Auburn Tigers basketball — program history

Auburn's basketball program dates to 1906, and the 'Tigers' nickname has been associated with Auburn athletics since the university's earliest days — inspired by the line 'where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey' from Oliver Goldsmith's poem 'The Deserted Village.' While historically a football school, Auburn's basketball program has experienced a dramatic rise under Bruce Pearl, who brought energy, sellout crowds, and a Final Four appearance in 2019. Charles Barkley, one of the NBA's most iconic personalities, starred at Auburn from 1981-1984 before being drafted fifth overall.

The name

The 'Tigers' nickname has been used since the 1890s, inspired partly by a line from Oliver Goldsmith's poem 'The Deserted Village'; the live eagle mascot War Eagle is a separate tradition from the Tigers name

Signature moment

Reaching the 2019 Final Four under Bruce Pearl, the first Final Four appearance in program history, capped by an overtime Elite Eight upset of Kentucky

Charles Barkley was listed as 6-foot-6 at Auburn but later admitted he was closer to 6-foot-4 — he went on to become one of basketball's greatest and most entertaining personalities

The Auburn Tigers compete in the SEC and hold an all-time record of 1516–1272 (.544 winning percentage) across 120 recorded seasons dating back to 1905-06. The program has reached 2 Final Fours.

Season-by-season results

Season	Record	Conference	Coach	AP peak
2025-26	22-16	7-11 (SEC)	Steven Pearl	AP #20
2024-25	32-6	15-3 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #1
2023-24	27-8	13-5 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #7
2022-23	21-13	10-8 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #11
2021-22	28-6	15-3 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #1
2020-21	13-14	7-11 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl
2019-20	25-6	12-6 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #4
2018-19	30-10	11-7 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #7
2017-18	26-8	13-5 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl	AP #8
2016-17	18-14 *	SEC
2015-16	11-20	5-13 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl
2014-15	15-20	4-14 (SEC)	Bruce Pearl
2013-14	14-16	6-12 (SEC)	Tony Barbee
2012-13	9-23	3-15 (SEC)	Tony Barbee
2011-12	15-16	5-11 (SEC)	Tony Barbee
2010-11	11-20	4-12 (SEC)	Tony Barbee
2009-10	15-17	6-10 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2008-09	24-12	10-6 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2007-08	14-16	4-12 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2006-07	17-15	7-9 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2005-06	12-16	4-12 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2004-05	14-17	4-12 (SEC)	Jeff Lebo
2003-04	14-14	5-11 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
2002-03	22-12	8-8 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis	AP #24
2001-02	12-16	4-12 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
2000-01	18-14	7-9 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
1999-00	24-10	9-7 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis	AP #2
1998-99	29-4	14-2 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis	AP #2
1997-98	16-14	7-9 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
1996-97	16-15	6-10 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
1995-96	19-13	6-10 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis	AP #21
1994-95	16-13	7-9 (SEC)	Cliff Ellis
1993-94	11-17	3-13 (SEC)	Tommy Joe Eagles
1992-93	15-12	8-8 (SEC)	Tommy Joe Eagles
1991-92	12-15	5-11 (SEC)	Tommy Joe Eagles
1990-91	13-16	5-13 (SEC)	Tommy Joe Eagles
1989-90	13-18	8-10 (SEC)	Tommy Joe Eagles
1988-89	9-19	2-16 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1987-88	19-11	11-7 (SEC)	Sonny Smith	AP #19
1986-87	18-13	9-9 (SEC)	Sonny Smith	AP #5
1985-86	22-11	13-5 (SEC)	Sonny Smith	AP #10
1984-85	22-12	8-10 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1983-84	20-11	12-6 (SEC)	Sonny Smith	AP #16
1982-83	15-13	8-10 (SEC)	Sonny Smith	AP #20
