Auburn, Hugh Freeze make the Ben Aigamaua hire official
Release via Auburn Athletics
AUBURN – Ben Aigamaua has been named the tight ends coach at Auburn, head coach Hugh Freeze announced Thursday. Aigamaua comes to Auburn with 13 years of experience at the collegiate level, including seven years at Ole Miss, and spent the last four seasons as tight ends coach at Liberty.
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“Ben played for me at Lambuth and has worked on our staff in various capacities over the past decade,” Freeze said. “He is a tireless worker and has developed into an excellent coach, teacher and recruiter. Ben has a unique ability to connect with people and will be a great mentor and coach for the tight ends room.”
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In his four years at Liberty, the Flames won 34 games and became the third current FBS team to become bowl eligible in each of its first four seasons since transitioning from the FCS (Appalachian State: 2015-2021; Marshall: 1997-2002). The program entered the 2022 season as one of five FBS teams to win three straight bowl games, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana on the list.
“I’ve been blessed to play for Coach Freeze and be a part of his staff for over a decade,” Aigamaua said. “My family and I are excited to be joining the Auburn family and I’m thrilled to be coaching at this outstanding institution with such a great football tradition.”
Under Aigamaua’s leadership in 2022, Liberty saw three different tight ends haul in a touchdown pass and the group accounted for 236 yards on 27 receptions.
In four seasons, Aigamaua’s tight end group hauled in a collective 109 receptions for 1,267 yards and 20 touchdowns while Liberty finished top 25 in the country in total offense on a pair of occasions. The Flames finished the 2020 season with a 10-1 record and ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll, its highest end-of-year ranking in program history.
Individually, a pair of Aigamaua’s tight ends earned accolades as Johnny Huntley was named to the Phil Steele FBS Independent All-Conference Team in 2020 and 2021, and Michael Bollinger was named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
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Prior to his time at Liberty, Aigamaua served as a graduate assistant, offensive analyst and assistant athletic director of community relations at Ole Miss from 2012-18, the first five seasons with Freeze as the head coach. The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 3 in the country on a pair of occasions and finished top 10 in the final polls for the first time in nearly 50 years. The team finished top 25 in the country in total offense five times during the seven-year span.
Aigamaua broke into the industry as a graduate assistant at his alma mater of Lambuth in 2010 before spending a year in the same capacity at Arkansas Tech in 2011.
Before becoming a graduate assistant in 2010, he was a four-year starter on the defensive line at Lambuth from 2006-09, including the last two seasons with Freeze as the head coach. He was a three-year team captain and two-time all-conference honoree.
Aigamaua earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Lambuth in 2010 and master’s degree in integrated sports marketing from Ole Miss in 2015.
