So Much for That "Friendly Rivalry": Why the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers Hate Each Other, and Should
by T Kyle King on Jun 14, 2011 8:30 AM EDT
in SEC Football
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PrintOn Monday, I was contacted by a reader who frequents both Dawg Sports and "The Bunker," Rivals.com’s subscription-only message board for fans of the Auburn Tigers. (Yes, they call it "The Bunker." I hope for their sakes that they have a greater sense of irony than I suspect they possess, but, if "The Bunker" is intended sincerely, the Auburn faithful should not wonder why they are being lampooned in this manner.)
The reader alerted me to a poll posted at "The Bunker"---seriously, I can’t wrap my head around the lack of self-awareness it would take to give a Tiger message board a name that brings immediately to mind associations with Archie Bunker and Adolf Hitler---following my having raised the question whether, and when, fans of the Georgia Bulldogs should root for their SEC rivals. The poll asked whether Auburn fans would root for the Red and Black or for the Boise St. Broncos on Labor Day weekend. After 257 votes had been cast, Plainsmen partisans preferred BSU by a margin of 165-92.
By way of comparison, the first 123 voters in a Bunker poll asking whether Orange and Blue boosters would be rooting for the LSU Tigers or the Oregon Ducks that same weekend favored their SEC West rivals, 96-27. In other words, while nearly four-fifths of Auburn fans will root for Louisiana State in a non-conference game, nearly two-thirds of Orange and Blue aficionados will cheer against Georgia under the same circumstances.
I, of course, do not mind this in the slightest. A man may be measured as fairly by an assessment of those he chooses to call his enemies as by an evaluation of those he chooses to call his friends, and the Tigers are a good group to have dislike you. My feelings are approximately as wounded by the contempt of Auburn fans as Ronald Reagan’s were by the disdain of the state-controlled Soviet media.
Still, I was curious; I know why we don’t like them, but I was surprised when the person who brought this to my attention---who, despite being an Auburn fan, is a reasonable individual with whom my exchange was entirely cordial---reported that Tiger fans’ feelings toward Bulldog fans had soured after last year’s game. What, I wondered, had provoked the Plainsmen’s ire? Was it Nick Fairley’s repeated attempts to injure Aaron Murray, or the way two Auburn defenders got themselves ejected for engaging in fisticuffs? Was it perhaps the fact that the Tigers won for the first time in five years? What, precisely, would justify an Auburn fan being mad at Georgia fans after last year’s game?
I was told they were offended by how outspoken we were in our disdain. They viewed the physical nature of last year’s game as more of a back-and-forth affair than a one-sided display of cheap-shot artistry, but, more than that, they were annoyed by our conviction that Auburn was guilty of some wrongdoing in the recruitment of Cameron Newton.
The NCAA, I was informed, has found nothing. Eric Ramsey is the only player proven to have received illegal benefits since the 1950s. Terry Bowden retracted his statements, and, anyway, I haven’t heard the tapes. The four players from the HBO special have axes to grind. Cecil Newton’s request for $180,000 from the Mississippi St. Bulldogs burned any bridges that would’ve led him to Starkville, I was told, so he came to Auburn, where the coaching staff didn’t know what they were getting, and wouldn’t have risked their careers by doing something so dumb.
They’re mad at us because we don’t buy that.
They’re mad at us because we refuse to lend credence to their claims that Fairley was blocked into Murray’s knee or significance to the fact that our players crossed the sideline and stood there. They’re mad at us because we recall that it took the NCAA years to investigate the USC Trojans before eventually finding the evidence that proved the allegations about Reggie Bush. They’re mad at us because we wonder whether, amid all the regularly recurring (and rather consistent) smoke surrounding the Loveliest Village, there might be fire. They’re mad at us because we point out that Terry Bowden’s severance package contained a nondisparagement provision that gives him a strong incentive to deny saying on tape things that might have violated that provision and required him to forfeit some or all of his buyout money.
