Why Auburn University?
A. Good question. My mother and father raised me as an Alabama fan. I was wearing shirts which read “Roll Tide” before I even knew what it meant. My father settled down in Georgia and, again, not knowing any better I wore a bunch of University of Georgia stuff. Then when I got out of the Coast Guard in 1997, my wife at that time (Heather ’03) was accepted into graduate school at Auburn. I immediately signed on as an Auburn Tiger! I have never looked back! I enrolled at AU under the GI Bill as a nontraditional student, and I was determined to maximize my college experience. To this day, when asked where I am from, my reply is “Auburn, Alabama.” I don’t think my father was ever more proud then when I told him I enrolled in college. … Also I don’t think I’ve ever hurt him so much as when I told him I was going to Auburn. All hilarity aside, we have a great family rivalry (which is a strong part of the lore of SEC culture). Q. How was your Aubie experience? A. Life changing! Aubie was th
