From the Desk of Allen Greene

[aubiefifty 16,778]

auburntigers.com

 

From the Desk of Allen Greene

Auburn University Athletics

8-10 minutes

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It's the end of March which means crossover season in intercollegiate athletics, as winter sports wrap up and spring sports take center stage.

Before we look ahead, let's look back on a championship season on the Plains for Coach Pearl and Auburn men's basketball. Nineteen straight wins, a No. 1 ranking, undefeated at home, another visit from ESPN College GameDay, and an outright SEC regular season title, Auburn's third SEC championship in the past five seasons under BP. 

His new 8-year contract we agreed to during the season is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to have him leading Auburn's program for the rest of this decade, which just might come to be known as The Soaring Twenties at Neville Arena.

The Jungle gives Auburn the greatest home-court advantage in college basketball. With so much to celebrate, it's no wonder our fans embraced the idea of spreading their feathers like Peacocks with a capital "P," if you will.

In her first season leading Auburn women's basketball, Coach Johnnie Harris led the Tigers to three top 25 wins, including Auburn's first victory vs. a top five opponent in 25 years.

With a recruiting class ranked in the top 25 nationally and a demonstrated commitment to engage on campus and in the community, Coach J and her staff are well on their way to building a program that consistently competes with the best in the SEC, the pinnacle of women's basketball.

Earning the highest score in program history – 198.575 – Coach Graba's Auburn gymnastics team looks forward to hosting an NCAA Regional Championship this week, another opportunity for fans to see Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee, who has earned four perfect "10s" this season so far and more to come. 

 

And if you've never seen Derrian Gobourne's floor routine, make sure to check it out Thursday afternoon. The last time Derrian competed at home, she earned a perfect "10" on her floor routine.

Thank you, Auburn family, for selling out Neville Arena this season for gymnastics. Your enthusiasm and energy motivate and inspire our student-athletes. They love to compete for their teammates and fans.

Spring football practice comes to a close with our traditional A-Day, presented by Golden Flake. Please make plans to join us at Jordan-Hare Stadium on April 9 at 1 p.m. CT.

Watching spring practice, I've seen our football student-athletes develop under Coach Harsin's revamped staff. They're grinding and putting in the work, hard work, it takes to succeed in college football's most competitive conference. 

 

They're also having fun doing it, whether that's a paintball outing, a meal with their position coaches, or working on dance moves after practice.

Coach Harsin is committed to developing Auburn men on and off the field, bringing in relatable speakers like C.L. "Shep" Shepherd, whose message is "tough times do not last but tough people do."

Coach Harsin is a tough person. He didn't flinch when our football program was in the headlines for a week or so during the offseason. Our team leaders and coaches rallied around him, and our program emerged stronger. In a quarter century as a college student-athlete and administrator, I know that the most growth occurs when we go through valleys.

I agree with Coach Harsin when he says the key to success is everybody is pulling in the same direction.

To paraphrase a video that director of football & recruiting relations Trovon Reed frequently shares on social media: We're not done yet!

Auburn equestrian won its fourth straight SEC Championship last weekend and will serve as the host institution for the 2022 NCEA Championships April 14-16 in Ocala, Florida, with Coach Williams vying to bring a seventh national championship back to the Plains.

 

Our swimmers and divers wrapped up their seasons at the NCAA Championships. In Coach Wochomurka's first season, both the men and women's teams improved two spots at the SEC Championships and the future looks bright.

As we strive to be an Everything School, Auburn's spring sports programs are racking up victories.

Both men's and women's golf programs are ranked in the top 20, with Coach Clinard's men's team already winning tournaments in The Bahamas and in South Carolina. Soon, they'll compete at the SEC Championships, where Coach Luellen's women's team is the defending champion.

Coach Lilley's women's tennis team is ranked in the top 10 and off to the best start in program history, going 7-0 in the SEC.

Coach Reynolds' men's team is also enjoying a banner season, reaching the top 25 nationally for the first time under his leadership.

Through the first three weeks of the SEC softball season, the Auburn Tigers stand at the top of the SEC standings, thanks to power hitting, power pitching and a penchant for walk-off home runs. Coach Dean says this young team has been so fun to watch that "it's like going to the beach every day."

