Whether it be rolling the Oaks after a win or watching the eagle soar around Jordan-Hare, Auburn prides itself on having a community steeped in long-standing traditions. The pastimes established and maintained for years on end sustain values from generation to generation.
But, entering into its 100-year anniversary, what makes the Auburn ring special may not be that it’s a 100-year-old tradition, but rather that it’s taken a full century for the tradition to fully mature.
With the first Auburn ring dating back to 1918, each year’s ring took a different design until a committee of students, faculty, alumni and administrators developed what is now the official ring of Auburn University in 2004.
“This allows all members of the Auburn Family to showcase their love of Auburn with one traditional design,” said Pearson Alsobrook, a Balfour sales associate who works with Auburn.
The official ring tells the history of Auburn University by combining different designs of Auburn rings dating back to 1918 into one official ring.
“Prior to 2004, there were multiple designs that had existed over the years, which made it very difficult to know that someone is wearing an Auburn ring,” Alsobrook said.
Being eligible to get a ring is simple. You must attend or have attended Auburn and have 75 credit hours, regardless of where the hours were fulfilled. Auburn graduates can also retroactively go back to get their ring. Rings can be personalized with names and the year as well.
“Not a day goes by that when someone sees my Auburn ring I don’t get a ‘War Eagle,’” Alsobrook said. “The Auburn ring is a wearable diploma that is only made available to Auburn graduates.”
The ring is one of many ways that graduates can signal belonging to the Auburn Family, but in recent years, the tradition surrounding the ring has actualized into something that aims to last years down the line.
“The Auburn ring is so special because it allows students to be apart of the special tradition of ring night and the official ring ceremony,” Alsobrook said.
In 2014, ring night was introduced as a new aspect of the tradition. At the now-annual event, all the ring recipients put their rings in a box that goes on top of the Auburn Seal in front of Langdon Hall, mimicking one of Auburn’s long-standing stories.
“Auburn’s rooted in tradition, and I think ring night just adds to that,” said Dixon Simmons, Student Government Association treasurer.
According to the Auburn myth introduced to all incoming students, if a student is to step on the University Seal, they will be cursed and will not be able to graduate in four years or find their Auburn sweetheart. The only way to remove the curse is to jump into the president’s fountain on the Leap Day of a Leap Year.
To adapt the legend to the ring ceremony, the rings are said to be cursed when the box is placed on the University Seal.
To break the curse, the current year’s ring recipients are called up three nights later and get to dip their ring in the president’s fountain, reversing the curse.
“More and more students are buying into being a part of this tradition, which has been really cool for SGA to see,” Simmons said.
Since the introduction of ring night, sales have nearly doubled, Simmons said.
“I think it’s really cool because, for example, an alum who graduated in 2005 or 2006 is going to have the same ring as me, so if you’re walking around on a gameday or in an airport or wherever it may be, and you see an Auburn alum wearing that ring, it’s going to be the same one as yours.”
Simmons said he wants students to join in on the tradition and realize that there is tradition behind the ring.
“It’s not a graduation ring; it’s an Auburn ring,” Simmons said.
SGA also recently helped usher in the “dinner ring” after receiving feedback from many female students, who wanted a more fashionable style that can be worn for daily activities, not just more formal events.
“Ring night is a pretty new tradition,” Simmons said. “I think it’s going to be really cool to see 50 years from now, when I’m coming back as an alum, hearing about ring night and seeing where it is then.”
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