Big changes are coming to Auburn.
Namely, a massive video board for Jordan-Hare Stadium and two giant oak trees for Toomer's Corner.
For Jay Jacobs, Auburn's director of athletics, these changes are the product of the desire to give Auburn students, fans and alumni exactly what he thinks they deserve.
"Our students, student athletes, fans and Auburn people deserve the best," Jacobs said.
As far as the video board goes, Jacobs said that as soon as he knew the opportunity to have the biggest board in college football was on the table, he jumped on it.
"I asked the video board people, 'With our current structure that we have in the south end zone, how big of a board can we put in that structure'?" Jacobs said. "They came back and said we can do one approximately 190-200 feet, 50-60 feet tall. They said it would be the biggest in college football, so I said let's do that."
The behemoth board was approved last week by the Auburn board of trustees, and will cost an estimated $ 13.9 million, which will be paid first by the University, then reimbursed by athletics.
Even with the steep price, Jacobs said he hasn't received any negative feedback.
"Nobody has said [the board isn't a necessity]," Jacobs said. "The SEC did a survey, and there were 60 different criteria and Auburn met or exceeded expectations from fans on all but four."
Those four that did not meet or exceed fan's expectations included the video board and public address system in Jordan-Hare, which Jacobs said the installation of the new board will take care of.
"That price tag addresses both of those," Jacobs said. "It's not just a video board, but it's also a new sound system, so we're responding in a proactive way to the requests and desires of the Auburn Family. We're doing exactly what the fans have asked to do."
Jacobs added that with the Auburn Family staying so loyal to the program, the program owes them everything they can give them.
"It's really not an expense," Jacobs said. "It's an investment. We're one of the few schools in the nation that played in front of a sold out crowd every ball game. We don't have a problem like some of these other schools do about begging our students to come to games and stay. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that continues to happen."
That board will be up by next fall for the start of the 2015 football season. In more immediate changes, two oak trees will be placed in Toomer's Corner Saturday, to replace the ones that stood as an iconic image of Auburn until 2010, when they were poisoned by Alabama fan Harvey Updyke.
"These trees exemplify what Auburn is all about," Jacobs said. "We took something that someone meant for evil and we turned in to something great. We took something that someone tried to destroy, and we're actually making it even more attractive than it's ever been."
The planting ceremony will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m. and is open to the public.
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