Auburn University has several notable traditions, many related to its varsity teams, the Auburn Tigers.
Auburn University has a creed, an alma mater, and a fight song.
In the early 1940s, Auburn professor George Petrie, who brought football to Auburn in 1891, wrote a creed which grew to become a unifying set of beliefs and principles common to all Auburn students, faculty, and alumni. This creed is said to embody the spirit of Auburn and is reflected in every member of the Auburn family.[1]
The Auburn Creed was written in 1943,[2] not 1945 as is frequently stated in various Auburn publications. It was first published in Auburn's student newspaper in 1944.[2]
Auburn's alma mater was composed by Bill Wood in 1924, with revision to its lyrics by Emma O'Rear Foy in 1960. The 1960 changes became necessary when the Alabama Legislature granted university status to what had been known as Alabama Polytechnic Institute. The author of the 1960 revision was unclear until 2000, when Auburn professor Dale Coleman discovered the author to be Foy, wife of former dean of students James Foy. Both were University of Alabama alumni who later became boosters of Auburn.[3]
Originally the first verse and refrain were: