There is at least one person who believes the 2004 Auburn football team should be recognized as a national champion.
Its coach.
Tommy Tuberville, a Camden native who guided the Tigers to a 13-0 record and the SEC championship in 2004, disagrees with Auburn's decision not to recognize his team as national champion.
Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs said in May the school would only claim national titles in football for its 1957 and 2010 teams. A school committee had discussed whether to recognize past teams in 1910, 1913, 1914, 1983, 1993 and 2004 as national champions.
"Obviously, I wasn't on that committee," Tubervile told Birmingham News columnist Kevin Scarbinsky on Scarbinsky's radio show on WNSP-AM in Mobile, Ala.
Auburn was second behind Southern California in the final polls in 2004. USC beat Oklahoma in the national championship game but was later stripped of the title after being hit with NCAA probation for rules violations involving Reggie Bush.
Tuberville said he didn't know why the 2004 Auburn team couldn't be recognized.
"I don't know why that team wouldn't be recognized," said Tuberville, who is now the head coach at Cincinnati. "USC beat Oklahoma handily. We finished undefeated and they caught USC with their hand in the cookie jar and took the title away from them. I never could understand why they just vacated it instead of saying, 'We're going to name another champion.'
"It doesn't make anybody any money. That's the reason they didn't do it. It doesn't make any money for TV or anybody out there, so they just said, 'Ah, we'll just vacate it and we won't have a champion for 2004.'
"Little disappointed with some of the administration there at Auburn that didn't help us with that. They could've stepped up and said, 'Hey, since that happened, we're going to recognize the 2004 team as national champions.' A lot of people would've done that because we did all we could do.
"We took care of business."
Radio blues
Jim Harbaugh has been in the media limelight from the moment he was introduced as Michigan's football coach in December, but his interview Wednesday with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio wasn't one of his best moments.
The interview lasted eight minutes with Harbaugh offering short answers to Cowherd's questions.
Putting himself in a hypothetical situation, Cowherd asked Harbaugh what his sales pitch would be if Cowherd were a high school football player looking for a college.
"Do you have any eligibility, Colin?" Harbaugh replied, jokingly.
"No, and I can't play worth a d***," Cowherd said. "But what I'm saying is ... I want Jim Harbaugh, the guy. 'Cause I bring all these coaches on and I want the guy! ... I'm a 4.3 [-second 40-yard time] wide receiver, why should I play at Michigan?"
"You are?," Harbaugh asked.
"No," Cowherd said. "But if I was?!?!?"
Harbaugh took a deep breath but didn't say a word
Cowherd ended the interview shortly after that question, calling the interview a clunker.
He didn't get any argument from Harbaugh.
"In my experience of participating in interviews, I've found it takes 2 to produce a clunker!" Harbaugh posted later on Twitter. "I'll take 50 percent responsibility 4 this clunker."
SPORTS QUIZ
Where did Tommy Tuberville play college football?
ANSWER
Southern Arkansas University
Sports on 07/02/2015