Auburn president Dr. Chris Roberts defended the school’s hiring of Hugh Freeze as the Tigers’ new football coach in an email response to fans who expressed concerns about Freeze’s character and past transgressions.
As news leaked out on Nov. 26, the day of the Iron Bowl, that Auburn was targeting Freeze as its top candidate following Lane Kiffin’s reaffirmation of his commitment to Ole Miss, many Auburn fans chose to make their voices hear by emailing university leadership to raise their concerns about Freeze’s viability as a candidate. Roberts has responded to many of those emails defending the hire and the process that led to Freeze being named Auburn’s coach last Monday.
Read more Auburn football: Assessing Auburn’s biggest positions of need to address through transfer portal
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In an email obtained by AL.com on Monday afternoon, Roberts’ response stated that the hiring of Freeze “was the result of an extensive search process” that included interviews with 18 head coaching candidates, 11 of whom received an “in-depth evaluation” during the vetting stage of the search.
“Athletics Director John Cohen and his staff reviewed the personal and professional history of each candidate, which included a detailed evaluation of documents and candid conversations with men and women with direct knowledge of those candidates,” Roberts said in the email. “AD Cohen said that as a result of this thorough process, Coach Freeze emerged as the right person to lead our football program.”
Cohen’s coaching search lasted four weeks, as Auburn fired then-coach Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31, the same day Cohen was named Auburn’s athletics director. It ultimately led Auburn tabbing Freeze, the former Ole Miss coach who spent the last four seasons at Liberty.
Freeze brings with him a complicated past, which includes resigning at Ole Miss in July 2017 amid personal and NCAA scandal after Ole Miss administration discovered a pattern of concerning behavior that was “not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program.” Not long after his resignation at Ole Miss, it was discovered that he made at least a dozen calls to escort services from his university-issued cell phone.
“On a very personal level, Coach Freeze has acknowledged his mistakes to his wife, Jill, his daughters and the public,” Roberts said in the email. “Over the last decade, the Freezes have publicly acknowledged that they have worked very hard to reaffirm their vows and their commitment to one another.”
Nine days after he resigned at Ole Miss, USA Today published a story reporting alleged instances of inappropriate behavior during his time as a high school coach at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis. Freeze denied those allegations.
Most recently, though, controversy surrounding Freeze arose in July when he sent unsolicited direct messages to a former Liberty student who had been a vocal critic of the university’s leadership, including athletics director Ian McCaw, who previously resigned at Baylor amid that program’s sexual assault scandal. Chelsea Andrews, a sexual assault survivor, was among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Liberty for its handling of sexual assault claims and Title IX cases. That lawsuit has since been settled but Liberty remains under federal investigation by the Department of Education for its handling of student reports of sexual assault.
RELATED: Chelsea Andrews: Auburn never asked about Hugh Freeze messages defending Liberty’s Ian McCaw
Andrews’ public criticism of McCaw led Freeze to send her direct messages defending his then-boss, calling him “the most Jesus-like leader” he had been around. Freeze apologized for those direct messages in an interview with ESPN last week but has otherwise not addressed them publicly.
“I learned from this situation that I should totally understand other people’s circumstances first before communicating or commenting on someone’s situation,” Freeze told ESPN. “It was an inadvertent misstep with no ill intent, and I am sorry.”
It was those messages to Andrews that sparked a lot of the backlash in the days leading up to Freeze’s hiring and led many fans to contact Auburn administrators by email and tag them in social media posts.
RELATED: Hugh Freeze unaware of ‘magnitude of backlash’ after Auburn hiring but hopes to win over fans
“As I have said many times, I want every person on this campus to feel welcomed, valued, respected and engaged, and that includes our alumni and fans,” Roberts said in the email. “Chief among my goals as President is maintaining a culture of excellence – in all that we do and say. My north star is the Auburn Creed. If there are instances where we do not live up to the principles of the Creed, we will acknowledge our failings and we will correct our shortcomings. That I can promise you. I hope you remain engaged in Auburn University. We are stronger as a family.”
Despite those concerns expressed by fans, Auburn hired Freeze last Monday and signed the 53-year-old coach to a six-year contract worth $6.5 million annually. Cohen has not made himself available to the media since the hire was made, only speaking briefly in prepared remarks at the beginning of Freeze’s introductory press conference, when he described the search as “thoughtful and thorough.”
