Former Auburn gymnast Caitlin Atkinson remembers returning to The Plains not long ago for an alumni gymnastics meet and walking downtown, taking notice of all the Auburn greats whose names were etched into plaques that were cemented into the sidewalk.

“It would be really cool to have my name down there, but that’ll never happen to me,” Atkinson said Saturday morning, echoing what she thought to herself that day.

About a year later, Atkinson got an email saying she was one of four Auburn greats to be inducted into the 2024 Tiger Trail class.

And on Saturday morning from Auburn’s Rane Room, Atkinson joined Auburn softball’s Kasey Cooper, former Auburn basketball coach Cliff Ellis and Auburn football’s Takeo Spikes in being honored as the most recent inductees onto Auburn’s Tiger Trail.

“We love Auburn and wore it across our chest,” said Atkinson, who finished her Auburn career as an eight-time all-American and the 2016 SEC Gymnast of the Year.

Atkinson’s quote sufficiently encompassed the feelings of not only herself, but the trio of Auburn legends who joined her Saturday morning.

Ellis, who coached Auburn’s men’s basketball team from 1994-04, took the podium and said being back on The Plains and hearing “War Eagle” was enough to give him chills.

“You hear that fight song, the war eagle flying down onto the field — it just brings up the hair on the back of your neck,” Ellis said. “This is what gives me that chill. To come back and think of the great times, the friendships all those years.”

In Ellis’ 10-year tenure at Auburn, he compiled a 186-125 record and led the 1998-99 team to an SEC regular-season championship, as well as three NCAA Tournament berths which included a pair of Sweet 16 appearances.

Last month, Ellis was honored during the SEC men’s basketball tournament as an SEC Legend.

Following Ellis’ time at Auburn, he went on to spend 16 seasons at the helm of Coastal Carolina’s men’s basketball program before retiring last December. Ellis retired as the active leader in NCAA wins.

“Auburn is family, it really is. It’s family,” Ellis said. “And even though I’ve been gone for a long time, it’s still family to me. This is a home.”

And for four years, Auburn also served as a home for Cooper, a Dothan native whose name remains etched in Auburn softball’s record books.

During her time wearing the orange and blue, which spanned from 2014-17, Cooper helped the Tigers to a pair of SEC Tournament championships and back-to-back appearances in the Women’s College World Series.

At the time of her graduation, Cooper was the SEC’s all-time record-holder in RBIs with 270. She also ended her career with three all-American selections, was named the 2016 ESPNW National Player of the Year and was a finalist for USA Softball’s Player of the Year Award.

“Boy, Auburn looks so much nicer not doing 5 a.m. workouts,” Cooper joked Saturday. “I don’t miss any of that. But I miss what it took to be great. You have to do that to be great. Auburn broke me and it breaks everybody because it builds you back stronger. And you appreciate all of that.”

Cooper went on to represent Team USA as a member of the women’s national softball team for three seasons after her Auburn career.

After hanging up her cleats, Cooper went on to pursue a medical degree from UAB’s Heersink School of Medicine and was later accepted to the Ophthalmology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin last spring.

In an 2023 interview, Cooper said she intended on returning to Auburn to open her own ophthalmology practice.

Then there was the broad-shouldered Spikes, who sat in the front row of Saturday morning’s ceremony.

“I still see you as a young guy,” Ellis said, gesturing to Spikes. “I still see you knocking people’s heads off.”

A member of Auburn’s football team from 1995-97, Spikes led the Tigers’ defense with 136 tackles in 1997 — a year Auburn advanced to the SEC Championship.

While Auburn fell to Peyton Manning and Tennessee by one point in the title game, Spikes was still named the game’s MVP.

Upon taking the podium Saturday, Spikes, who is rarely at a loss for words, was overcome with emotion.

After taking a second to compose himself, Spikes was able to continue.

“I’m emotional because the old saying or adage ‘it takes a village’… it truly takes a village,” Spikes finally choked out. “I’m emotional because I look up and I see some of the names, some of the people in the room that had so much, so much to do with my success.”

Following his decorated career at Auburn which featured a pair of all-American honors, Spikes went on to have a 15-year career in the NFL.

Spikes was named to the Pro Football Writers Association’s all-rookie team in 1998 after Spikes’ first season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Spikes then went on to be a two-time Pro Bowl selection as a member of the Buffalo Bills in 2003 and 2004.

After ending his career with the San Diego Chargers in 2012, by his mother’s request, Spikes returned to Auburn to get his degree in 2017.

“I took a picture right out here in the hallway and my daughter, she was with me, and little did I know that she will be coming to Auburn University.”

Spikes’ daughter, Jakai Spikes, is set to graduate from Auburn with a degree in journalism in August.

“I’m proud to have my daughter here today,” Spikes said. “I’ve done a lot of cool stuff in life, but this is the coolest.”

Plaque locations

After drawing their plots at random on Saturday morning, the 2024 Tiger Trail inductees will eventually see their plaques cemented in the following locations:

Caitlin Atkinson — Near J&M Bookstore along South College Street

Kasey Cooper — Near Toomer’s Drugs along East Magnolia Avenue

Cliff Ellis — Near Halftime Sports Bar along North College Street

Takeo Spikes — Near Toomer’s Drugs along East Magnolia Avenue