They’re mad at us for noting that Newton, far from being an unknown quantity, was sought by Urban Meyer, one of the most accomplished recruiters in the game, before guiding Blinn College to a junior college national championship and earning an All-American honorable mention in the process. He came out of the Brenham, Tex., institution as a five-star prospect, the country’s most heavily recruited juco quarterback, and Rivals.com’s No. 1-rated high school or juco quarterback in the land. They’re mad at us for pointing out that their claims that Newton was no one special at the time sound eerily similar to Pete Carroll’s claims that "Reggie Bush wasn’t Reggie Bush." They’re mad at us for asking whether believing Gene Chizik and Trooper Taylor would do something stupid is really that far-fetched.
They’re mad at us for our impertinence in asking whether it might be more than mere coincidence that a player we know was shopped around by a father seeking pay for play ended up at a program which has been the subject of repeated allegations, both historically and presently, of providing improper inducements, including cold hard cash, to student-athletes.
As bizarre and baffling as their acrimony seems to us in Bulldog Nation, there can be little doubt that the Auburn fan who brought this to my attention is right about the Tiger fans’ feelings. Our SB Nation colleagues at Track ‘Em Tigers have said so themselves, and repeated it recently, flailing wildly with broadsides about player misbehavior in apparent obliviousness to the fact that we haven’t had a player arrest since October 11, and, when our athletes do make the news, it’s for saving children from drowning.
I don’t hold it against them, of course. I hate Auburn---you heard it here first---so I can’t really blame them for hating us back. Notwithstanding all that "friendly rivalry" nonsense you sometimes hear, we both regard the other side as a bunch of sons of bitches. That is inherent in the nature of rivalry, and, if they don’t want to root for us, that’s fine; I plan on rooting against them at least twelve times next year, so I expect no less in return.
Getting mad at us after a game in which their players (not ours) were ejected, at a time when their program (not ours) was being investigated by the NCAA, though? That’s just ridiculous. Our guys crossed a sideline; their guys threw punches. Our guys piled on a late-hit artist; their guy deliberately tried to inflict career-ending injuries on our quarterback. Our star receiver sold a jersey; their star quarterback was put on the auction block by his father . . . and they’re mad at us? For crying out loud, this was the game that caused more than one of the Georgia fans who’ve asked me over the years why I hate Auburn to come to me and say, "Now I know." Auburn fans who are irate with Georgia fans after that game are practicing a level of cognitive dissonance that rises to the level of caricature.
Cam Newton is a minister’s son; I’ll bet he’s familiar with Matthew 7:3. It sounds like more than a few Auburn fans aren’t. Maybe they could use a Bible in the Bunker.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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He's just a whiner PAAAUUULLL!!!!
That seems to be the sentiment right now, they’re all mad at us because we “whined” after that game. Like we’re supposed to say “great game” after their star DT tries to kill our QB, and their allegedly bought and paid for QB is the deciding factor (don’t kid yourselves Auburn, you’d be at best 9-4 without Cam Newton). There have been legitimately 3-4 posts on that site about UGA fans whining over the game, which of course just turns into whining about UGA fans. I am definitely one of those people, Kyle, who before that game never saw exactly why you hated Auburn so much. Now I do.
You're just a hater.*
* – I did not just call you a hater.
by vineyarddawg on Jun 14, 2011 10:09 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Count me in as well.....
I will be pulling for them to lose at least 8 games this fall. Hell, I hope the Gators beat them (as well as Mississippi State, Clemson, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Bama and of course us Dawgs). AU is certainly enjoying their bogus moment and Yes, they have only rented the BCS trophy for 5 years or so, just like Southern Cal did. Are they going to ship it off to TCU when they are stripped of it? They’ve been panhandling for the 2004 crystal for almost a year now. Cam Newton will wish his dad had been that whacko preacher out here in CA instead of Reverend Cecil before all of this is finally done. Doesn’t surprise me at all to see the Addams, whoops, the Auburn Family go all in on Cheating and Dirty Play, the twin cornerstones of their “tradition.”
Why a Bible?
Wouldn’t an audio recording of the Scriptures make more sense as a gift for the Bunker? After all, if you send them a book….
