Auburn Mediocrity

[AURex 1,999]

Mods, you can move this if you want.

Personally, I'm just tired of Auburn mediocrity. There is millions of dollars flooding into university Athletics. Auburn is in the top 10 of revenue producing schools. And yet --

Auburn swimming and diving (a program that was once a national powerhouse) - nuthin

Auburn track & field -- nuthin

Auburn soccer -- nuthin

Auburn softball -- nuthin

Auburn baseball -- nuthin

Auburn women's basketball -- nuthin

Auburn volleyball - nuthin

The only sports in which Auburn has actually showed a pulse is Men's Basketball and Equestrian (which is NOT an NCAA sport).

If I'm an Auburn Athletics donator, what am I getting for my dollars. If I'm an Auburn NIL contributor, where does my dollar go?

I'm not a negga nellie, I'm an Auburn supporter and I contribute to Auburn every year. And I love my Auburn athletes in every sport! I'm just not seeing where Auburn athletics millions are going.

Surely not to swimming and diving (my sport) or track & field, not to women's sports.

I'm sorry, IMO, the idea of a gazillion dollars flowing into the university from NCAA and NIL SHOULD be to fund all sports make ALL sports competitive. Instead. we've got buckets of money going to CHF and cups of money going to CBF, ans teaspoons of money going to a;; other sports.

Sorry, but IMO ....... FU. This is not what I contribute my money to the Athletic Dept for. NO MORE!

 

[LPTiger 5,165]

20 minutes ago, AURex said:

 

Auburn baseball -- nuthin

 

Going to 2 out of the last 4 CWS = nuthin?   What exactly would amount to sumthin?

[GreenTiger 1,006]

I gave your post the sad emoji because it is sad to see Auburn athletics overall remain mediocre. 

[SaltyTiger 7,810]

8 hours ago, AURex said:

FU. This is not what I contribute my money to the Athletic Dept for. NO MORE!

 

[AuCivilEng1 11,011]

18 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

What exactly is wrong with an alumni/fan being disappointed that the University they support both emotionally and financially is stuck in a rut of mediocrity?

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

8 hours ago, AURex said:

Mods, you can move this if you want.

Personally, I'm just tired of Auburn mediocrity. There is millions of dollars flooding into university Athletics. Auburn is in the top 10 of revenue producing schools. And yet --

Auburn swimming and diving (a program that was once a national powerhouse) - nuthin

Auburn track & field -- nuthin

Auburn soccer -- nuthin

Auburn softball -- nuthin

Auburn baseball -- nuthin

Auburn women's basketball -- nuthin

Auburn volleyball - nuthin

The only sports in which Auburn has actually showed a pulse is Men's Basketball and Equestrian (which is NOT an NCAA sport).

If I'm an Auburn Athletics donator, what am I getting for my dollars. If I'm an Auburn NIL contributor, where does my dollar go?

I'm not a negga nellie, I'm an Auburn supporter and I contribute to Auburn every year. And I love my Auburn athletes in every sport! I'm just not seeing where Auburn athletics millions are going.

Surely not to swimming and diving (my sport) or track & field, not to women's sports.

I'm sorry, IMO, the idea of a gazillion dollars flowing into the university from NCAA and NIL SHOULD be to fund all sports make ALL sports competitive. Instead. we've got buckets of money going to CHF and cups of money going to CBF, ans teaspoons of money going to a;; other sports.

Sorry, but IMO ....... FU. This is not what I contribute my money to the Athletic Dept for. NO MORE!

 

I mean.... You not wrong....

[SaltyTiger 7,810]

28 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

What exactly is wrong with an alumni/fan being disappointed that the University they support both emotionally and financially is stuck in a rut of mediocrity?

Nothing

[AuCivilEng1 11,011]

 

9 hours ago, AURex said:

Mods, you can move this if you want.

