Terri Williams-Flournoy Hired As Women's Basketball Coach

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Jay Jacobs went out and found a proven winner to be Nell Fortner's successor as head women's basketball coach at Auburn. Terri Williams-Flournoy was hired on Monday and brings a winning resume with to the Plains. For the past eight years, Williams-Flournoy has been leading the Georgetown Hoyas during their most successful era ever. 

Williams-Flournoy had assistant coaching stops at Georgetown, Georgia, and Southwest Missouri State before landing the head job with the Hoyas in 2004. In her tenure, Georgetown has gone to three consecutive NCAA tournaments, reaching as far as the second round. During her time at Georgia, Williams-Flournoy was the recruiting coordinator under legend Andy Landers. Her old recruiting ties will no doubt be useful as she moves back to the Southeastern Conference. 

Williams-Flournoy will inherit an Auburn team that had struggled during the last couple of seasons under fan favorite Nell Fortner. She also inherits what will be an experienced team. The Tigers will lose three seniors from this year's class, leaving nine returning players.

Williams-Flournoy is the first female African-American head coach in school history. She and her husband, Eric, have two children, Maya and Eric Jr. 

Link sAusage -- March 29, 2012

Auburn's new offensive and defensive coordinators and their systems are being heartily endorsed by players and assistant coaches. In the case of DC Brian VanGorder, this isn't all that surprising, but it is interesting to see players mentioning the need of a fresh start after Gus Malzahn's offensive schemes.

Auburn fans have high hopes for redshirt freshman linebacker Kris Frost, but it sounds like he's still playing catchup after last year's shoulder injury.

CaM contributor Ross Collings gives us five football players that could break out in 2012. If you know Ross, you probably aren't surprised that DeAngelo Benton made this list.

The search for a women's basketball coach may be coming to its conclusion. No done-deal names have been leaked, but N.C. State head coach Kellie Harper and Miami head coach Katie Meier seem to be a couple of names to keep an eye on.

REMINDER: Kenny Gabriel will be competing in tonight's State Farm Dunk Contest in New Orleans. The event will air on ESPN at 8 p.m.

Link sAUsage -- March 22, 2012

Auburn begins competition today at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Wash. The Tigers are coming off their 16th consecutive SEC title and will be aiming for their ninth national title.

Blayne Barber was named SEC men's golfer of the week for his recent play at the Schenkel Invitational. Barber shot 15-under-par for the three-round event and placed second in the individual competition.

Nell Fortner may not be the women's basketball coach anymore, but she left a lasting impression on the Auburn community.

Kenny Gabriel's Auburn basketball career is over, and he's preparing to move on to bigger things. But before he goes, KG answers a few questions about his time on the Plains.

The SEC offices released next year's conference schedules for baseball, softball and tennis. Auburn will travel to both of the conference's newest members, Texas A&M and Missouri, in baseball and women's tennis. The Tigers will host the Aggies in men's tennis and won't play either SEC newcomer in softball.

Auburn has plenty of options at running back to place the dearly departed Mike Dyer, but which is the best?

 

Link sAUsage -- Feb. 29, 2012 // LEAP DAY EDITION

Jon Luke Jacobs pitched a gem as the Auburn baseball team topped Alabama State on Tuesday. The two teams get together again to day at 5 p.m. at Plainsman Park.

A couple of women's basketball players earned SEC postseason honors: Blanche Anderson was named scholar-athlete of the year, and Hasina Muhammad garnered a spot on the all-freshman team.

Men's basketball plays at Alabama tonight, which should prove to be a tough task. The Tigers are shorthanded, and the Tide is fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth. Oh yeah, it's Senior Night in Tuscaloosa, too.

With the 2012 football recruiting class finally complete, here's a look at Auburn's newest potential gridiron heros.

You know the tiger head logo that Auburn fans love so much? Bad news: It turns out that, not only was it originally designed for LSU, but it was created by an Alabama graduate. What a shame.

BREAKING NEWS: SEC fans really like watching SEC football on TV.