As news leaked out on Nov. 26, the day of the Iron Bowl, that Auburn was targeting Freeze as its top candidate following Lane Kiffin’s reaffirmation of his commitment to Ole Miss, many Auburn fans chose to make their voices hear by emailing university leadership to raise their concerns about Freeze’s viability as a candidate. Roberts has responded to many of those emails defending the hire and the process that led to Freeze being named Auburn’s coach last Monday.
Read more Auburn football: Assessing Auburn’s biggest positions of need to address through transfer portal
Hugh Freeze on ESPN’s College GameDay: Auburn must ‘revamp the roster’ to compete for titles
Auburn AD John Cohen discusses ‘due diligence’ that led to hiring Hugh Freeze
In an email obtained by AL.com on Monday afternoon, Roberts’ response stated that the hiring of Freeze “was the result of an extensive search process” that included interviews with 18 head coaching candidates, 11 of whom received an “in-depth evaluation” during the vetting stage of the search.
“Athletics Director John Cohen and his staff reviewed the personal and professional history of each candidate, which included a detailed evaluation of documents and candid conversations with men and women with direct knowledge of those candidates,” Roberts said in the email. “AD Cohen said that as a result of this thorough process, Coach Freeze emerged as the right person to lead our football program.”
Cohen’s coaching search lasted four weeks, as Auburn fired then-coach Bryan Harsin on Oct. 31, the same day Cohen was named Auburn’s athletics director. It ultimately led Auburn tabbing Freeze, the former Ole Miss coach who spent the last four seasons at Liberty.
Freeze brings with him a complicated past, which includes resigning at Ole Miss in July 2017 amid personal and NCAA scandal after Ole Miss administration discovered a pattern of concerning behavior that was “not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program.” Not long after his resignation at Ole Miss, it was discovered that he made at least a dozen calls to escort services from his university-issued cell phone.
“On a very personal level, Coach Freeze has acknowledged his mistakes to his wife, Jill, his daughters and the public,” Roberts said in the email. “Over the last decade, the Freezes have publicly acknowledged that they have worked very hard to reaffirm their vows and their commitment to one another.”
Nine days after he resigned at Ole Miss, USA Today published a story reporting alleged instances of inappropriate behavior during his time as a high school coach at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis. Freeze denied those allegations.
Most recently, though, controversy surrounding Freeze arose in July when he sent unsolicited direct messages to a former Liberty student who had been a vocal critic of the university’s leadership, including athletics director Ian McCaw, who previously resigned at Baylor amid that program’s sexual assault scandal. Chelsea Andrews, a sexual assault survivor, was among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Liberty for its handling of sexual assault claims and Title IX cases. That lawsuit has since been settled but Liberty remains under federal investigation by the Department of Education for its handling of student reports of sexual assault.
RELATED: Chelsea Andrews: Auburn never asked about Hugh Freeze messages defending Liberty’s Ian McCaw
Andrews’ public criticism of McCaw led Freeze to send her direct messages defending his then-boss, calling him “the most Jesus-like leader” he had been around. Freeze apologized for those direct messages in an interview with ESPN last week but has otherwise not addressed them publicly.
“I learned from this situation that I should totally understand other people’s circumstances first before communicating or commenting on someone’s situation,” Freeze told ESPN. “It was an inadvertent misstep with no ill intent, and I am sorry.”
It was those messages to Andrews that sparked a lot of the backlash in the days leading up to Freeze’s hiring and led many fans to contact Auburn administrators by email and tag them in social media posts.
RELATED: Hugh Freeze unaware of ‘magnitude of backlash’ after Auburn hiring but hopes to win over fans
“As I have said many times, I want every person on this campus to feel welcomed, valued, respected and engaged, and that includes our alumni and fans,” Roberts said in the email. “Chief among my goals as President is maintaining a culture of excellence – in all that we do and say. My north star is the Auburn Creed. If there are instances where we do not live up to the principles of the Creed, we will acknowledge our failings and we will correct our shortcomings. That I can promise you. I hope you remain engaged in Auburn University. We are stronger as a family.”
Despite those concerns expressed by fans, Auburn hired Freeze last Monday and signed the 53-year-old coach to a six-year contract worth $6.5 million annually. Cohen has not made himself available to the media since the hire was made, only speaking briefly in prepared remarks at the beginning of Freeze’s introductory press conference, when he described the search as “thoughtful and thorough.”
