Hugh Freeze Auburn: Hugh Freeze, the head football coach of Liberty University, is returning to the Southeastern Conference.
On Monday afternoon, the Auburn Tigers officially announced that they had hired Freeze as their 31st head coach in football program history. ESPN’s Chris Low had previously reported a deal had been reached.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Freeze’s contract will last six years with an average salary of $6.5 million per year.
Freeze had previously served as coach at Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016, but resigned prior to the 2017 season after admitting personal misconduct.
Thamel reported on Saturday that Freeze and Auburn have been informally engaged in contract talks for “more than a week,” with an offer expected after Saturday’s Iron Bowl against No. 7 Alabama. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they lost by 49-27 to finish the regular season with a 5-7 record, 2-6 conference record, ranking sixth in the SEC West.
Coach Freeze guided Liberty to an 8-4 record this season, though the Flames finished with three straight losses. According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Auburn will owe Liberty “around $3 million” as part of a buyout agreement for hiring Freeze.
Since being hired by Liberty in December 2018, Freeze has guided the team to a 34-15 record over four seasons and helped the Flames reach bowl games for the first time ever in program history. Under Freeze’s leadership, Liberty is 3-0 in postseason contests.
Freeze’s tenure at Ole Miss saw him guide the Rebels to an impressive 39-25 record.
An NCAA investigation uncovered numerous recruiting violations, most of which occurred under Freeze. School officials discovered he used his university cellphone to contact a number associated with an escort service for business purposes. As a result of the investigation, Ole Miss had to vacate 33 wins – 27 were under Freeze – as well as receive sanctions such as a two-year postseason ban, three year probation period and scholarship reductions.
Freeze has only had one losing season in his 12 years as a college football head coach. Now he will take charge of an Auburn program that hasn’t finished higher than third in the SEC West since 2017 and has lost three consecutive bowl games.
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