Bruce Pearl addresses pre-College GameDay stampede outside Neville Arena
Auburn men’s basketball earned a significant win Saturday, beating No. 6 Tennessee 53-51.
However, the day started on a more somber note after what many called a stampede occurred outside Neville Arena Saturday morning. It happened prior to ESPN’s College GameDay doing its show live from the arena.
Students were allowed to begin lining up outside the arena at 6:30 a.m. before the doors opened at 7 a.m., a change from previous big games where students were allowed to camp out the night before. The university did not allow overnight camping due to “extreme temperatures.”
In a statement sent to AL.com on the day of the events, the university stated that, “On site medical staff reported a few minor injuries which were addressed locally by EMS.” Auburn also said it “was reviewing feedback and video footage from the line to develop plans for future games to ensure student safety.”
Bruce Pearl was asked about the incident Saturday morning during his Tuesday news conference, but said he has not been very involved in conversations regarding the incident.
“I’ve not been very involved in it other than wanting to make sure that our students have just the best possible experience,” Pearl said. “Our students were amazing. Just when you thought that College Gameday couldn’t get any better or our students couldn’t be any more intense or impactful in a game, they were. We wanna make sure that they’re provided with a safe and a situation. I know that they’re working towards that end.”
Auburn released an additional statement about the incident on Tuesday, saying six students suffered minor injuries and addressed locally by EMS.
The release added that no student was transported from campus by ambulance to the hospital and there were no “verifiable reports” of students suffering broken bones.
Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m