The third-ranked women's golf team tied for eighth at the Sugar Bowl Invitational in New Orleans. Marta Sanz placed eighth in the individual competition for her third top 10 finish this season.

Softball continues to climb in the rankings. Auburn is No. 17 in the latest ESPN Poll and No. 19 in the NFCA Coaches Poll. 

Women's tennis makes its first appearance in the ITA rankings this year, debuting at No. 66. After a big weekend at the Blue-Gray Classic, the Auburn men have moved up to No. 12.

 

 

Link sAUsage -- Feb. 27, 2012

It was a busy weekend for Auburn athletics. Let's take a look at what happened:

Auburn's two representatives at the NFL Combine turned in impressive workouts on Saturday. 

Auburn held its Junior Day over the weekend, and the Tigers picked up a commitment from in-state, 4-star wide receiver Earnest Robinson. Auburn and its coaching staff came off as very impressive to many of the prospects in attendance.

Who might benefit from the college football kickoff rules? Hmm. Looking at that list of qualifications, Auburn just might be the team that benefits the most.

In case you missed it over on his home site, College and Magnolia contributor Ross Collings analyzes some of the biggest questions Auburn has going into spring football practice.

Link sAUsage -- Feb. 24, 2012

The Nell Fortner Farewell Tour began Thursday night, and Auburn tipped it off with a bang. The Tigers put an absolute beat-down on Alabama, scoring an 81-40 victory. We know the Alabama women's basketball program is bad, but we didn't know that it's this bad. If you don't know why every Auburn fan should love Fortner, this will help you out.

The NCAA approved football rule changes aimed at protecting player safety. Among the new rules: kickoffs will be moved from the 30-yard line to the 35, and kickoff touchbacks will be moved from the 20 to the 25. (Touchbacks on punts, fumbles and interceptions will still come out to the 20.) If Cody Parkey can find a way to kick the ball a mile into the air, instead of a mile downfield, Auburn could be pinning opposing teams inside their own 5 all season long.

It's been a little over three weeks since National Signing Day, so it's obviously time to start thinking about recruiting again. Auburn hosts some of the top players in the country at Junior Day this weekend. The Tigers expect around 60 prospects to show up.

An update on some injured Auburn basketball players: Kenny Gabriel is still recovering from his lower back injury suffered against Florida but is expected to play against Arkansas on Saturday. Chris Denson's knee seems to be fine, and he'll definitely be in the lineup. Josh Langford is still experiencing concussion symptoms and isn't expected to play against the Hogs.

The 14th-ranked men's tennis team is in Montgomery for the Blue-Gray Classic. Live results for today's, Saturday's and Sunday's matches can be found here, here and here.

Fresh off its second-best-ever performance, No. 15 Auburn gymnastics heads to Lexington, Ky., tonight to take on Kentucky and Pitt in a tri-meet.

The second-ranked men's golf team will be in Palm Desert, Calif., this weekend for the University of Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. The No. 3 women's team begins play at the Sugar Bowl Invitational in New Orleans on Sunday.

The top-ranked equestrian team makes its first road trip of the season, heading to Blythewood, S.C., to take on No. 5 South Carolina on Saturday.

 

Link sAUsage -- Feb. 23, 2012

Of all the Division I schools in the state of Alabama, Auburn was the only one to vote in favor of multi-year scholarships. Head football coach Gene Chizik announced on signing day that the Tigers' new enrollees would be signing four-year scholarships.

Women's basketball coach Nell Fortner, who announced that she will resign at the end of the season on Tuesday, begins her farewell tour tonight against Alabama at Auburn Arena. Considering how much Fortner has done for Auburn during her time on the Plains, she deserves a packed house tonight.

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer beat writer Joel Erickson has a couple of Auburn NFL Combine profiles: Brandon Mosley and Josh Harris. Moseley and Harris are Auburn's only combine representatives this year. A.J. Greene was invited to the combine but recently decided to call it a career due to injuries.

Tigers baseball stole its way to a two-game sweep of Alcorn State on Wednesday. Auburn ended the 7-1 win with eight stolen bases and currently leads the SEC in that category. That's quite a philosophical change from the long-ball days of 2010.

