Auburn University traditions

The Auburn University has a number of traditions.

Traditions

The Auburn Creed

In 1945, Auburn professor George Petrie wrote a creed which grew to become a unifying set of beliefs and principles common to all Auburn students, faculty, and alumni. This creed is said to embody the spirit of Auburn and is reflected in every member of the Auburn family.

Cquote2|I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

I believe in a sound mind, a sound body, and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

I believe in my country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.

Tiger Walk

Two hours before the kickoff of each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Drive to cheer on the team as they walk from Sewell Hall (the athletes' dormitory) to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The tradition began in the 1960s when groups of kids would walk up the street to greet the team and get autographs. During the tenure of coach Doug Barfield, the coach urged fans to come out and support the team, and thousands did. Today the team, led by the coaches, walks down the hill and into the stadium surrounded by fans who pat them on the back and shake their hands as they walk. To date, the largest Tiger Walk occurred on December 2, 1989, before the first ever home football game against rival Alabama—the Iron Bowl. On that day, an estimated 20,000 fans packed the one block section of road leading to the stadium. According to former athletic director David Housel, Tiger Walk has become "the most copied tradition in all of college football." [ [http://espn.go.com/page2/s/maisel/031120auburn.html ESPN.com - Page2 - The best Walk in America ] ]

A-Day

Each spring, a Founder's Day celebration is held in Auburn. 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.

Toomer's Corner

The intersection of Magnolia and College streets in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known as Toomer's Corner. It is named after Toomer's Drugs, a small store on the corner that has been an Auburn landmark for over 100 years. Hanging over the corner are two massive old-growth oak trees, and whenever there is cause for celebration in the Auburn community, the trees are festooned with toilet paper. Also known as "rolling the corner" or "rolling Toomer's," this tradition is said to have begun when Toomer's Drugs had the only telegraph in the city. During away football games, when employees of the local drug store received news of a win, they would roll the oak trees to signal a win to the public. Traditionally only used as a way to celebrate football victories, in recent years it has become a way to celebrate anything good that happens concerning Auburn. 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.

"War Eagle"

The Auburn University battle cry is "War Eagle". It originated as an expression of support of Auburn's athletic teams, but today is also commonly used as a greeting between members of the Auburn community. The cry is yelled in unison by spectators for kickoffs of football games and tipoffs of basketball games. In 1930, Auburn gained a live golden eagle mascot, known as the "War Eagle". War Eagle VI, also known as "Tiger," recently had her last flight at the 2006 Auburn vs. Georgia game. Today, the seventh War Eagle, nicknamed "Nova", lives at a raptor center on the Auburn campus, and is featured before football games by a flight in which the eagle circles the stadium before landing at mid-field. The Auburn fight song is also titled "War Eagle". Sports Illustrated ranks Tiger as the 7th best mascot in college sports.Fact|date=August 2007

Fight song

Auburn University's fight song, "War Eagle", was written in 1954 and 1955 by Robert Allen and Al Stillman. It was introduced at the beginning of the 1955 football season and served as the official fight song ever since.

"War Eagle" lyrics
War Eagle, fly down the field!
Ever to conquer, never to yield.
War Eagle, fearless and true,
Fight on you orange and blue.
Go! Go! Go!
On to vict'ry, strike up the band!
Give 'em hell, give 'em hell,
Stand up and yell, hey!
War Eagle, win for Auburn,
Power of Dixieland!

Alma mater

Auburn's alma mater was composed by Bill Wood in 1924, with a word revision by Emma O'Rear Foy in 1960. The author of the 1960 revision was unclear for 40 years. In 2000, an Auburn professor, Dale Coleman, discovered the author to be Foy, wife of former Dean of Students James Foy. Ironically, both Dean Foy and the late Mrs. Foy were University of Alabama alumni who nevertheless became two of the most well-known and beloved boosters of Auburn University and its traditions. [cite web|url = http://www.auburn.edu/administration/univrel/news/archive/6_00news/6_00almamater.html|title = AU Prof Discovers Long-Anonymous Author of Alma Mater|accessdate = 2007-09-10|last = Granger|first = David|date = 2000-06-07|publisher = Auburn University]

Auburn Alma Mater Lyrics
On the rolling plains of Dixie
'Neath its sun-kissed sky,
Proudly stands our Alma Mater
Banners high.

