Auburn Tigers NCAA Tournament History: A Legacy Forged on the Hardwood

The Auburn Tigers men's basketball program represents Auburn University, competing in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of NCAA Division I. Playing their home games at Neville Arena on the university campus in Auburn, Alabama, the Tigers have woven a compelling, if not always championship-laden, story in the NCAA Tournament.

Early Years and Breakthroughs

While Auburn is a recognizable program in college basketball today, it doesn’t have a rich NCAA Tournament history. The Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament 14 times in school history. The Tigers made their first appearance in 1984.

Auburn's journey in the NCAA Tournament began in 1984, earning a No. 5 seed in the East Region. However, their inaugural appearance was short-lived, as they fell to No. 12 seed Richmond, 72-71. The following year, as an No. 11 seed, the Tigers fared better, advancing to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 6 seed Purdue and No. 3 seed Kansas before losing to No. 2 seed North Carolina.

The Sonny Smith Era and the Elite Eight

Auburn's deepest tournament run before 2019 was in 1986 when the Tigers reached the Elite Eight. Auburn entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and beat No. 9 Arizona, No. 1 St. John's, and No. 4 UNLV before falling to eventual national champion, Louisville.

The late 1980s marked a period of sustained success for the Tigers, with five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984 to 1988 under coach Sonny Smith. In 1986, the No. 8 seeded Tigers achieved their first Elite Eight appearance, defeating Arizona, St. John's, and UNLV before falling to Louisville, who would go on to win the national championship.

A Return to Prominence and a No. 1 Seed

After a hiatus, Auburn returned to the tournament in 1999 as a No. 1 seed in the South Region, their highest seeding in program history, after claiming the SEC West championship with a 29-4 record. Auburn made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to Ohio State.

The Tigers claimed the No. 10 seed in the East Region and found their way into the Sweet 16 with wins over St. Joseph's and Wake Forest in 2003. Auburn met Carmelo Anthony and the Syracuse Orangemen in the Sweet 16 and gave them a run for their money. Syracuse escaped with a 79-78 win and would go on to win the national championship.

The Bruce Pearl Era: Revitalization and a Final Four Appearance

The Auburn basketball team has been revitalized under Bruce Pearl since they hired him as their head coach in 2014. In 2019 Bruce Pearl led Auburn to the Final Four. Under the guidance of coach Bruce Pearl, who was hired in 2014, Auburn has experienced a resurgence, marked by multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

In 2019, the No. 5 seed Auburn Tigers beat Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament to lock up its first Final Four appearance. Auburn battled Virginia down to the wire, but a controversial foul call allowed Virginia's Kyle Guy to connect on three free throws with less than a second remaining to lift the Cavaliers to a win.

Auburn became the fourth team to punch their ticket to San Antonio, Texas with a win over No. 2 seed Michigan State to win the South Regional and set up an all No. 1 seed Final Four.

Read also: Auburn Student Statistics

This year's appearance marks the second time the Tigers will be in the final Four.

Tournament Appearances and Results

The Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament 14 times in school history. Here's a look at their tournament history:

1984: Lost to Richmond (72-71)
1985: Defeated Purdue, Kansas; Lost to North Carolina
1986: Defeated Arizona, St. John's, UNLV; Lost to Louisville
1987: Defeated San Diego; Lost to Indiana
1988: Defeated Bradley; Lost to Oklahoma
1999: Lost to Ohio State
2000: Defeated Creighton; Lost to Iowa State
2003: Defeated St. Joseph's, Wake Forest; Lost to Syracuse
2018: Lost to Clemson (84-53)
2019: Defeated New Mexico State, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky; Lost to Virginia in the Final Four
2022: Lost to Miami (79-61)
2023: Defeated Iowa; Lost to Houston
2025: Defeated Yale, Oklahoma, Cincinnati; Lost to Florida in the Final Four

Auburn is 1-1 against SEC opponents in the NCAA Tournament all-time. Auburn is 2-5 against No. The group is 23-5 as a starting unit this season.

The Road Ahead

Auburn is currently having its most successful run as a program since the late 80s. The Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament six times since 2018 and each season since 2022.

Under Bruce Pearl, Auburn has developed into a strong program over the last 10 years. The Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament six times since 2018 and each season since 2022.

Auburn basketball reached the Final Four for the first time since 2019, and the No. 1 seed Tigers fell short to Florida.

“I'm really proud of my team, how these guys made history, the best basketball team in the history of Auburn basketball,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “They gave us a ride that won't ever be forgotten.

The air crackles with anticipation, the echoes of buzzer-beaters still reverberating through arenas across the nation.

Auburn basketball learned its NCAA Tournament fate on "Selection Sunday." Auburn will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed of the East Region and will begin its quest for a national championship against No. 13 Yale.

A Program on the Rise

While Auburn has yet to capture a national championship, the program has experienced periods of success and is currently on an upswing under Bruce Pearl. With a dedicated fan base and a commitment to excellence, the Tigers are poised to continue making noise in the NCAA Tournament for years to come.

Facilities and Traditions

Auburn Sports Arena was a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena. Nicknamed "The Barn," it opened in 1946. It was replaced when Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum opened in 1969.

Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum is a 10,500-seat multipurpose arena that opened in 1969 under the name Memorial Coliseum. It was renamed after former player and coach Joel Eaves to Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in 1987.

Auburn boasted a 393-182 (.683) overall record at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Auburn had a winning record at home in 37 of the 42 seasons Auburn played in the Coliseum. Auburn's 30-game home winning streak from the 1997-98 season to the final game of the 1999-2000 season was the longest in Coliseum history. Auburn played its final season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in the 2009-10 season.