1981-82	14-14	7-11 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1980-81	11-16	4-14 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1979-80	10-18	5-13 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1978-79	13-16	5-13 (SEC)	Sonny Smith
1977-78	13-14	8-10 (SEC)	Bob Davis
1976-77	13-13	6-12 (SEC)	Bob Davis	AP #20
1975-76	16-10	11-7 (SEC)	Bob Davis	AP #17
1974-75	18-8	12-6 (SEC)	Bob Davis	AP #14
1973-74	10-16	5-13 (SEC)	Bob Davis
1972-73	6-20	4-14 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1971-72	10-16	6-12 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1970-71	11-15	8-10 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1969-70	15-11	11-7 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1968-69	15-10	10-8 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1967-68	13-13	8-10 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1966-67	17-8	12-6 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1965-66	16-10	8-8 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1964-65	16-9	11-5 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1963-64	11-12	6-8 (SEC)	Bill Lynn
1962-63	18-4	10-4 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #9
1961-62	18-6	11-3 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1960-61	15-7	8-6 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #9
1959-60	19-3	12-2 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #11
1958-59	20-2	12-2 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #2
1957-58	16-6	11-3 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #16
1956-57	13-8	8-6 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1955-56	11-10	8-6 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1954-55	11-9	6-8 (SEC)	Joel Eaves	AP #20
1953-54	16-8	8-6 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1952-53	13-8	6-7 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1951-52	14-12	6-8 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1950-51	12-10	6-8 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1949-50	17-7	12-6 (SEC)	Joel Eaves
1948-49	9-15	5-11 (SEC)	Danny Doyle
1947-48	12-10	7-7 (SEC)	Danny Doyle
1946-47	3-18	1-15 (SEC)	V.J. Edney
1945-46	7-9	7-6 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1944-45	3-14	2-6 (SEC)	Bob Evans
1942-43	1-14	1-12 (SEC)	Bob Evans
1941-42	11-6	9-5 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1940-41	13-6	6-5 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1939-40	7-10	6-7 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1938-39	16-6	8-4 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1937-38	14-5	6-3 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1936-37	11-4	7-4 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1935-36	10-5	7-4 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1934-35	4-13	3-9 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1933-34	2-11	2-9 (SEC)	Ralph Jordan
1932-33	4-9	4-7 (SEC)	Sam McAllister
1931-32	12-3	9-2 (Southern)	Sam McAllister
1930-31	8-6	7-4 (Southern)	Sam McAllister
1929-30	1-10	1-10 (Southern)	Hal Lee
1928-29	6-15	3-9 (Southern)	George Bohler
1927-28	20-2	12-1 (Southern)	Mike Papke
1926-27	13-6	12-4 (Southern)	Mike Papke
1925-26	5-10	1-7 (Southern)	Mike Papke
1924-25	3-11	1-5 (Southern)	Herb Bunker
1923-24	4-9	0-6 (Southern)	Wilbur Hutsell
1922-23	7-7	2-3 (Southern)	Wilbur Hutsell
1921-22	5-6	2-1 (Southern)	Wilbur Hutsell
1920-21	5-8	Southern	Mike Donahue
1919-20	11-7	Ind	Mike Donahue
1918-19	4-3	Ind	Mike Donahue
1917-18	2-3	Ind	Mike Donahue
1916-17	2-2	Ind	Mike Donahue
1915-16	2-6	Ind	Mike Donahue
1914-15	3-5	Ind	Mike Donahue
1913-14	3-10	Ind	Mike Donahue
1912-13	6-9	Ind	Mike Donahue
1911-12	2-6	Ind	Mike Donahue
1910-11	3-5	Ind	Mike Donahue
1909-10	11-6	Ind	Mike Donahue
1908-09	4-3	Ind	Mike Donahue
1907-08	5-5	Ind	Mike Donahue
1906-07	4-2	Ind	Mike Donahue
1905-06	5-1	Ind	Mike Donahue

* Season vacated by the NCAA — absent from the official season table; record computed from the game log and not counted in official totals or rankings.

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Auburn Tigers basketball — program history

The name

Signature moment

Season-by-season results

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All-time wins

On this day

AP Top 25

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