To thy name we'll sing thy praise,
From hearts that love so true,
And pledge to thee our loyalty
The ages through.

We hail thee, Auburn, and we vow
To work for thy just fame,
And hold in memory as we do now
Thy cherished name.

Hear the student voices swelling,
Echoes strong and clear,
Adding laurels to thy fame
Enshrined so dear.

From the hollowed walls we'll part,
And bid thee sad adieu;
Thy sacred trust we'll bear with us
The ages through.

We hail thee, Auburn, and we vow
To work for thy just fame,
And hold in memory as we do now
Thy cherished name.

Wreck Tech Pajama Parade

The Wreck Tech Pajama Parade originated in 1896, when a group of mischievous Auburn cadets, determined to show up the more well-known engineers from Georgia Tech, sneaked out of their dorms the night before the football game between Auburn and Tech and greased the railroad tracks. 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. While the railroad long ago ceased to be the way teams traveled to Auburn and students never greased the tracks again, the tradition continued through 1987 in the form of a parade through downtown Auburn, as students paraded through the streets in their pajamas and organizations built floats. This tradition was recently renewed in 2003 and 2005, when Georgia Tech returned to Auburn's schedule after nearly two decades of absence.

The Auburn University Marching Band

The Auburn University Marching Band has been cited as one of the nation's finest university marching bands.Fact|date=August 2007 Founded in 1897, the band has long performed at school football games and pep rallies. The band was awarded the 2004 Sudler Intercollegiate Marching Band Trophy, the nation's highest award for college and university marching bands. The Auburn University Marching Band marched in the United States Presidential Inaugural Parade (for President George W. Bush) in 2005. In 2006, the Auburn University Marching Band had over 375 members, the largest in Auburn University history. The Auburn University Marching Band performed on January 15, 2007 at the Alabama Governor's Inaugural Parade in Montgomery and in 2008 in the St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Limerick and Dublin, Ireland.

The Auburn University Tiger Eyes

The Tiger Eyes are the visual ensemble of the Auburn University Marching Band. The Tiger Eyes are composed of three distinct lines--flags, majorettes, and dancers--that complete complementary choreography. The three lines work together for one common visual effect as one ensemble. Tiger Eyes are selected by individual auditions, [ [http://www.auburn.edu/student_info/auband/tigereyes_auditions.html] ] in which prospective Tiger Eyes audition separately for each line.

Aubie

Birmingham artist Phil Neel first drew the cartoon tiger Aubie in the late 1950s. From 1958 through 1976, Aubie was featured on the cover of all of Auburn’s home football game programs. 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. Barry Mask became the first official Aubie in 1979-80, and his sideline and court-side hijinks created Aubie’s spirited personality.

Recognized as one of the most successful college mascots in history, Aubie recently won his sixth national mascot championship through the Universal Cheerleaders' Association in January 2006. Aubie was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame on August 15, 2006 at Love Park in Philadelphia, Pa. He is one of only three collegiate mascots in the Hall of Fame.

Ask Foy

Ask Foy, or the Foy Information Line, is a telephone and walk-in information service provided by the university and hosted is in the Foy Student Union. The service has been in continuous operation, twenty-four hours a day, since the 1950s.cite web |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21983239/ |title=5 phone numbers that will change your life |accessdate=2008-04-28 |date=2007-11-27 |publisher=MSNBC/Today] The Ask Foy service was initially designed as a resource for Auburn students, who were looking for course information, grades, or campus services, but now accepts calls from the general public. In November 2007, Matt Lauer from the Today Show placed a call to Foy. The call was part of a feature in O Magazine called "Phone numbers that can change your life." [Today Show calls Foy Student Union - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI1IDHYxz0I ]

References