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In the new era of college athletics, we need the Auburn family to meet the moment. The landscape of collegiate sports has transformed drastically over the past few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With the advent of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities, the transfer portal creating immediate eligibility, and realignment chaos reshaping conferences, traditional power structures in college football and basketball are being challenged in real-time. Schools that adapt quickly, creatively, and with unified support from their communities are thriving. Others, including some bluebloods, are finding themselves on the outside looking in. Auburn cannot afford to hesitate. The moment is now, and if we want to ensure Auburn remains not only relevant but a force in this new age of college sports, then the Auburn family must rally, invest, and evolve together.
Auburn has always prided itself on being a close-knit community, an extended family rather than just a collection of fans. That sense of unity and identity is one of the strongest in college athletics. From Toomer’s Corner to the Tiger Walk, Auburn’s traditions run deep and resonate across generations. But tradition alone doesn’t win championships anymore. Culture matters, yes, but resources now play a more outsized role than ever before. NIL isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Recruits want to know that not only can they thrive on the field at Auburn but that they can benefit off it, too. They want to know that the Auburn family believes in them enough to support their dreams financially, not just with applause on Saturdays.
We’ve seen what’s possible when Auburn is united and aggressive. The run to the 2010 national title with Cam Newton was a galvanizing moment. The miracle-filled 2013 season brought Auburn back from the ashes. Bruce Pearl took Auburn basketball to heights previously unimagined, leading the Tigers to their first Final Four. These moments didn’t just happen by accident. They were the result of alignment—between administration, coaches, players, and supporters. That same alignment must now extend into the new frontier of NIL and the transfer portal. It’s no longer just about fundraising for facilities or academic centers; now, it’s about providing athletes with meaningful, structured opportunities to benefit from their talents in ways that match the marketplace around them.
Other programs are moving aggressively in this space. Texas A&M and Miami may not have the same history of success on the field in recent years, but their alumni networks and donor collectives have helped them attract top-tier talent. Georgia and Alabama aren’t slowing down. Even schools that used to be considered mid-tier programs are rising fast because they’ve built innovative NIL infrastructures and given their athletes a real seat at the table. Auburn has every ingredient needed to compete at this level: a passionate fanbase, elite facilities, SEC competition, a history of championship-level performance, and a coaching staff across multiple sports that understands how to recruit and develop talent. But we must make sure the NIL ecosystem reflects the ambition of our tradition.
That requires action, not just belief. It means joining collectives like On To Victory, which are designed to pool resources from the Auburn community into structured NIL opportunities for student-athletes. It means businesses in the Auburn-Opelika area and beyond seeing Auburn athletes as brand ambassadors and opening doors for them. It means fans embracing a mindset shift: this isn’t “pay for play,” it’s investing in the future of the program and the young people who represent it. Every successful NIL story at Auburn is a recruiting tool, a retention tool, and a proof point that our family backs its athletes in every dimension.
Some may lament these changes, nostalgic for a purer version of college athletics. But the reality is, there’s no going back. The toothpaste is out of the tube. The NCAA’s grip on amateurism has weakened, and the courts have made it clear that student-athletes are entitled to participate in the free market. Whether or not we personally agree with all aspects of this new era is beside the point. The question is whether Auburn will be proactive or reactive. Whether we will lead or follow. Whether we will empower our coaches and athletes with every resource they need or leave them to fight uphill battles against more aggressive programs.
Already, Auburn is seeing positive returns in the NIL space. Football recruits are increasingly taking notice. Bruce Pearl has built a basketball program where players not only develop and win but thrive in NIL opportunities. The women’s gymnastics and softball teams are leveraging growing national audiences, and there is huge potential for Olympic sport athletes at Auburn to build brands in a way that never existed before. But momentum must be maintained. Support must be sustained. The NIL space isn’t just about big one-time donations—it’s about consistent, community-wide participation. If every Auburn fan gave even a small monthly contribution toward NIL initiatives, the aggregate impact would be transformative. And more importantly, it would signal to athletes everywhere that Auburn is serious, organized, and unified in this fight.
Beyond NIL, the transfer portal is the other major tectonic shift reshaping college sports. It used to be that you recruited a player and, barring injury or the rare departure, had four or five years to develop them. Now, you’re re-recruiting your roster every offseason. Players want to know they’re valued—not just by the coaching staff but by the whole ecosystem they’re in. A strong NIL presence helps with that. So does a committed fan base that shows up, speaks out, and stands by the team in good times and bad. Auburn has always excelled at that. The energy at Jordan-Hare Stadium on a Saturday night is unmatched. The Jungle in Neville Arena is one of the loudest student sections in the country. But sustaining this support requires an understanding that the game has changed. And the ways we support have to change with it.
Meeting the moment also means holding ourselves accountable to the values that define Auburn. NIL isn’t just a chance to write checks—it’s a chance to build relationships. To connect fans with players in ways that are personal, not transactional. To mentor athletes as they explore business opportunities, community outreach, and personal branding. Auburn’s alumni base is filled with entrepreneurs, lawyers, business leaders, and creators. What if we activated that network not just for fundraising, but for mentorship and internships? What if NIL wasn’t just a stream of income, but a pathway to long-term career development? That’s how you build something sustainable and special—and distinctly Auburn.
This isn’t just about football, though that’s often the focal point. It’s about what kind of athletic department we want to be. It’s about ensuring that the volleyball player from across the country, the track star from a small Alabama town, and the international swimmer all feel supported by a unified Auburn family. If we want to win across all sports—and Auburn certainly has the capacity to do so—we have to view NIL and athlete empowerment not as isolated projects but as core principles of our athletic identity. This is how you future-proof a program. This is how you retain coaches, attract top talent, and make Auburn not just a destination but a standard.
It’s also how you keep the spirit of the Auburn Creed alive in a new context. The values of hard work, honesty, education, and mutual helpfulness are more relevant now than ever. NIL doesn’t erode those values—it gives us a chance to express them in new ways. Supporting a player through an NIL initiative is supporting their dream. It’s a modern form of the same old Auburn generosity that’s always been there, whether in the form of scholarships, tickets, or late-night pep rallies. The faces change, but the heart of Auburn remains the same. We just need to make sure our actions keep pace with our intentions.
There is no magic switch that guarantees championships. NIL is not a shortcut to success, and Auburn will always emphasize character, development, and accountability. But in this new competitive environment, you either invest or you fall behind. And falling behind isn’t an option. Not for a school with Auburn’s tradition, pride, and potential. Not for a university that has tasted greatness and knows what it takes to get back there. Not for a family that believes in being all in, all the time.
So as we look to the coming seasons, across football, basketball, and beyond, the call is clear: we need the Auburn family to meet the moment. We need every Tiger—alumni, fans, students, parents, and business owners—to lean in. Join the collective. Support athletes. Show up. Speak out. Be present. This is our window, and what we do now will define Auburn athletics for the next decade and beyond. We can’t afford to sit back and wait. The competition isn’t waiting. The moment is here. It’s real. And it’s ours to seize. Because at the end of the day, there’s nothing more Auburn than rising to a challenge with unity, pride, and relentless spirit. Let’s meet the moment. Let’s build the future. Let’s do it the Auburn way.
