Thursday, June 16, 2011

Gamache signs with Pirates

Auburn third baseman Dan Gamache, a sixth-round pick in the recent MLB draft, has signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gamache, a junior, hit .299 with 29 RBI and five home runs for the Tigers. He is he second of six Auburn players who were drafted to sign.

Catcher Tony Caldwell, taken by Florida in the 24th round, has signed with the Marlins.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Yeldon commits to Auburn

Daphne High running back T.J. Yeldon, rated the No. 1 running back prospect in Alabama and among the best in the nation, announced Tuesday he will sign withAuburn for 2012.

Yeldon, a 6-2, 205-pound senior, rushed for 1,150 yards and 18 touchdowns last season while leading Daphne to the class 6A state title.

AuburnUndercover.com and Inside the Auburn Tigers are among the first to report Yeldon's decision.

SportsSouth airs special on Tigers' BCS title run

AUBURN — SportSouth will debut an original program on Auburn coach Gene Chizik and the Tigers’ run to the BCS National Championship on Tues., June 14 at 9:30 p.m.

Entitled In My Own Words: Gene Chizik “Journey to a Championship,” the show will chronicle Auburn’s 14-0 championship season.

The 30-minute special will also air on June 17 at 4:30 and 10:30 p.m., June 18 at 1:30 and 8:30 p.m., June 26 at 7 p.m. and June 30 at 8:30 p.m.

In My Own Words: Gene Chizik “Journey to a Championship,” features Chizik with FOX Sports South producer Ray Goodrich as they talk about the 2010 BCS National Championship season. In the program, Chizik offers up stories and anecdotes from last year's season, including looks at significant games as well as the play of Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and Lombardi Trophy winner Nick Fairley.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Chizik contract comes with hefty buyout

AUBURN – Auburn released coach Gene Chizik’s new contract Monday, and the only real surprise in the details is that it would cost the Tigers more to get rid of Chizik than to keep him.
Chizik’s new contract calls for him to receive $3.5 million per year through 2015, but if Auburn decides to terminate him without cause next year it will cost them $10 million.
The buyout decreases to $7.5 million in year two of the contract, to $5 million in year three, $3.5 in year four, with no buyout beyond that.
Chizik may buy his way out of the contract at any time for $3.5 million.
Meanwhile, Auburn’s assistants are now the nation’s highest paid according to details of their contracts which the school also released on Monday.
Auburn’s assistants will earn a combined $4.085 million, which ranks just ahead of Mac Brown’s staff at Texas, which will earn $3.615 million.
Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is the Tigers’ highest-paid assistant at $1.3 million per year.
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof is next at $500,000 per year.
Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor’s new contract will play him $425,000, followed by offensive line coach Jeff Grimes ($400,000), running backs coach Curtis Luper ($330,00), safeties coach Tommy Thigpen ($320,00), defensive line coach Mike Pelton ($300,000), special teams coach Jay Boulware, ($255,000) and cornerbacks coach Phillip Lolley, ($225,000).

Friday, June 10, 2011

Chizik gets raise

AUBURN- After leading Auburn to the 2010 national championship, Auburn football coach Gene Chizik has been rewarded with a raise to $3.5 million annually and a contract extension through 2015.

“I am pleased to announce a well-deserved raise and contract extension for Coach Chizik,” Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said in a statement released through the university on Thursday. “We believe that we have the best coach in college football. More importantly, Coach Chizik is a great mentor to our student-athletes, he represents Auburn with class and integrity in all that he does, and he is an outstanding ambassador for Auburn University.”

Chizik could earn an additional $1 million in incentives under the amended contract. The 2010 National Coach of the Year, Chizik has guided Auburn to a 22-5 record in his first two seasons.

The new contract makes Chizik the eighth-highest paid coach in the nation and fourth in the SEC behind Alabama’s Nick Saban, LSU’s Les Miles and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino.

Chizik earned $2.1 million last season and an additional $1.35 million in bonuses.

“We will continue to provide Coach Chizik and our football program the resources needed to build a strong foundation so that we can consistently compete for championships in the future,” Jacobs said. “We look forward to Coach Chizik being our coach at Auburn for a long, long time.”