Even in audio form The Bible has an awful lot of really big words.
We might want to send them one where they can follow along using all the pretty pictures:
"If there's one thing worse than chlamydia, it's Florida." ~ Emma Stone
I've said it before and I'll say it again here...
…people don’t realize just how large of a percentage of the student body (and eventually the alumni) at Auburn grew up in Georgia, applied to UGA, got denied, then attended Auburn.
This, understandably, breeds a good bit of anger toward our University.
Dawg fan by birth,
no longer in Beaumont by the grace of God.
by Dawg in Beaumont on Jun 14, 2011 10:38 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
I was gonna say the same thing...
“What do the students of Auburn and Georgia have in common? They all applied to Georgia.”
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jun 14, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Excellent
If you’re happy and hate Auburn clap your hands…(clap clap)
If you think they are ‘a cheatin’ clap your hands…(clap,clap)
Jordan, Chizik, Dye: Un-end-ing legacy of lies
If you’re happy and hate Auburn clap your hands…(clap clap)
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Jun 14, 2011 10:46 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Anybody else notice Track 'em Tigers called UGA fans "sanctimonious?"
An Auburn fan. Calling somebody else “sanctimonious.”
That is all.
"We may have to retire this feature, because the final story in this post will never be topped for sheer Spicy Livin' outside of the silver screen or our own imaginations."
by Silver Britches on Jun 14, 2011 10:51 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
A few months ago, an Auburn fan replied to a comment of mine at EDSBS...
…where he stated that whatever topic it was that we were discussing “didn’t pass the sniff test”. Hilarity ensued. I didn’t realize that Auburn fans were aware of a sniff test since they sure as hell ignored their own situation not passing the sniff test all last year.
http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/
In earth shattering news
I think I may finally root for Florida to win a game for the first time ever.
I won’t like it…. but I’ll do it.
"If there's one thing worse than chlamydia, it's Florida." ~ Emma Stone
by RedCrake on Jun 14, 2011 10:58 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
In such a bind, you can always root for the ol' Meteor...
or the terrorists. If a terrorist chose to bomb a Fla/Aub game, I’d argue for leniency in the sentencing.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jun 14, 2011 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Or
Barring terrorist activity or an act of God, perhaps Muschamp and Trooper can get into a swinging towel/fist fight pre-game resulting in multiple suspensions.
"If there's one thing worse than chlamydia, it's Florida." ~ Emma Stone
by RedCrake on Jun 14, 2011 11:49 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Wrong answer.
The correct answer is that when Auburn plays Florida, we hope for a rehash of the Auburn-Mississippi State game when Auburn won 3-2, but looked so horrible doing it that even their own fans were too ashamed to brag about the win.
(I hate Florida.)
by vineyarddawg on Jun 14, 2011 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions
A Real Service
Mr. King (may I call you “Reverend?”), thanks much for performing a real service. It’s important to be reminded from time to time just how appropriate it is to despise the football program on the Plains, and why we’re entitled to wholly sympathize with Bama fans in this one regard.
Why I love UGA fans
If the Crimson Tide represents the USA, I count you Bulldogs as my British allies.
We may have had our conflicts in the past (and may very well have them in the future), but presently we stand united, aligned against all that is evil in the world.
Audemus jura nostra defendere
Every day we make it, we'll make it the best we can.
by animalcracker on Jun 14, 2011 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Well... I guess there are some subtle resemblances...
by vineyarddawg on Jun 14, 2011 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Quick question
Is the plank in Auburn’s eye YellaWood?
