On Tuesday, Auburn football announced it will be claiming four new national titles: 1910 (new), 1914 1958 and 2004. Shortly after the announcement, Alabama senator and former Auburn head coach (1999-2008) Tommy Tuberville reacted to his 2004 team officially claiming the national title.
“I want to congratulate the 2004 Auburn Tigers football team on being recognized as the true national champions of college football of 2004,” Tuberville said. “There is no doubt that the 2004 Auburn team was the best team in the country. For the entire season, we went undefeated and had four wins over top-10 teams.
“Not only were our players great athletes, but they were great young men. They were unselfish and they played for each other. Some players had opportunities to go to the NFL Draft after the 2003 season, but returned for their senior year, because they loved our team and they loved Auburn, and that’s why we were so successful.”
Auburn previously only recognized five national titles: 1913, 1957, 1983, 1993 and 2010. Now, the program will claim nine total national championships.
With Tuberville as head coach, Auburn posted a perfect 13-0 record in 2004. However, the team was excluded from the national championship game after finishing third in the BCS rankings. USC won the national championship, but the BCS stripped the Trojans of the title seven years later due to an athletics scandal.
Excluded for the national championship, the Tigers defeated No. 9 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn was ranked No. 2 in both the final AP Poll and Coaches Poll’ of the season. Tuberville was named the AP National Coach of the Year for his efforts.
The team featured four first-round draft picks, including quarterback Jason Campbell. Now, those players and the others on the 2004 roster will be able to call themselves national champions.
“For too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program’s storied history – choosing to recognize only Associated Press National Championships. Starting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn’s proud history,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said.
“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… it’s not about taking anything from anybody else. It’s not about saying you aren’t the champion and we are. It’s about appropriately recognizing those teams that were rewarded by a credible poll. They were a champion.”
