Auburn Tigers news: Auburn wheelchair basketball beats Alabama

The Auburn Tigers wheelchair basketball team made the trip to Tuscaloosa to face off against the Crimson Tide on January 22-23, and left T-town with a win under their belts.

The Tigers and the Tide played two games, one at 10am and one at 2:30pm CST. Alabama’s team just managed to scrape by Auburn in the early game with a close final score of 59-61.

However, in the later game, the Tigers came out on top when the final buzzer sounded, finishing up with a dub at 63-61.

Auburn University’s wheelchair basketball program started back in 2007 with students and community members, but 2019 marks the first season that the team was comprised solely of student athletes.

The list of colleges that provide adapted athletics is fairly short, and the list of schools in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Intercollegiate league is even shorter. The NWBA website names 13 teams for the 2020-21 season, four of which hail from other SEC schools— Alabama, Florida, and Missouri in addition to Auburn.

Wheelchair basketball coach Robb Taylor came to the Plains in 2016 after coaching all over the world. Taylor was with the U.S. Men’s wheelchair basketball team from 2013-2016, and even brought home a gold medal from the Rio Paralympic Games.

In his time coaching the Auburn Tigers, Taylor has empowered the student athletes and made big steps for the program. Ranley Clayton, the only female member of the team, was encouraged by Taylor to try out for the 2018 U.S. women’s Paralympic team.

Although she didn’t make the team, Clayton was empowered to come back to Auburn and continue to work towards that goal.

Big things are in the works for Auburn wheelchair basketball, and big things are in the rearview mirror too…including handing a big L to Alabama.

War Eagle!