"If there's one thing worse than chlamydia, it's Florida." ~ Emma Stone
by RedCrake on Jun 14, 2011 11:51 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 6 recs
I had to look that passage up, too...
and thought the same thing;-)
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Jun 14, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Brilliant sir
Dawg fan by birth,
no longer in Beaumont by the grace of God.
by Dawg in Beaumont on Jun 14, 2011 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Oddly Kyle, I was contemplating a "I still hate Auburn" fanpost
Unlike many, however, I wasn’t an Auburn hater before last year. I wasn’t a fan, don’t get me wrong, but i liked our rivalry. Go to youtube and look up the Fairley hits on our QB. The grinding of his face mask, completely intentional, in his chin. I can’t hardly find an Auburn fan that condemns the behavior in that game, and that is what makes me hate them so much. Fairley lowered his head and ran it into the spine of Murray, and the AU crowd said “he was already in motion.” or something. Team after team and coach after coach filed complaints for his dirty play and I still, for the life of me, can’t understand how he got away with it. As far as Cam goes – great role model for AU. He gets kicked around 3 different schools and manages one year at Auburn and they get a trophy. Remember his speech after the NC? I will quote for ya, “I want to thank my supporting cast” Is there anything more arrogant and narcissistic than that? He may have been a great performer on the field, but off the field he probably can’t do his ABC’s and add 1+1 and no one is going to look to him for any kind of role model wisdom or advice. I would rather not win a NC if I had to do it the way Auburn did, and if simply owning the trophy is all it means to you, then you can have it. For me, how you get there is just as important as how you bought got it.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Jun 14, 2011 1:27 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
This^^^^^
I always enjoyed the games with Auburn, but the play that still pisses me off now is the one where NF ground AM’s face mask in to his chin. This one annoys me even more than the late hit (even though that one was awful as well). It was just the intention involved in this one that builds up a white hot hate for the Auburn tigers/wareagles/plainsmen. I want CMR and the Dawgs to stomp a mud hole in to them this year that hurts for the rest of their lives, and makes them hate the Dawgs even more.
Is it bad that of The Three Rivals, I find my Gator fan friends to be the most rational?
I say that even though the couple I have hold some pretty out there views on our program (for example, legitimately think we should have fired Richt after the DJ Shockley SEC Championship year).
Tech fans still brag about the 45-42 win a couple of seasons ago. Auburn fans do this. And through it all, GATORS seem the most rational. The disconnect in my mind to realize that is just astounding.
That said, I laugh at any claims by Auburn of calling us THUGA or whatever hilarious. We’re not the team that racked up 77 points in one single Fulmer Cup incident (and have so far accumulated only 81 on the year). Sure, we can say the Fulmer Cup is arbitrary in its point values, but when you have four players arrested for 24 felonies (and four misdemeanors) from one chain of events, you lose your right to call other schools thugs for at least five years. That’s without even mentioning that our Fulmer Cup year was built almost entirely on driving infractions.
by The984 on Jun 14, 2011 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
right on about the thugs
Every time I see someone commit to Auburn, I think to myself, “Probably a hoodlum anyway.”
And I hate to generalize all the players at AU in this manner, gotta be at least one or two w/o a criminal record.
Aaron Murray for Heisman!!
by samxrm on Jun 14, 2011 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I have hated Auburn since 1971
It always bothered me that Auburn was about equal with UGA in the all-time series. How could that be? They SHOULD BE the Mississippi State of Alabama, and we should beat them 60-70 percent of the time instead of 49% of the time. The school is in the middle of nowhere – the campus is NOT attractive, Alabama dominates the state, how could they be our equal?
It finally dawned on me that the answer is that the cheat, and their athletic program is a virtual criminal enterprise with Bobby Lowder leading the way.
That and you gotta admit...
it may be due to some academic shenanigans (an illiterate James Brooks, the sociology stuff, etc) they do a damn good job of finding talent for a team that doesn’t have it’s first pick anywhere (they hit Florida a lot, but would be behind local schools for most kids, they can’t beat Bama much head to head in in-state recruiting, nor Georgia if they cross the border except maybe pockets of nearby Columbus).
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
how did it feel rooting against Auburn 13 times last year and having to watch Auburn celebrate everytime?
by David Michael Buxton on Jun 14, 2011 3:31 PM EDT reply actions
We rooted against Auburn 14 times last year
by elfcrash on Jun 14, 2011 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
No...
The 14th time you were rooting against their plane.