Coach Thompson's baseball team earned a victory over No. 1 Ole Miss to open SEC play in a series that featured a sellout and drew 11,457 to Plainsman Park, one of the best attended series in program history. The Tigers then took two out of three at Texas A&M, winning their third straight SEC road series for the first time since 2004.

Track & field transitions to outdoor season after some standout indoor performances, including Dontavious Hill's bronze medal in high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

None of these milestones occur without the support of Auburn's faithful fans and generous donors.

Recently, Bill and Connie Neville stepped up in a mighty way, making the largest gift in Auburn Athletics history.

Within 24 hours of the official dedication of Neville Arena, gymnastics smashed the program scoring record and men's basketball cut down the nets after claiming an SEC championship. As debuts go, that one will be tough to top!

The Neville's gift allows Auburn to move forward with the construction of an additional practice facility at the arena, a game-changer for the programs that share the venue.

 

How do you know when you're on a college campus? Just look for the cranes. As in recruiting, construction season never stops to enhance our fantastic facilities.

The Auburn University Football Performance Center continues to make steady progress. We anticipate moving into this best-in-class facility after the 2022 season. 

After the final floor routine of the NCAA gymnastics Regional, renovations will begin on the women's basketball locker room at Neville Arena.

We are finalizing plans with architects to enhance the softball and gymnastics locker rooms and team areas at McWhorter Center. We're also engaging with architects to evaluate premium seating options for baseball at Plainsman Park. 

At Auburn, we believe in the human touch. In February, we highlighted history makers past and present during Black History Month. In March, we've shared the inspiring stories of Auburn women and how sport has impacted them during Women's History Month.

In fact, throughout 2022, we are commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and its monumental impact at Auburn by hosting reunions and spotlighting on social media the pioneers on the Plains who led the way for thousands of female student-athletes to follow.

During the Tiger Track Classic, we honored Coach Spry for his 25th season to lead Auburn's program. 

After a two-year pandemic pause, Tigers Give Back community service days returns on April 13, a chance for our coaches and staff to participate in projects that uplift our neighbors.

We're also going to take a few hours this spring to show appreciation for our staff by having a kickball game, luncheon and Topgolf outing.

So many great things are happening on this campus that we love so dearly. Every time you come back to Auburn to support the Tigers, you are helping develop Auburn women and men.  

You make it possible for Auburn student-athletes to leave with a graduation ring on one hand and a championship ring on the other.

To be sure, these are exciting times on the Plains.  Thank you for believing in Auburn and loving it!

War Eagle!

[JerryAU 1,659]

Thank you for posting the headlines 50!

This is a great synopsis of Auburn athletics and AD Greene addressed everything very well. 

[aubiefifty 16,778]

2 minutes ago, JerryAU said:

Thank you for posting the headlines 50!

This is a great synopsis of Auburn athletics and AD Greene addressed everything very well. 

it is my pleasure jerry. i am just a fan who loves the site and tries to give back by posting articles when i can. if you ever have anything you are looking for let me know or anyone on the board and maybe one of us can come up with some info or whatever. but your thanx means the world to me.

[AU-24 3,078]

Lol; Amazing how Greene (With the general running the Athletic Dept.) can’t get hired anywhere else, as he is even struggling to get interviews, so now he’s doing everything in his power to stay at Auburn. Just hilarious!

I mean, in all honesty, we didn’t see articles like this when he was interviewing for other jobs and getting turned down.

[au302 2,669]

2 hours ago, AU-24 said:

Lol; Amazing how Greene (With the general running the Athletic Dept.) can’t get hired anywhere else, as he is even struggling to get interviews, so now he’s doing everything in his power to stay at Auburn. Just hilarious!

I mean, in all honesty, we didn’t see articles like this when he was interviewing for other jobs and getting turned down.

Well new Pres will make the call. Seemed like a sure thing he was gone, and I still think new Pres. will probably want his own guy..... but then I read opinions that Burgess and new Pres were actually impressed with ADAG and it's not such a sure thing. Who knows, but I'll support new Pres either way. He seems competent and will do as he sees fit