About Alabama vs Auburn
In-state rivals Alabama and Auburn meet every season in the Iron Bowl, a fierce rivalry game that is among the most heated in college football. The teams first met in 1893, and the Auburn Tigers claimed the inaugural victory. In 1932, Alabama and Auburn became charter members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and both teams would become true football heavyweights over the following century.
The name of the rivalry game dates to 1964, when Auburn coach Shug Jordan was asked about missing out on a postseason bowl game. Jordan responded, "We've got our bowl game. We have it every year. It's the Iron Bowl in Birmingham."
The teams faced off in Birmingham every year between 1904 and 1988. In 1989, the Auburn Tigers hosted the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn for the first time, beating the Crimson Tide in front of a sell-out crowd. Alabama continued to play its "home" Iron Bowls in Birmingham until 2000, when the game returned to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1901. This marked the start of a new era for the Iron Bowl, which now alternates between Jordan-Hare and Bryant-Denny Stadium.