Nah, then everyone would have felt sad for them
I wanted them to be humiliated on an epic scale on national television
and this
is why we hate you. If you read my post, you will see I wasnt against AU until I saw how dirty and rotten you were.
Furthermore, as elfcrash just beat me to it, you can’t count the 14th, because it will be taken away from you in due time.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
really? you’re doing that? i actually gave yall credit for being smart enough to root for the SEC in the national championship, i guess yall arent that smart, also, two words CHOP BLOCK… i’d hit yalls weak as QB late too if people were chop blocking me all game
by David Michael Buxton on Jun 14, 2011 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Thank you . . .
. . . for confirming all my stereotypes about Auburn fans.
Have a great day!
Go 'Dawgs!
Again with Auburn fans bringing up chop blocks
Google “Chop Block U.” Almost every link points that to Auburn.
Really...just stop typing...
…you take all doubt about your ignorance out of the conversation. So your fans are rooting for BSU to beat the Dawgs in the Dome, but we were supposed to root for you in the TMNC? (TMNC = temporary mythical national championship)
BTW…as far as the chop blocks go that never started until NF continued his punk ass behavior.
You ought to know
If anybody has had to watch a rival succeed over and over again, it’s Auburn.
"We may have to retire this feature, because the final story in this post will never be topped for sheer Spicy Livin' outside of the silver screen or our own imaginations."
by Silver Britches on Jun 14, 2011 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sigh.
Better to wake up a Bulldog that lost than an asshole Tiger that won. Anyday. Everyday.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Jun 14, 2011 7:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
for grown men, yall sure cry a lot
The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010-2011 college football season. The Tigers, led by second year head coach Gene Chizik, were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers completed a 13–0 season record and defeated South Carolina in the 2010 SEC Championship Game. On January 10, 2011, Auburn defeated Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game, 22–19, winning their first undisputed national championship in school history. The Tigers’ previous national title came in 1957(ROFL), when the Associated Press crowned them as their national champions.
by David Michael Buxton on Jun 14, 2011 3:37 PM EDT reply actions
I would say "undisputed" is your point of view.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
Say...
weren’t you on probation in 1957, too? Or fixin’ to be?
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Well, to be fair...
… “fixin’ to be” covers most of Auburn’s football history.
by vineyarddawg on Jun 14, 2011 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions
When I read that, DavetheDawg, I laughed so hard, I wept.
Say . . . David Michael Buxton is right! We do cry a lot!
Go 'Dawgs!
Deep South's Oldest Rivalry 2010
In the 114th renewal of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Auburn defeated Georgia 49-31. The Bulldogs led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter thanks to three touchdown passes by redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, but Auburn fought back to tie the game at 21-21 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen with 51 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Tigers began the third quarter by recovering an onsides kick. Senior kicker Wes Byrum recovered his own kick at the Auburn 41 yard line. Nine plays later, Onterrio McCalebb rushed two yards for a touchdown, and Auburn went ahead 28-21. It was the first time Auburn had led in the game since the Bulldogs tied the game near the midway point of the first quarter. Auburn’s lead was short-lived, as the Bulldogs tied the game at 28-28 six plays later on seven yard run by Washaun Ealey.
The Tigers went ahead for good on the ensuing drive. The Tigers began at their own 19 yard line, and on the first play from scrimmage, McCalebb rushed for 48 yards to the Georgia 33 yard line. Four successive runs by freshman tailback Michael Dyer and a one yard run by Newton gave the Tigers a first and goal opportunity at the Bulldogs 4 yard line. McCalebb scored his third touchdown of the day, and the Tigers went ahead 35-31. The Bulldogs finished their scoring for the day on 28-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter, but the Tigers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
As it had been throughout much of the season, the Auburn offense was led by quarterback Cam Newton. He passed for 148 yards and rushed for 151 yards. The Tigers’ victory ended a four-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.
by David Michael Buxton on Jun 14, 2011 3:41 PM EDT reply actions
then dont respond to me idiot, its that simple
by David Michael Buxton on Jun 14, 2011 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions
You really need to have thicker skin if you're going to troll
You can’t get all upset just because someone called you boring, especially when your attempt to stir up the locals consisted of copying from a wikipedia page. As someone who trolls somewhat often, I must say I’m disappointed in this effort.
elfcrash
KING OF TROLLS
Audemus jura nostra defendere
Every day we make it, we'll make it the best we can.
by animalcracker on Jun 14, 2011 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Exactly.