Personally, I'm just tired of Auburn mediocrity. There is millions of dollars flooding into university Athletics. Auburn is in the top 10 of revenue producing schools. And yet --

Auburn swimming and diving (a program that was once a national powerhouse) - nuthin

Auburn track & field -- nuthin

Auburn soccer -- nuthin

Auburn softball -- nuthin

Auburn baseball -- nuthin

Auburn women's basketball -- nuthin

Auburn volleyball - nuthin

The only sports in which Auburn has actually showed a pulse is Men's Basketball and Equestrian (which is NOT an NCAA sport).

If I'm an Auburn Athletics donator, what am I getting for my dollars. If I'm an Auburn NIL contributor, where does my dollar go?

I'm not a negga nellie, I'm an Auburn supporter and I contribute to Auburn every year. And I love my Auburn athletes in every sport! I'm just not seeing where Auburn athletics millions are going.

Surely not to swimming and diving (my sport) or track & field, not to women's sports.

I'm sorry, IMO, the idea of a gazillion dollars flowing into the university from NCAA and NIL SHOULD be to fund all sports make ALL sports competitive. Instead. we've got buckets of money going to CHF and cups of money going to CBF, ans teaspoons of money going to a;; other sports.

Sorry, but IMO ....... FU. This is not what I contribute my money to the Athletic Dept for. NO MORE!

 

I agree with you man. I’m having a really hard time staying interested in college athletics, because Auburn has made a habit of shi**ing the bed in everything. Pair that with Bama athletics being great and it’s very disheartening.

Football wise, I was very excited about the recruiting class, but the lack of activity in the portal basically made me feel like Hugh isn’t worried about serious winning this year. I do think we win 7-8. But a few key pieces in the portal would have made us a serious competitor. 

[fishepa 1,904]

2 minutes ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

 

I agree with you man. I’m having a really hard time staying interested in college athletics, because Auburn has made a habit of shi**ing the bed in everything. Pair that with Bama athletics being great and it’s very disheartening.

Football wise, I was very excited about the recruiting class, but the lack of activity in the portal basically made me feel like Hugh isn’t worried about serious winning this year. I do think we win 7-8. But a few key pieces in the portal would have made us a serious competitor. 

I believe that the people on these boards are the 1%ers, who actively want AU to excel in sports above and beyond mediocrity.  However the vast majority of AU alumni and fans don't really care at all and are perfectly happy where we are and probably still want Gus Malzahn back as head coach.  Just my opinion

[augolf1716 21,167]

9 hours ago, AURex said:

The only sports in which Auburn has actually showed a pulse is Men's Basketball and Equestrian (which is NOT an NCAA sport).

 

Men's golf is currently #2 in the nation and have had a top 10 team for the last 14 years or so

Auburn is one of four teams in the nation - Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas the others - who have made at least ten-straight NCAA Championship appearances. The Tigers have garnered 24 All-SEC selections since 2012, the most in the conference in that span.

 

[AuCivilEng1 11,011]

4 minutes ago, fishepa said:

I believe that the people on these boards are the 1%ers, who actively want AU to excel in sports above and beyond mediocrity.  However the vast majority of AU alumni and fans don't really care at all and are perfectly happy where we are and probably still want Gus Malzahn back as head coach.  Just my opinion

I agree. As uninterested as I am, I am still interested enough to write on a forum. Lol. We don’t have a large enough fanbase that will raise hell about losing. And more importantly, we haven’t had a very competitive administration. 
 

I get the feeling that Auburn from coaches to BOD members are basically in “you’re lucky to have what you have” mode. 

[AuCivilEng1 11,011]

5 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

Men's golf is currently #2 in the nation and have had a top 10 team for the last 14 years or so

Auburn is one of four teams in the nation - Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas the others - who have made at least ten-straight NCAA Championship appearances. The Tigers have garnered 24 All-SEC selections since 2012, the most in the conference in that span.

 

We are talking about sports not hobbies…..

[AUGoo 2,664]

AU Swimming Men finished 12th at NCAA's.  

We are a perennial top 10 team.

Beginning to show signs of life after a few seasons of not even having qualifiers.

Women finished 19th.

