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Auburn University is an American institution of higher learning located in Auburn, Alabama. It was chartered in 1856 as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Church. The college was donated to the state of Alabama in 1872. It became the state's land-grant, public university and was called the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. In 1899, it was renamed the Alabama Polytechnical Institute, and in 1960, its name was changed to Auburn University. Today, it is the largest university in Alabama with an enrollment of about 22,000.
The school's sports teams are known as the Tigers, and they participate in the NCAA's Division I-A athletics and in the 12-member Southeastern Conference. Auburn's football team, coached by Tommy Tuberville, won a national championship in 1957.
Auburn's interim president is Ed Richardson, who was appointed after the resignation of former President William Walker in January 2004. Walker stepped down under pressure after a scandal in which he interviewed a prospect for the school's head football coaching job without first telling Tuberville that his job was in danger.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the university on probation in December 2003, citing micromanagement from the university's board of trustees, including prominent trustee Bobby Lowder, chairman of Colonial Bank in Montgomery, Alabama.
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