Auburn Defends Hugh Freeze Hire in Email Responses to Fans With Concerns

The president and AD sent messages to those who reached out to the school.

As Auburn zeroed in on hiring Hugh Freeze in the days following Thanksgiving, those in the Tigers fan base who disagreed with the decision made their voices heard in the email inboxes of athletic director John Cohen and school president Chris Roberts.

In emails obtained Monday by Sports Illustrated, Auburn has responded to those concerned, building on its public defense of the hire in last week’s press conference introducing Freeze as coach. The school sent out emails attributed to Roberts in rolling responses throughout Monday. They were sent to multiple people in reply to their Thanksgiving-week messages about Freeze’s hiring, reading in part:

“… the selection of Coach Hugh Freeze was the result of an extensive search process, which included interviews with 18 potential candidates and an in-depth evaluation of 11 candidates who continued to the vetting stage. Athletics Director John Cohen and his staff reviewed the personal and professional history of each candidate, which included a detailed evaluation of documents and candid conversations with men and women with direct knowledge of those candidates. Cohen said that as a result of this thorough process, Coach Freeze emerged as the right person to lead our football program.”

To later close the email, Roberts promises the university will “acknowledge our failings” and “correct our shortcomings” if there are any “instances where we do not live up to the principles of the [Auburn] Creed.”

Freeze (left) and Cohen at the coach’s introductory presser.

Todd Van Emst/AP

Depending on the specific type of concern raised by the initial emailer, some responses included only the above, while others also had information about Auburn’s Title IX resources and links to resources about Auburn’s power-based personal violence programming.

Emails attributed to Cohen were sent out over the last few days with a boilerplate message:

“I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you reaching out. We look forward to great days ahead. Thank you for your passion for Auburn Athletics.”

Issues that have followed Freeze throughout his career go back more than 20 years to the late 1990s, when three women who were students at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis—where Freeze got his start as a football coach—told USA Today in 2017 that Freeze made them feel uncomfortable with inappropriate behavior. That same year, Freeze was forced to resign as coach at Ole Miss after an internal investigation found “a concerning pattern” of calls to escort services on his school-issued cellphone. At the time, the Mississippi program was under investigation for NCAA violations following a lengthy NCAA notice of allegations. They yielded a two-year postseason ban and major recruiting restrictions.

In Freeze’s introductory press conference, Cohen said the search he headed was “thoughtful and thorough” involving industry experts, teachers, pro/college coaches, law enforcement officials, student athletes, parents and others.