8/7/06 Katie Wilder, 334/844-9999 (wildeka@auburn.edu)
David Granger, 334/844-9999 (grangdm@auburn.edu)

AUBIE AMONG FIRST COLLEGIATE MASCOTS TO BE INDUCTED INTO MASCOT HALL OF FAME AUG. 15

AUBURN - Aubie, Auburn University’s lovable Tiger mascot, will be inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Love Park in Philadelphia, Pa.

Aubie will join the University of Delaware’s YoUDee and the University of Wisconsin’s Bucky the Badger as the first collegiate mascots inducted into the Hall.

The 2006 Mascot Hall of Fame induction class was chosen through a combination of fan voting and voting by the Hall’s executive committee. Fan voting accounted for 5 percent of the total and the executive committee’s votes 95 percent.

The 2006 class also includes professional mascots KC Wolf (Kansas City Chiefs), Clutch (Houston Rockets) and Jazz Bear (Utah Jazz).

“The entire Aubie Program is honored and excited about Aubie being inducted to the Mascot Hall of Fame,” said Mike Reynolds, advisor for AU’s Aubie program. “It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication that has gone into this program for over twenty-five years.”

Last year marked the inaugural induction ceremony for the Mascot Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees will join the (Philadelphia) Phillie Phanatic, the Phoenix Suns Gorilla and Famous Chicken in the Hall.

Birmingham artist Phil Neel, whose sons Mike and Rick played football for Auburn in the 1970s, created Aubie in the 1950s. From 1958 through 1976, Neel’s cartoon Aubie was featured on the covers of Auburn’s home football game programs, usually terrorizing the visiting mascots in wonderfully creative ways.

James Lloyd, then the Auburn Student Government Association’s spirit director, breathed life into Neel’s concept in 1979 when he ordered a Tiger costume and appeared at the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament.

Barry Mask became the first official Aubie in 1979-80 and his sideline and court-side hijinks helped develop Aubie’s spirited persona.

Continuing a legacy as the most successful college mascot in history, Aubie won his sixth national mascot championship through the Universal Cheerleaders’ Association in January.

Auburn University is a preeminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with more than 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama’s largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

(Contributed by Katie Wilder. Photo available on request.)

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