The Auburn Tigers made a big statement this week to bring their football program to the very upper echelon of the sport \u2014 at least in terms of claimed national titles.<\/p>\n
It was confirmed by the school on Tuesday that they are recognizing seven national titles in addition to the two they already claimed, bringing their total of claimed titles to nine.<\/p>\n
The new years include 1910, 1913, 1914, 1958, 1983, 1993 and 2004, all years in which at least one voting population picked Auburn as their national champion. Athletics director John Cohen released a statement on the decision and hopes that the history of the program will be bolstered by the new claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program\u2019s storied history \u2013 choosing to recognize only Associated Press National Championships,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cStarting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn\u2019s proud history\u2026Our visible National Championship recognitions now align with the well-established standard used by the NCAA\u2019s official record book and our peers across the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision not only gives Pat Dye a national title in 1983, but also addresses one of the most controversial decisions in the history of the sport with Tommy Tuberville\u2019s undefeated 2004 team.<\/p>\n
Despite being undefeated, the Tigers were denied a chance to play in the title game and instead won the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 10 in the AP Poll.<\/p>\n
The new years join recognized titles in both 1957 as well as 2010, putting Auburn seventh all-time in claimed titles. Princeton and Yale lead the way with 28 and 27, respectively, and in third is Alabama with 18 before Michigan with 12 as well as Notre Dame and USC with 11 each.<\/p>\n
The Tigers join Ohio State and Pittsburgh with nine each.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"