Auburn hits the road for Tucson, Ariz., for a tough weekend series against No. 20 Arizona. A series win would be a very nice recovery from dropping the season-opening series against Missouri.

The Auburn softball team stayed hot on Wednesday, hitting four home runs in a 9-1 victory over Georgia State. The Tigers are now 9-0 on the young season and travel to Boca Raton, Fla., this weekend to compete in the Florida Atlantic Tournament.

For a very brief period of time between its transformation from Cliff Hare Stadium to Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn's football home was, simply, Hare Stadium. Also, it's amazing how much the stadium has changed in nearly 40 years.

You've seen Cam Newton's SWAGTASTIC new Under Armour commercial. Now, check out the behind-the-scenes footage.

The idea of anything other than white helmets for Auburn's football team makes many, including this writer, shudder. We can't imagine how difficult it would have been to watch the Tigers during the 1950 season.

Speaking of uniform changes, Missouri recently announced that, in honor of joining the world's foremost athletic conference, the school will be undergoing a design overhaul. The new uniforms won't be released until April 14, but some obsessive has already created a blog dedicated to speculation on Mizzou's new threads.

Auburn gymnast Bri Guy was named SEC freshman of the week for her performance against Florida last Friday. Guy totaled 39.550 in the all-around competition, the third-best score in Auburn history.

Men's and women's track and field travel to Lexington, Ky., for the SEC Indoor Championships, set to begin on Friday.

 

Link sAUsage -- Feb. 20, 2012

Harvey Updyke's attorney says stuff that will likely make your blood boil. Updyke's trial for allegedly poisoning the Toomer's oaks is set to begin on March 5. Just remeber, despite what those in Tuscaloosa will try to tell you, THIS IS ALABAMA FOOTBALL.

In other Auburn/legal-related news, the attorney for former Auburn DB Mike McNeil has argued to suppress evidence in McNeil's upcoming armed robbery case. That trial, too, is tentatively set to begin March 5.

Birmingham News columnist Jon Soloman takes a look at the state of college basketbal in Alabama. Unsuprisingly, the results aren't pretty.

What kind of non-conference opponents have SEC teams scheduled in 2012? A few teams will be plying against some real competition -- like Auburn opening against Clemson in Atlanta -- but there are plenty of cupcakes to satisfy the conference's sweet tooth.

If you didn't realize that this past weekend was a pretty big athletic event on the Plains, we aren't really sure why you're reading an Auburn sports blog. But in case you missed any of the results, here's a recap of the All In Weekend:

The Auburn men's basketball team recorded it's biggest win of the Tony Barbee era, upsetting No. 23 Mississippi State at Auburn Arena. Hopefully, the team can use that win as a springboard to a strong finish and build momentum going into next season.

Gymnastics lost at home to No. 2 Florida, but the 17th-ranked Tigers achieved the second-best score in school history.

Men's swimming and diving won its 16th consecutive SEC title and the conference championships in Knoxville. The Auburn women placed a solid fourth.

The top-ranked equestrian team fell to No. 3 Georgia. The teams actually tied, but Georgia won by virtue of more raw points. A tie that is really a loss? That reminds us of the 1994 Auburn-Georgia football game.

Softball had a stellar weekend, beating No. 15 Oklahoma State on Friday and Virginia Tech and No. 23 Georgia Tech on Sunday. The Tigers are now 8-0 and already have recorded two no-hitters on the young season. 

Baseball started strong with a 5-2 win over Missouri on Friday, but the bad Tigers swept Games 2 and 3 on Sunday, knocking the good Tigers to 1-2 on the year. On the bright side, Auburn's Derek Varnadore was named SEBaseball.com's pitcher of the week thanks to his 11 K, one run performance on Friday.

Men's tennis went 1-2 at the ITA Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. The Tigers defeated Baylor but lost to Virginia and Texas.

Women's basketball dropped to 3-11 in SEC play after a 16-point loss at LSU.