Auburn to recognize seven additional national championships

For many years Auburn fans have been fighting to get the university to claim championships that were legitimately won . The time has finally come. Auburnundercover.com has learned that Auburn will recognize nine total national championships that were awarded by various polls and services, adding seven titles to the Auburn record books. Like other schools have done in the past, Auburn will now rightfully claim the titles that were won.

When contacted for a statement, Auburn AD John Cohen sent this statement on Auburn's change to recognize these titles:

"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. 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."

In addition to 1957 and 2010, Auburn will recognize the 1910, 1913, 1914, 1958, 1983, 1993 and 2004 teams as national champions.

Five of these teams (1913, 1957, 1983, 1993, 2010) are formally recognized in the NCAA Football Record Book as national champions because they were awarded by NCAA-recognized independent selectors. The other four were awarded national titles, but by selectors not formally recognized by the NCAA.

Auburn is also expected to add SIAA Conference titles in 1904, 1908 and 1910 to push the total of conference championships to 15.

Here is a list of Auburn's national championship teams that will be recognized beginning this season inside Jordan-Hare Stadium as well as on AuburnTigers.com and in the media guide.

1910 (6-1, 5-0 SIAA)

Coached by Mike Donahue, Auburn was 6-1 on the season and 5-0 in the SIAA. The only loss on the season came 9-0 to Texas with Auburn winning the rest of the games in shutout fashion, outscoring the opposition 176-0 in six victories.

1913 (8-0 SIAA)

Coached by Donahue, the team played just two games at home and outscored opponents 224-13. In 1999, the Billingsley Report retroactively recognized the team as the national champions. Kirk Newell was the star player for the Tigers, rushing for more than 1,700 yards. He was later enshrined in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

1914 (8-0-1, 4-0-1 SIAA)

Retroactively awarded a national championship by James Howell's computer rating system, Auburn outscored its opponents 193-0 that season with the tie coming in a scoreless game against Georgia in Atlanta. That season Auburn played three games at home in Auburn, two home games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham and also a home game at Grant Field in Atlanta.

1957 (10-0, 7-0 SEC)

Shug Jordan's team dominated the competition on the way to the national championship. The Tigers didn't allow more than a touchdown in any game with six shutouts. One of those was a 40-0 victory over Alabama in the Iron Bowl. For the season they outscored opponents 207-28.

1958 (9-0-1, 6-0-1 SEC

After winning the championship the year before, the Tigers had another dominant season in 1958 with the only blemish a 7-7 tie against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Tigers played four home games at Cliff Hare Stadium and played both Tennessee and Alabama at Legion Field in Birmingham.

1983 (11-1, 6-0 SEC)

A team that was named a national champion by Billingsley and New York Times and a co-champion by Rothman and Sagarin, the 1983 Tigers faced the toughest schedule in the country in 1983 with the only loss coming to Texas in week two of the season. Coming down the stretch that season, Auburn defeated No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Maryland, No. 4 Georgia and No. 19 Alabama before beating No. 8 Michigan in the Sugar Bowl.

1993 (11-0, 8-0 SEC)

Terry Bowden's first season at Auburn was a memorable one with the Tigers going undefeated with big wins over Florida and Alabama highlighting an undefeated season. The National Championship Foundation recognized Auburn as its national champion that season. Ineligible for postseason play, Auburn finished as the only undefeated power program in the country that season.

An interesting sidenote is that Oklahoma was on probation in 1974 and was awarded the AP title that season despite being ineligible for postseason play.

2004 (13-0, 8-0 SEC)

One of the most talented teams in Auburn history, the 2004 Tigers got by No. 5 LSU early in the season and then a blowout win at Tennessee propelled them to an undefeated season that culminated with a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. With USC and Oklahoma both unbeaten, Auburn was left out of the title game but named national champions by several independent services. USC beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, but was stripped of its title in 2011 and it remains vacated.

2010 (14-0, 8-0 SEC)

Led by Cam Newton and dominating defensive tackle Nick Fairley, Auburn got hard-fought wins over Mississippi State and Clemson early and finished with wins over six ranked teams by the time they dispatched Oregon in the BCS title game in Glendale, Arizona. The game of the year came in Tuscaloosa when the Tigers came back from a 24-0 deficit to beat Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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