Auburn University traditions
[2] Auburn's alma mater was composed by Bill Wood in 1924, with revision to its lyrics by Emma O'Rear Foy in 1960.
[3] On the rolling plains of Dixie 'Neath the sun-kissed sky, Proudly stands our Alma Mater Banners high.
Hear the student voices swelling, Echoes strong and clear, Adding laurels to thy fame Enshrined so dear.
From the hallowed walls we'll part, And bid thee sad adieu; Thy sacred trust we'll bear with us The ages through.
Originally the first verse and refrain were: On the rolling plains of Dixie 'Neath its sun-kissed sky, Proudly stands our Alma Mater
Hail thy colors orange and blue, (note, "We" of the modern version is a rest in the original) Unfurled unto the sky, [ And to | To you ] our Alma Mater we'll be true,
Auburn University's fight song, "War Eagle", was written in 1954 and 1955 by Robert Allen and Al Stillman.
The carillon in the Samford Hall clock tower play the fight song every day at noon.
As part of this celebration, the football team plays a scrimmage game that gives Auburn fans a chance to preview the Tigers before the fall.
During his tenure, coach Doug Barfield urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did, including the person responsible for starting this tradition: Dick Andrews.
To date, the largest Tiger Walk occurred on December 2, 1989, before the first-ever home football game against rival Alabama—the Iron Bowl.
According to former athletic director David Housel, Tiger Walk has become "the most copied tradition in all of college football.
During away football games, when employees of the local drug store received news of a win, they would throw the ticker tape from the telegraph onto the power lines.
The apocryphal ticker tape origins are frequently taught prospective students and incoming freshman in various orientation activities, though there is zero evidence to support the theory.
The student government association worked with the City of Auburn to bring pep rallies on the plains back to Toomer's Corner during football season.
On January 27, 2011, a caller to the Paul Finebaum Radio Network who identified himself as "Al from Dadeville" claimed to have poisoned the oaks at Toomer's Corner with Spike 80DF, a potent commercial herbicide containing tebuthiuron, after Auburn's defeat of Alabama in the 2010 Iron Bowl.
[9] Subsequent soil tests showed high concentrations of the poison around the trees, and experts did not expect them to survive.
[12] After an investigation, Auburn city police, on February 17, 2011, arrested Harvey Updyke Jr., a 62-year-old man from Dadeville, and charged him with criminal mischief, a class C felony in Alabama.
The conditions of his probation included a 7 p.m. curfew and bans on talking to the news media, entering the Auburn campus, or attending a college sporting event.
[18] Tree experts worked for more than two years to save the Toomer's oaks, but, in the end, the efforts were not successful.
His style is to mix tiger and human traits such as using props, riding a moped, leading the band, and performing clownish pranks.
Aubie made his debut in 1979 and is a popular beloved character among Auburn fans and one of the more animated mascots in the country.
In 1979, James Lloyd, spirit director for the Auburn Student Government Association, brought Aubie to life when he ordered a man-sized Tiger costume based upon the cartoon and wore it to the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament.
The story tells of a Civil War veteran and his pet eagle he had found on a battlefield and rescued.
[29] According to the story, the train carrying the Georgia Tech team slid through town and didn't stop until it was halfway to the neighboring town of Loachapoka, Alabama, The Georgia Tech team was forced to walk the five miles back to Auburn and, not surprisingly, was weary at the end of their journey, likely contributing to their subsequent 45–0 loss.
This tradition was recently renewed in 2003 and 2005, when Georgia Tech returned to Auburn's schedule after nearly two decades of absence.
Hey Day is a tradition that takes place in both the fall and spring semesters dedicated to promoting friendliness on Auburn's campus.
