Debates over whether to retroactively claim national championships are not a new topic in college football. Nor are they confined to the Auburn football program.
The debate has reached a tipping point in recent months on the Plains as fans, alumni and media members take to social media to voice their opinion as to whether Auburn should claim NCAA recognized national championships in 1913, 1983, 1993 and 2004.
"I think the important thing is that we're discussing this now," said former Auburn kicker Al Del Greco, a member of the controversial 1983 team. "If the powers that be at Auburn decide it best to leave it as is, and not claim, I'm fine with that then. But if they want to go ahead and claim them, I understand why they would do that."
Michael Skotnicki, Birmingham-based lawyer and author of the book "Auburn's Unclaimed National Championships," said the issue often comes down to semantics and the standard to which Auburn wants to hold itself.
"People, when they address this issue, tend to get into this idea that they need to find who is 'the' national champion," Skotnicki said. "They don't think a national championship can be claimed unless they were 'the national champion.'"
The NCAA as an organization has never selected an annual national champion in football.
Instead, it recognizes "National Champion Major Selectors" based on poll results and computer rankings.
While two polls generally receive the most widespread acceptance, the Associated Press poll of sportswriters and the United Press International's poll of coaches, the NCAA Record Book recognizes a total of 35 polls as "National Champion Major Selectors."
The methods used in these polls varied from the mathematical formulas of the Litkenhous poll to the Williamson power ratings system created by New Orleans geologist and former Sugar Bowl committee member Paul Williamson.
"People today recognize national championships based on those," Skotnicki said. "They may have some historical value, but they're terrible. They were terrible ways of choosing a national champion."
Auburn currently only claims two national championships: the 1957 AP National Championship and the 2010 BCS National Championship.
Although the University only claims two, the Tigers are listed in the NCAA Record Book as national champions in 1913 (Billingsley), 1983 (The New York Times, Billingsley, Sagarin, FACT, Football Research) and 1993 (National Championship Foundation) as well.
While the majority of schools only claim AP and UPI national championships from the pre-BCS era, a number of schools, such as Ohio State ('61, '70), Tennessee ('40, '50, '67) and Ole Miss ('59, '60, '62), claim national championships awarded by other selectors.
According to Skotnicki, this portion of the discussion often comes down to whether the University should hold itself to a higher standard than "our peer football programs."
"If it's good enough for the NCAA, then why shouldn't Auburn recognize that?" Skotnicki said. "Should we be stricter than the NCAA and does it benefit Auburn to do so?"
Multiple interview requests made to Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs, who was a member of the 1983 team, were not returned.
While Del Greco said he understands the historical precedent Auburn set by not claiming other championships, he said the issue should be up for discussion with the changing times.
"Up until this point it has been the way that Auburn has always looked at it," Del Greco said. "I also think that times change and if the relevancy of those polls are enough that there are multiple schools going back and claiming it before this college football playoff system begins, then it's a great recruiting tool. Five looks better than two."
Del Greco hesitated to take a firm stance on the subject and said he already considered the 1983 team national champions anyway.
"If they wanted to claim it, I wouldn't have a problem with it," Del Greco said. "The times are changing and others have done it. If we choose to leave it as is, well that's kind of always been the Auburn way so I'd be fine with it too."
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