Outside the 2010 Auburn football team, the 2004 squad is considered the best in program history. Head coach Tommy Tuberville, who took over for the SEC squad in 1999, led the way for the Tigers, posting a perfect 13-0 record and a win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Tuberville served as the frontman with the Tigers for ten seasons, posting an undefeated campaign, winning five bowl games while finishing ranked in the AP Top 25 every season but four. Post Auburn, Tuberville, a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, posted short stints with Texas Tech and Cincinnati before trying his hand at politics. He eventually became the Senator of Alabama, a position he still holds in 2024.
Despite his political status and being far removed from coaching, Tuberville has made sports headlines this offseason. The 69-year-old received criticism this summer after a recruiting horror story surfaced from his time with Auburn football. On the heels of the report made by former Auburn wideout Tyler Siskey, college football fans relived Tuberville’s unceremonious exit from Texas Tech in 2012. On Thursday, Tuberville, through his Twitter account (also known as X), sided with former Notre Dame Fighting Irish national championship-winning coach Lou Holtz regarding voting eligibility.
Lou Holtz: Talks Illegal Voting
at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Mandatory Credit: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News via USA TODAY NETWORK (Auburn Tigers news Auburn Tigers in the NFL Auburn)
“This idea about you can have a vote without being a citizen. That’s wrong. I don’t care how you twist it or turn it. Nobody in this country should stand for that. That’s not the right thing to do. You win the election fair and square, that’s great, but we aren’t gonna have non-citizens vote. That’s just my thought, and for anybody saying that’s okay, that’s hypocritical,” said Holtz on his Twitter account.
Former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville, who coached the Tigers during Holtz’s tenure at South Carolina, backed his former peer via social media. Tuberville wrote on his Twitter page, saying, “Coach Lou Holtz is right on the money. ONLY American citizens are legally allowed to vote in our elections.”
. @CoachlouHoltz88 is right on the money.
ONLY American citizens are legally allowed to vote in our elections. https://t.co/pMOcCNgq3O— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) July 11, 2024
Despite Holtz’s and Tuberville’s stance on non-citizens voting, it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal, state, and most local elections under federal law. Additionally, those convicted of a felony can potentially be withheld from voting. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 “explicitly prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections,” per the Bipartisan Policy Center. States verify voter identity through a federal database, including the Social Security Administration. Illegal voting in a federal election, like this presidential election of 2024, can lead to a one-year prison sentence.
Tommy Tuberville: Political Career
Tommy Tuberville largely succeeded as a college football coach, especially in his years with Auburn football. However, he received criticism for handling specific situations as a frontman and struggled in his final years with Cincinnati. Nevertheless, there is no love lost between Tuberville and the U.S. population since the start of his political career.
In 2020, Tuberville publically denounced the presidential election, attempting to overturn the loss by Republican candidate Donald J. Trump. In 2022, in his most controversial move, Tuberville announced he would hold all “civilian, flag, and general officer promotions” due to the “illegal expansion of DoD authority and gross misuse of taxpayer dollars” for abortions.
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