On June 29, 2007, Auburn announced plans to build a new $92.5 million basketball arena and practice facilities that would eventually be completed for the 2010-11 season. The arena was initially named Auburn Arena, but later renamed to Neville Arena in 2022. With a seating capacity of 9,121, Neville Arena is the smallest men's basketball arena in the SEC.

The intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in Auburn, which marks the transition from downtown Auburn to the university campus, is known as Toomer's Corner. It is named for businessman and State Senator Sheldon Toomer who founded the Bank of Auburn on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in 1907. Hanging over the corner were two massive southern live oak trees, and anytime anything good happened concerning Auburn, toilet paper could usually be found hanging from the trees. Also known as "rolling the corner" or "rolling Toomer's", this tradition is thought to have originated in the 1950s to celebrate away victories; however, in recent years it has become a way to celebrate anything good that happens concerning Auburn.

Before each Auburn home football game, thousands of Auburn fans line Donahue Avenue to cheer on the team as they walk from the Auburn Athletic Complex 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. Auburn is the first known school to conduct an organized procession of players into the stadium. 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.

Auburn's student section is known as The Jungle. Auburn held a vote to name their student section at the start of the 2011-12 season, and The Jungle was chosen from several options.

Rivalries

Sometimes referred to as the "Iron Bowl of Basketball," Auburn and Alabama have a fierce rivalry that dates back to 1924. Auburn and Alabama first met in the Southern Conference Tournament on March 1, 1924, and Auburn lost 19-40. The two programs did not meet again until 1941 in the SEC tournament, a matchup that Auburn lost again 16-38. The programs have played regularly since 1948, meeting at least twice every season starting in 1949. Auburn and Alabama have met in the SEC Tournament 9 times, including Auburn's 53-49 overtime victory over Alabama in the 1985 SEC Tournament championship game.

Georgia is Auburn's oldest rival, first meeting in 1908 in Columbus, GA. Auburn won that game 34-20. Auburn and Georgia have played at least once every year since 1945.

Though Auburn and UAB have met just 21 times, the two programs have a strong history. The first game between the two schools was played on November 26, 1982, a matchup won by Auburn, 63-61. The programs met 16 more times over the next two decades until the series was discontinued after the 1999-2000 season.

Auburn Tigers: More Than Just Basketball

Auburn University's athletic prowess extends far beyond the basketball court. The Auburn Tigers, representing the university in 21 varsity teams, have a rich history of success across various sports.

Football Legacy

Auburn claims nine national championships: 1910, 1913 (chosen by one selector in 1999), 1914, 1957, 1958, 1983, 1993, (one of four co-champions by one selector), 2004 and 2010. Auburn currently is 7th all time in total national championships tied with Ohio State and Pitt.

Three Auburn players, Pat Sullivan in 1971, Bo Jackson in 1985, and Cam Newton in 2010 have won the Heisman Trophy. The Trophy's namesake, John Heisman, coached at Auburn from 1895 until 1899. Auburn is the only school that Heisman coached at (among others, Georgia Tech and Clemson) that has produced a Heisman Trophy winner.

Auburn played the first football game in the Deep South in 1892 against the University of Georgia at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tigers' first bowl appearance was in 1937 in the sixth Bacardi Bowl played in Havana, Cuba. AU Football has won 12 conference championships (8 SEC), has had seven perfect seasons, and since the division of the conference in 1992, six outright western division championships (1997, 2000, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2017) along with three additional co-championships.

Auburn plays archrival Alabama each year in a game known as the Iron Bowl. In the overall series with Alabama, Auburn trails Alabama 42-35-1, despite holding an 18-14 advantage in games played since 1982.

Swimming and Diving Dynasty

In the last decade under former head coach David Marsh, Auburn's swimming and diving program became a virtual dynasty in the SEC and the NCAA winning five consecutive NCAA men's championships from 2003 through 2007 and women's championships in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. The Auburn men have won the SEC Championship 14 out of the last 15 years and also won national championships in 1997, 1999, and 2009. The Auburn men won their 13th consecutive SEC Title in 2008, while the Auburn women took home their fifth SEC Championship in the last six years.

Auburn's most famous swimmer is Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, winner of three gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Golfing Greatness

The men's golf team has won five SEC Championships: 1976, 1981, 2002, 2018, and 2024. Chip Spratlin claimed the 1995 NCAA Championship and the men's golf team won the 2024 NCAA Championship.

Auburn's women's golf team has risen to be extremely competitive in the NCAA in recent years. Since 1999, they hold an 854-167-13 (.826 win percentage) record. The team has been in five NCAA finals and finished second in 2002 and then third in 2005. The program has a total of nine SEC Championships (1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2020). The nine titles is third all-time for women's golf.

Other Sports

Auburn Soccer has been one of the top programs of the SEC. The team started in 1993 and after some growing pains is now a constant player in the SEC Conference championship race. Auburn won four straight SEC West division titles between 2001-2004 and a fifth in 2006.

Women's equestrian debuted in 1996 and became the school's 21st varsity sport five years later. The team has been led by Greg Williams since its debut. In 2004, the team won its first championship at the Southern Equestrian Championships, which started in 2003. In 2006, the team won its first Varsity Equestrian National Championship, capturing Auburn's first national title outside of football and swimming and diving.

Auburn's Women's Track and Field won the 2006 National NCAA Outdoor title convincingly by outscoring USC 57-38.50. The track title was the 4th National Championship won by Auburn in 2006.

At the conclusion of the 1980-1981 NCAA Wrestling season, Auburn University became the first SEC team to place Top 10 in the country.

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