Alabama State Senator Introduces Bill That Would Force Auburn To Claim 9 National Championships
Alabama – An Alabama senator Monday introduced a resolution urging Auburn to claim nine national championships in football.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, was immediately referred to Rules Committee.
“What exactly does this bill do?” asked Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, a University of Alabama alumnus. Alabama officially claims 15 national championships.
The resolution lists several outstanding Auburn football teams as worthy of recognition.
“We call upon Auburn University to officially claim nine national championships in football to rightfully reflect the esteemed achievements and success of the Auburn University football program,” the resolution says.
Auburn is recognized as college football’s national champions in 1957 and 2010. Author Michael Skotnicki argued in a 2014 book that the school should claim three championships between 1910 and 1914 and titles from 1958, 1983, 1993 and 2004.
The Associated Press did not establish a college football championship system until the 1930s. Auburn finished fourth in the AP and Coaches’ poll in 1958 and third in both polls in 1983. Auburn finished undefeated in 1993 and 2004, but was banned from the post-season in 1993, and was shut out of the national championship game in 2004.
The Senate is expected to take up the state’s General Fund budget this afternoon.
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I dare you to name a more SEC story than this. Dare you. In some states they battle over passing bills for social change, justice reform, tax code, education. In Alabama they try to make a football school claim a shit ton of championships to rightfully reflect how dominant they are. Absolutely amazing.
And totally awesome, by the way. Don’t want to seem like I’m disparaging the move by Senator Whatley by any stretch. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, SEC football ain’t a sport, it’s a lifestyle. It echoes all the way from the stadium to the gilded halls of the state senate. The official government building where an Auburn alum stands at the podium and implores legislation to hang more banners from the rafters of Jordan-Hare, and an Alabama alum stands up and challenges him on it.
(Seriously that was sneakily my favorite part, Tripp Pitman, UA grad, probably wearing a “Roll Tide” tie, being the one to call him on it)