This echidna isn’t even worth the time and effort for me to post the picture.
In fact, keep feeding him. Maybe we’ll actually get something entertaining out of him after a while.
by vineyarddawg on Jun 14, 2011 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Not sure he'll be back.
All of his comments predate Kyle’s response. I’m not sure his case was dismissed, but the judge at least circulated the draft opinion.
by first and thom on Jun 14, 2011 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
I have to ask you f&t yesterday we had fun didn’t we?
it's not that you are stupid, it's just that you don't suspect!
Nothing is good nor bad until compared to something else.
by Darth Prophet on Jun 14, 2011 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice job with your cut and paste (s)....which is about right for an auburn fan.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
You're not allowed to get all sarcastic about posts
When yours is just cutting and pasting.
This is all that needs said:
I can bake like a demon.
by podunkdawg on Jun 14, 2011 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
TL;DR.
Just kidding; it’s nice to see an Auburn fan reciting facts for a change.
Could you provide an equally detailed account of the four previous series meetings before last year’s? I’d be interested in hearing about those, too. Really, I’d be interested in hearing about six of the eight series meetings preceding last year’s meeting.
Go 'Dawgs!
Would It Reach Too Far
To paraphrase this post in 2 words?
Inferiority Complex
by Hogbody Spradlin on Jun 14, 2011 5:29 PM EDT reply actions
This post and the comments warm my black heart.
That is all.
by NCT on Jun 14, 2011 6:57 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
The sites original name was Bob’s Country Bunker, but it was changed after they received a cease and desist letter from Warner Brothers.
"Be polite to everyone you meet, but be prepared to kill anyone"-tc16cav
by otisnixon'sparty on Jun 15, 2011 12:22 AM EDT reply actions
After much commentary and thought - this is what it's about:
Auburn fans care that we hate them. We don’t give a flying……if they hate us or not. Auburn is like Tech but with a horribly worse education. Auburn aint Bama when it comes to banners, and Auburn aint UGA win it comes to likability and the concept of not being lying, cheating thugs. So what, you won a NC, and it is mired in shit, and won with players and staff of highly questionable character. Take that trophy and shove it up your ass.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Jun 15, 2011 2:34 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Ok Ill try to be a sane Auburn fan
Ok yall hate us. Thats cool. Its what rivals are supposed to do. So I applaud you for acting normal. I dont personally hate Georgia but I guess I cant speak for every Auburn fan. I found it interesting about your post about how many students who dont get into UGA go to Auburn as their backup. Currently about 20% of the Auburn student population calls Georgia their home state. https://oira.auburn.edu/factbook/enrollment/newstudents/sofstate.aspx . Also, overall Auburn has an out of state student body of about 50% http://www.auburn.edu/admissions/auburn/student-profile.html .
If we are going to judge academics, Auburn and UGA are very similar which is quite remarkable considering the Hope scholarship and what benefits it offers. http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/Georgia.htm
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/Auburn_Profile.htm (tried to use the same site so I was not bias in my choice of data)
I personally did not grow up in Georgia but if given the Hope scholarship I would have probably gone to Tech or Georgia (economical sense). We all know (or maybe you dont) that out of state tuition is crazy expensive. So here is my question of your hypothesis that students who dont get into Georgia go to Auburn. If I am a Georgia student and dont get into Georgia why would I want to go to Auburn and pay an extra 20 grand a semester. Economically this does not make sense unless your just swimming in cash you can burn. It would make more sense to go to a smaller school your first year and then transfer in. The alternative solution is that students from Georgia are choosing to go to Auburn over Georgia. Now ill explain why I think this first. Auburn has started giving out of state scholarships that covers about 2/3 of the expenses. The last third is covered by the hope scholarship. http://www.auburn.edu/scholarship/academic-scholarships.html These scholarships are attracting Georgian high school students each year to come to the plains at no extra cost compared to a in state school. (provided they make the grades)
My point is first it does not make economic sense at all to go to Auburn if you cant get into Georgia. My second point is that it is remarkable that Auburn and Georgia share close freshmen class statistics given that Georgia students can go to Georgia for free and Auburn students can not go to Auburn for free. It really should be that Auburn is unable to keep up with Georgia’s ability to attract bright students given the larger population and grater pool of financial aid however this stands to not be the case. For some reason or another bright students from the wonderful state of Georgia do decide to cross the state line and attend Auburn instead of becoming bulldogs or yellow jackets.