Auburn’s national championship was the program’s first since 1957, while its Southeastern Conference title in 2010 was the school’s seventh conference crown.

“I want to thank President Gogue and Jay Jacobs for their leadership and vision and believing in the direction that we have established for the Auburn football program,” Chizik said. “I deeply appreciate their commitment to me and to the future of Auburn football. The success that we’ve accomplished in the past two seasons has been possible because of the collective efforts of the football coaches and staff, players, our administration and the entire Auburn Family. We will continue to work tirelessly to build the foundation of the Auburn football program so that we can compete for championships regularly.”

Auburn will open the 2011 season on September 3 at 11 a.m. against Utah State in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Gamache, McElroy among Auburn players drafted

AUBURN – Junior third baseman Dan Gamache, taken in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 182nd pick overall, heads the list of Auburn players taken in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.
“I was expecting to go a little later and (the draft broadcast) was just coming off of a break,” Gamache said. “When I heard my name I was surprised. It’s very exciting. I am getting so many phone calls and texts, I can’t send a text message without sending another one.”

A left-handed hitter, Gamche hit .299 this past season with 13 doubles, two
triples and five home runs, driving in 29 RBI and scoring 35 runs while being utilized mostly as the team’s designated hitter.

Listed as a third baseman by Pittsburgh in the draft, he has hit .337 during his career with 31 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 77 RBI, scoring 97 runs. He has a career .535 slugging percentage and a .438 career on-base percentage, playing in 134 games over three years with 120 starts.

Meanwhile, Auburn signee Clay Holmes, a 6-4, 224-pound pitcher, was taken in the 9th round by the Pirates, junior infielder Casey McElroy was selected in the 11th round by the San Diego Padres, and junior right-handed pitcher Derek Varnadore was picked in the 17th round by the Florida Marlins.
A first-team All-SEC selection in 2011, McElroy had one of the finest
offensive seasons in the SEC this season, finishing the regular season
ranked in the top 10 in eight offensive categories (Batting Avg. - .370
- 3rd; Slugging Pct. - .564 - 5th; Hits - 87 - 1st; RBI - 53 - T5th;
Doubles - 18 - T8th; Home Runs - 9 - T5th; Total Bases - 132 - 4th; Sac
Flies - 6 - T4th).

An everyday starter at short for the past three seasons, McElroy owns a
.330 lifetime batting average in 170 games, collecting 42 doubles, two
triples and 25 home runs, driving in 131 RBI and scoring 127 run

Varnadore was 6-3 with a 3.68 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched.

Pirates draft Gamache

Auburn third baseman Dan Gamache became the first Tigers' player taken in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him with the first pick in the sixth round on Tuesday.

Gamache, a draft-eligible junior from Exeter, R.I., hit .299 for the Tigers with 29 RBI and five home runs.

He missed a number of games for Auburn down the stretch because of injuries, including the Southeastern Conference Tournament because of a hand injury that required surgery.

The Pirates selected Gamache with the 182nd pick overall.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Tigers' White House visit set

Courtesy of Auburn Sports Information

AUBURN — Auburn’s 2010 BCS National Champion football team will be guests of President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday, June 8, White House officials announced Thursday.

Coach Gene Chizik and the Auburn team will be honored by President Obama at 2 p.m. at the Rose Garden of the White House. President Obama will make remarks about Auburn’s 2010 national title team and take a photo with the group.

The Tigers were originally slated to visit the White House on April 29, however, the trip was postponed due to the deadly tornados that hit the state of Alabama and Southeastern United States on April 27.

Tigers

Tigers

Tigers set for early starts

AUBURN - Game times for Auburn's first three football games are set, and the Tigers will be starting early in all three.

Auburn's season-opener against Utah State on Sept. 3 is set for an 11 a.m. kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.

The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday that the Tigers' Sept. 10 conference opener against Mississippi State at Jordan-Hare Stadium will begin at 11:21 a.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

As previously announced, Auburn's Sept 17 non-conference game at Clemson will kickoff at noon and will be televised by ABC.