The Auburn Tigers will open their season in Arlington, Texas this weekend. It will be a top 25 matchup as the 16th-ranked Tigers take on #11 Oregon. The game will also mark the debut of a decal on the back of the Tigers’ helmets paying tribute to late broadcaster Rod Bramblett.
“It’s appropriate, it’s awesome,” Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn told the media on Tuesday. “I know our players will take great pride in having that on their helmet.”
Bramblett was employed by Auburn for 27 years. He started out as the play-by-play voice of the baseball team. He went on to call the last 16 seasons of Auburn football. He and his wife, Paula were killed in a car crash on May 25. The driver of the other car in that crash, a teenager that was found to driving 30 mph over the speed limit, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter in their deaths.
The football team isn’t the only Auburn athletic program paying tribute to Bramblett. Basketball coach Bruce Pearl said in May that he is lobbying the school to name the media area at Auburn Arena after the late broadcaster.
“I didn’t get the pleasure of listening to his calls, except I did (hear) some amazing football calls,” Pearl said. “But when you spend a half hour, 90 minutes before every game and you go over the game plan and you go over what you think you’re gonna do, and then you visit after the game and you travel together. Look, Rod cared about you, he cared about your kids, he cared about your players, he cared about your wife.”
Andy Burcham, who has worked for Auburn athletics for the last 31 years, takes over as the voice of the Tigers this season. He was Rod Bramblett’s partner on Auburn baseball broadcasts for the last quarter-century.
