smith of Norcross. “I’ve never heard of anything so infantile in my entire life.”

Smith, a Georgia Gator tag purchaser said she worked in the University of Florida’s athletics department in the 1970s and has a son who attended the institution.

Under the bill, Smith won’t have to give up her tag until it needs to be replaced. For Gator alumnus Greg Grillo of Alpharetta, that could be as early as August.

Grillo said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Florida Legislature asked for some reciprocity from Georgia on another issue.

Said Grillo, “I heard the Florida Legislature told Georgia to pound salt unless they would allow for Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia.”

Source: AJC.com

Photo courtesy SI.com

Jessica Trainham, a 22-year-old Auburn University student, is featured in the Sports Illustrated 2008 swimsuit edition.

Trainham said being in the magazine, which hit newsstands Tuesday, was the biggest thrill of her life.

“It was really exciting,” she said. “I feel really blessed to have the experience I did. When I got chosen, I was thrilled like any girl would be. Sports Illustrated is huge.”

The opportunity came about by chance.

In addition to being a student at Auburn, Trainham also moonlights as a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons. Someone from Sports Illustrated saw her picture and chose her and 11 other NFL cheerleaders and put them in the magazine.

She told us they went on the Web site and randomly selected the girls they were looking for, Trainham said.

“It was an honor to know that I had the look they were looking for when they searched for us individually,” she said.

Trainham grew up in Phenix City and went to Central High School. She said her recent fame hasn’t gone to her head. She said she is proud to be from Phenix City, where her family and friends keep her grounded.

“It’s cool seeing people know who I am, but as far as staying grounded, I’ll always be that way. That’s just the type of person I am,” she said. “I’m excited about this opportunity, but I think it’s more important to know where I came from and stay that way.”

Trainham said her experience in New York was fun, but also a little scary.

“We were a little intimidated when you see all those girls that are so beautiful,” she said. “So it was intimidating, but they were really nice.”

Although she doesn’t know how long the fame will last, the experience will last a lifetime.

Trainham said after she graduates from Auburn in May, she wants to intern at a television station in Tampa, Fla.

Her goal is to become a television news reporter.

Source: Opelika-Auburn News

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