Aubie

Aubie, Auburn's costumed Tiger mascot, is in his 31st year as a spirit leader and goodwill ambassador for Auburn University.

A popular character among Auburn fans and one of the more animated mascots in the country, Aubie has been on the job since 1979.

Aubie's existence began as a cartoon character that first appeared on the Auburn/Hardin-Simmons football program cover on Oct. 3, 1959. Birmingham Post-Herald artist Phil Neel created the cartoon Tiger who continued to adorn Auburn program covers for 18 years.

Aubie's look changed through the years. In 1962, he began to stand upright and the next year, 1963, wore clothes for the first time—a blue tie and straw hat.

Aubie's appearances on game programs proved to be somewhat of a good luck charm for Coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan's teams. The Tigers were victorious in the first nine games he graced the cover and, in his first six years, Auburn posted a 23-2-1 home record. Auburn's home record during the 18 years Aubie served as cover tiger was 63-16-2.

Aubie's last appearance on the game program cover was Oct. 23, 1976, when Auburn downed Florida State, 31-19, but Aubie returned to Auburn's cover against Alabama on Nov. 30, 1991, Auburn's last home game at Legion Field.

Aubie Facts:   Aubie's Website: http://www.auburn.edu/aubie   First Year as Costumed Mascot: 1979   First Costume Designer: Brooks-Van Horn Costumes, New York, N.Y.   Other Costume Designers: Bienville Costumes, Mobile, Ala.; BTS Productions, Auburn.   First Appearance: Auburn men's basketball vs. Vanderbilt, February 28, 1979 at SEC Tournament at Birmingham Jefferson County Civic Center   National Championships: 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006   Mascot Hall of Fame: Aug. 15, 2006   Capital One All-American Mascot Team: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008   Current Friends of Aubie: Logan Matthews (Head Aubie) from Huntsville, Matt Layton from Hoover, and Will Noel from Birmingham

In 1979, Aubie came to life at the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament. James Lloyd, Auburn spirit director for the Student Government Association, with help from the Alumni Association, contacted Brooks-Van Horn Costumes in New York, N.Y. The company was provided with copies of the 1961 Auburn-Alabama and 1962 Auburn-Georgia Tech game programs to use for reference in creating a costume of the cartoon character. The firm, which also provided costumes for Walt Disney, designed and produced a Tiger costume for $1,350. Individual contributions from various Auburn clubs, alumni and friends helped pay for the first costume.

Aubie proudly marched into the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center on Feb. 28, 1979, and helped lead first-year Auburn coach Sonny Smith’s team to an upset of Vanderbilt. The following day, Aubie returned to the arena and the Tigers surprised Georgia in the longest game in SEC tournament history, four overtimes. Before the weekend was complete, Aubie helped lead the ninth-place team in the regular season to the semifinals of the tournament.

Aubie was selected as the nation’s No. 1 college mascot in 1990-91 by the Universal Cheerleader Association as Chris Wood, Mike Jernigan and Rob Thomson represented Aubie in the suit. And the 1994-95 Aubies, Trey Humphreys, Mike Murphy, and Billy Stephens, received No. 1 college mascot again. In 1995-96, the three Aubies, Billy Stephens (head Aubie) of Metarie, La., along with Mike Griffin and Josh Agerton, both of Auburn, claimed the title again. In 1998-99, the Aubie’s, J.G. Carver (head Aubie) of Huntsville, Eric Krausse of Chesterfield, Va., and Brannon McKim of Montgomery captured Auburn’s fourth national championship. Aubie’s fifth national championship was awarded in 2002-03, with the following students representing Aubie in the suit- Taylor Griswold (head Aubie) from Montgomery, Jeremy Legg from Franklin, Tenn., and Trey Mock from Marietta, Ga. The most recent championship was brought home in 2005-06 by Evan Thomas, (head Aubie) from Dothan, David Smith from Ozark and Chris Delvizis from Brentwood, Tenn.

Along with Aubie’s six national championships he was the first collegiate mascot inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. Aubie received this honor at an induction ceremony held in Philadelphia on Aug. 15, 2006, with the following students representing Aubie in the suit- Chris Delvizis (Head Aubie) of Brentwood, Tenn., Justin Shugart of Fairhope and Shelton Tate of Spartanburg, S.C. Donning the Aubie costume this year are Logan Matthews (Head Aubie) from Huntsville, Matt Layton from Hoover, and Will Noel from Birmingham.

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