First of all, redheadcheme, I thank you for your cordial tone.
This was not your first comment here, and I have appreciated your participation, which has been both civil and insightful.
You make a number of fair points. I wonder to what extent geography and family history are involved. I would wager that a large number of the native Georgians who choose to attend Auburn are from West Georgia, and likely from the Columbus area. Obviously, Columbus is much nearer to Auburn than it is to Athens, and there are very significant numbers of Auburn alumni living in the Atlanta and Columbus areas. I do not know, but would not be surprised to learn, that a large percentage of the Georgians who attend Auburn are (a) from West Georgia and/or (b) the offspring of Auburn alumni living in Georgia. Cost and academics are strong factors that influence a high school senior’s college choice, but geography and family history are important components, as well.
Go 'Dawgs!
Agreed
I was taught growing up when you go into someone elses house you wipe your shoes and mind your manners. I try to do the same here. This is Georgia territory and I try to respect it.
But you are absolutely right about geography and parental upbringing/brainwashing having a strong strong influence on college choice. In the South were all passionate about our school of choice. But we are also passionate about our own families. Both of my parents (and grandparents) went to Auburn and I am currently at Auburn. I remember when I got a packet in the mail from UGA recruiting me my dad told me he couldnt imagine his son starting to bark like a dog. It was a joke but in some sense I know he and my Mom are both glad I chose Auburn and it meant alot to them. This situation is probably similar for bulldog families as well (except the whole going to UGA thing and a different joke). And your right Auburn gets a ton of students from the Atlanta and Columbus areas. Weekend trips home to get laundry done and free food are a big perk at times.
by redheadcheme on Jun 15, 2011 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Economics notwithstanding
I personally know several folks from both Columbus and metro Atlanta whose kids went to Auburn after they did not get admitted to Georgia. Many of these are from parents who went to Georgia or whose parents went to schools other than Georgia and Auburn. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any in this group whose parents went to Auburn.
It is possible, of course, that the decision for these kids to go to AU had nothing to do with their not being admitted to UGA. But there it is.
I’m sure Auburn’s doing a lot better than it once was. I know UGA is. I also know I was admitted to Auburn without ever applying, which left a strong impression on me. That was a long time ago, and I don’t know if they maintain that practice.
And, of course, my parents made it quite clear that I could go to school anywhere I wanted, but if I expected any assistance from them, it would be somewhere other than Auburn University.
I would not be accepted to my Alma Mater today I dont think. But I would still get into AU.
As most know, the hope scholarship has forced UGA to end up with a lot of non native Georgians, and raising the academic standards significantly.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
You assume too much.
If I am a Georgia student and dont get into Georgia why would I want to go to Auburn and pay an extra 20 grand a semester. Economically this does not make sense unless your just swimming in cash you can burn. It would make more sense to go to a smaller school your first year and then transfer in.
I don’t think you recognize the type of student that would choose to attend Auburn under these circumstances. It is your traditional middle/upper class student who wants to please mama & daddy while having fun at an SEC school. Going to “a smaller school” and then transferring into UGA just isn’t in the picture for a lot of those kids.
Audemus jura nostra defendere
Every day we make it, we'll make it the best we can.
by animalcracker on Jun 17, 2011 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
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