Again, signs of life.

[Auburn93 540]

There is only so much money. I want basketball and football funded. 

[gctiger 931]

1 hour ago, augolf1716 said:

Men's golf is currently #2 in the nation and have had a top 10 team for the last 14 years or so

Auburn is one of four teams in the nation - Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas the others - who have made at least ten-straight NCAA Championship appearances. The Tigers have garnered 24 All-SEC selections since 2012, the most in the conference in that span.

 

 

[maryland tiger 616]

12 hours ago, AURex said:

Mods, you can move this if you want.

Personally, I'm just tired of Auburn mediocrity. There is millions of dollars flooding into university Athletics. Auburn is in the top 10 of revenue producing schools. And yet --

Auburn swimming and diving (a program that was once a national powerhouse) - nuthin

Auburn track & field -- nuthin

Auburn soccer -- nuthin

Auburn softball -- nuthin

Auburn baseball -- nuthin

Auburn women's basketball -- nuthin

Auburn volleyball - nuthin

The only sports in which Auburn has actually showed a pulse is Men's Basketball and Equestrian (which is NOT an NCAA sport).

If I'm an Auburn Athletics donator, what am I getting for my dollars. If I'm an Auburn NIL contributor, where does my dollar go?

I'm not a negga nellie, I'm an Auburn supporter and I contribute to Auburn every year. And I love my Auburn athletes in every sport! I'm just not seeing where Auburn athletics millions are going.

Surely not to swimming and diving (my sport) or track & field, not to women's sports.

I'm sorry, IMO, the idea of a gazillion dollars flowing into the university from NCAA and NIL SHOULD be to fund all sports make ALL sports competitive. Instead. we've got buckets of money going to CHF and cups of money going to CBF, ans teaspoons of money going to a;; other sports.

Sorry, but IMO ....... FU. This is not what I contribute my money to the Athletic Dept for. NO MORE!

 

This post, Nuthin! 

[AUwent 3,752]

2 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

I agree. As uninterested as I am, I am still interested enough to write on a forum. Lol. We don’t have a large enough fanbase that will raise hell about losing. And more importantly, we haven’t had a very competitive administration. 
 

I get the feeling that Auburn from coaches to BOD members are basically in “you’re lucky to have what you have” mode. 

After what happened when we fired Gus how much can you really blame them? I know I bring up Nebraska a lot but it truly is a cautionary tale.

Edited April 5 by AUwent

[augolf1716 21,167]

44 minutes ago, AUwent said:

After what happened when we fired Gus how much can you really blame them? I know I bring up Nebraska a lot but it truly is a cautionary tale.

Nebraska hasn’t gone to a bowl game in like 6 or 7 years we’re nothing like Nebraska poor example 

[ertrader 198]

Just to attach some numbers to mediocrity and nuthin

Last year Auburn finished 36th in the Directors Cup (a more or less overall ranking of a school's athletic teams performances)

That was 10th in the SEC (Texas and Oklahoma finished higher than us too if you are looking to the future)

2 Texas

5 Florida

6 Tennessee

7 Georgia

9 LSU

12 Alabama

13 Arkansas

18 Kentucky

23 Oklahoma

24 Texas A&M

33 South Carolina

36 Auburn

39 Ole Miss

50 Missouri

56 Vanderbilt

57 Mississippi State

 

[SCTiger2011 1,278]

I get the point of posts like this, and they're gaining traction with Jake Crain's comments a few weeks ago as well as our frustration at watching Alabama basketball make a Final 4.  I'm on the fence, because I think the argument is not a good faith one for many using it, as it basically states "anything that's not a national championship is a failure, and anyone who accepts good seasons over once in a lifetime seasons is comfortable with mediocrity"

I'm the biggest Auburn baseball fan in the world, and this season is frustrating.  But to dismiss 2 CWS appearances in 5 years from a program that had been on life support for over a decade as settling for mediocrity isn't being genuine.

