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A spirit that is not afraid

Neville Arena stampede update

The crowd to get into College Gameday prior to Auburn's matchup with Tennessee on Jan. 25, 2024.
The crowd to get into College Gameday prior to Auburn's matchup with Tennessee on Jan. 25, 2024.

Following the chaotic crowd experience outside of Neville Arena on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 25, Auburn University's office of public affairs has released an additional statement. 

The statement recounts the context, details and steps moving forward the university is taking to handle the situation. It also urges any students with serious injuries to step forward and contact Dr. Bobby Woodard, senior vice president of student affairs. 

The following statement is from Dr. Jennifer Wood Adams, executive director of public affairs: 

Background
The extremely low temperatures of last week motivated a deviation from our traditional and tested method of admission to Neville Arena where students queue for admission.  As such, students were asked to begin lining up at 6:30 a.m., on Saturday, Jan. 25, for the College Game Day event. The doors opened at 7 a.m. for students and fans to enter Neville Arena. 
When the arena doors opened, security officials led the line of students to the door of the arena. It was at this time that a small group of people leapt over the barricades or knocked over the barricades in an effort to beat the main line of students who were lined up appropriately and in an orderly fashion. It was during this commotion that students, who were following the correct procedures for admittance, were impacted by the rush of students behind them. The entire incident was brief but resulted in a few minor injuries and considerable alarm. 
What Happened:
There were six minor injuries reported by on-site medical staff and the injuries were addressed locally by EMS. No student was transported from campus by ambulance to the hospital. 
At this time, we have no verifiable reports of any broken bones resulting from Saturday’s incident at Neville Arena. 
If you are aware of a student who suffered a serious injury on Saturday, such as a broken bone, please have them reach out to Dr. Bobby Woodard, the Senior Vice President of Student Affairs. Dr. Woodard can assist the student with any necessary services they may need.  
What’s Next:
Auburn is reviewing our game day policies and procedures and, with ample student input, will assess the best method for how students should gain admission to future men’s basketball games. The safety of our students, personnel and community members is of utmost importance.

This is a developing story. The Plainsman will continue to update as information comes in.  


Sami Grace Donnelly | Editor-in-Chief

Sami Grace Donnelly, senior in English literature, began writing for the Plainsman in the fall of 2021. She has served as a columnist, writer abroad, Opinion Editor, managing editor and is now Editor-in-Chief of the Plainsman. 

sgd0023@auburn.edu

@samigraced


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