Auburn announces major changes for spring game, A-Day format

Auburn is making a significant change to its spring game. The team has announced its annual A-Day Spring football game will instead “look more like a traditional practice” at Jordan-Hare Stadium this year, the team released in a statement Tuesday morning.

The April 12th event will still be open to the public, and will begin at 11 am CT with an alumni flag football game and a Tiger Walk at 11:30 am. The A-Day practice will start at noon CT and run for an hour, according to the release.

Following the practice, Auburn will host a post-practice Fan Day autograph session with head coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn players on Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium and last about 90 minutes. This will take the place of the annual Fan Day event usually held in August during Fall camp.

Auburn’s decision to not put on an actual intrasquad scrimmage to end its Spring practice schedule follows similar moves taking place all across college football, beginning with Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule‘s announcement on Feb. 1 that the Cornhuskers were canceling their annual Spring game citing tampering concerns.

Auburn becomes the 19th Power Four program to announce plans to do away with the traditional spring game format. They join Alabama, Arizona, Florida State, Iowa, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas and USC, among others, according to a list compiled by On3.

Kalen DeBoer: Alabama planning for ‘modified’ A-Day spring game

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is planning for a modified spring game, he told On3 on Feb. 25. Entering his second season with the Crimson Tide, the A-Day Game is scheduled for April 12 but isn’t expected to be a regular scrimmage.

Across the country, multiple Power Four programs have called off their spring games. Nebraska and USC have canceled theirs citing injuries and tampering in the transfer portal, while Missouri and Florida State have ongoing stadium renovations.

DeBoer noted injuries as a factor in Alabama evaluating what its A-Day will look like in 2025. In his first A-Day in 2024, 58,000 fans packed Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“A lot of times here, the A-Day Game, it’s been more of a practice, and there’s been some scrimmaging, not necessarily much of a game,” he told On3. “Even when I was at Fresno State, we called it the spring preview. Especially this year, there’s some things we’re working through with some injuries and so forth. So it’ll definitely be modified. We want to try to have some type of event around April 12.”

— On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.