With our football team performing less than stellar this year, I think this is a great time for us to step back and realize we’re still winning in many areas at Auburn, even if the SEC doesn’t recognize these accomplishments.
While many of us may have applied to Auburn because of our love for the gridiron and all the traditions that surround it, we should not forget that we’re also receiving a world-class education at a land-grant, sea-grant and space grant university that is continually ranked as one of the best public schools in the USA.
Take, for instance, the Harrison School of Pharmacy. Currently listed as one of the top in the nation (and beating Alabama) by U.S. News & World Report, our pharmacy program continues to receive grants and contracts to do important, and potentially life-saving, drug research that you may one day be very thankful for.
The College of Veterinary Medicine is ranked even higher than the pharmacy school (still ahead of Alabama, by the way), and is one of only 37 schools of veterinary medicine in the nation. We attract some of the brightest and most innovative students solving animal illnesses, something extremely important to the economies of the rural states of the Southeast.
We have the top fisheries program in the world, an award given to us by the government of China in 2008, and it is a vital source of research, breeding innovations and protection of species.
Auburn is also a leader in rehabilitation counseling, helping patients overcome physical, mental, emotional and developmental disabilities.
Rarely do you hear in passing conversations about how our men’s swim team has been the SEC champion for 16 years in a row (18 total), grabbed eight NCAA championships, or how the women have also done very well, with five SEC and NCAA championships.
You can’t run from the fact that Auburn has produced world-class track and field athletes such as Maya Pressley, Joanna Atkins and Reuben McCoy, all of whom I watched represent Auburn with pride at the Olympic Track & Field trials in Eugene, Ore., this summer.
Being a part of the “Auburn family” that we’ve all worked so hard to cultivate and protect has absolutely nothing to do with football. Yes, it may pump us up during games and be a nice thing to shout downtown, but as Pat Dye said, “Alabama fans love Alabama football. Auburn fans love Auburn.”
And to the people who keep saying “War Damn Eagle, anyway”: change your tone before that negative tide rolls over these beautiful Plains. Be confident this excellent University existed before football and will exist long after scores cease to matter.
War Damn Eagle, always.
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