The same goes with the basketball program.  Results in 2021-2024 make us angry whereas hearing these results from 2004-2018 would have us the happiest basketball fanbase ever.  Bruce (who is not without criticism) is a product of his own success.

Others have mentioned the improvements back to top 15 programs for S&D, and golf is a regular top 5 program these day.  Volleyball is building a great base with two postseason trips in a row.  Again, I realize the easiest counterargument here is "at some point, a national title must happen in one of these or none of it matters."  I want Auburn to win National Championships as much as anyone, but the truth is, only one school gets one in each sport.  The odds are overwhelmingly against even the top tier programs every year.  Those seasons should be desired and cherished, but this growing "National Title or bust" mentality that's growing is a lazy one in my opinion and can be summed up very simply: "Auburn football is bad and it's making me restless."  Guarantee if Auburn football makes the playoff in 2024 (not even a natty), most of the fire and torches brigade will be happy and not go back to micro-analyzing every sport.

[NoALtiger 3,863]

54 minutes ago, ertrader said:

Just to attach some numbers to mediocrity and nuthin

Last year Auburn finished 36th in the Directors Cup (a more or less overall ranking of a school's athletic teams performances)

That was 10th in the SEC (Texas and Oklahoma finished higher than us too if you are looking to the future)

2 Texas

5 Florida

6 Tennessee

7 Georgia

9 LSU

12 Alabama

13 Arkansas

18 Kentucky

23 Oklahoma

24 Texas A&M

33 South Carolina

36 Auburn

39 Ole Miss

50 Missouri

56 Vanderbilt

57 Mississippi State

 

So we are 12th in what will be the new look SEC in overall athletic success. What’s sad is that some folks here will still defend this when presented with an obvious statistic that isn’t that great to say the least.  The point of this OP to me is about overall mediocrity, it should be understood we have some success here and there but this really hits home on where we are at as a whole at the moment. 

[Potatooooooes!! 1,375]

Unless you are okay with being in the middle at best watching other teams go further than you, then you should be happy to look at the data and ask, "How can we do better?" It makes absolutely no sense to criticize someone for that. If you love Auburn, you should WANT to be as close to the top as possible for everything, not settling for average at best. I think we can do better, and we should.

[Abbygpaw 36]

1 hour ago, ertrader said:

Just to attach some numbers to mediocrity and nuthin

Last year Auburn finished 36th in the Directors Cup (a more or less overall ranking of a school's athletic teams performances)

That was 10th in the SEC (Texas and Oklahoma finished higher than us too if you are looking to the future)

2 Texas

5 Florida

6 Tennessee

7 Georgia

9 LSU

12 Alabama

13 Arkansas

18 Kentucky

23 Oklahoma

24 Texas A&M

33 South Carolina

36 Auburn

39 Ole Miss

50 Missouri

56 Vanderbilt

57 Mississippi State

 

According to this, and given the huge dollars they receive and spend on athletics, Auburn and TAM yield a very poor return on investment. The question for both is “why.” 

[Old fan 47 772]

37 minutes ago, Abbygpaw said:

According to this, and given the huge dollars they receive and spend on athletics, Auburn and TAM yield a very poor return on investment. The question for both is “why.” 

My immediate guess is poor leadership. It’s a business. Investors tend to pull their money or replace those that are in charge of it, if a company is performing poorly. Appears to me AU has not gotten the leadership part correct in quite some time and now with NIL, it’s very possible, if those currently in charge are not wise, that we will be begging for mediocre seasons with 7 and 8 wins. The game has changed, the question remains, are those in charge able to adapt to it successfully? So far, they haven’t. 

[AuCivilEng1 11,011]

42 minutes ago, Abbygpaw said:

According to this, and given the huge dollars they receive and spend on athletics, Auburn and TAM yield a very poor return on investment. The question for both is “why.” 

Meddling donors. Both schools have mega donors who insist  on having it their way and hiring culture guys who fit into the Auburn culture so much, they get comfortable and complacent, and just slide right into the good ole boy network. 

Edited April 5 by AuCivilEng1