Auburn students recount scene outside Neville Arena ahead of College Gameday

Saturday morning was supposed to be a time of excitement and anticipation for Auburn basketball fans, with ESPN’s College GameDay coming to campus ahead of No. 1 Auburn’s showdown with No. 6 Tennessee.

For many fans, that excitement remains, but a for a number of Auburn students, the excitement was quelled by the scene outside of Neville Arena before students were allowed in to watch College GameDay.

The Neville Arena doors opened at 7 a.m. and students were allowed to begin lining up outside at 6:30. It was a change in procedures from previous times the show has come to Auburn, where students have been able to camp out the night before.

Due to what the university deemed “extreme temperatures,” camping was not allowed, and students were not allowed to begin lining up until 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

When the line was opened, multiple people at the scene reported fans being trampled and rushing toward the front of the line, causing injuries to people in the area.

“Once the gate opened to funnel all of us into the small gate opening, it was just a huge cattle stampede,” said Cooper Smith, an Auburn senior who was in line at the time. “People were falling down and getting hurt all over the place. There was no sign of organization at all.”

Logan Smith, another Auburn senior, said he got to Neville Arena at 3 a.m., but people “stampeded forward” once the line officially opened at 6:30 a.m.

Smith said he saw people on the ground “screaming and crying in pain in fear” while the stampede was happening.

“I ended up being towards the front of the line to nearly the very back just because I refused to just step over these injured students like everyone else was doing,” Smith said.

He added that there have been smaller “mob instances” to get into the arena in the past, but “nothing to this extent.”

“They were not prepared for this in any way,” Logan Smith added. “Not enough security and the worst job I’ve ever seen of maintaining a crowd. Whoever was in charge of this needs to be held accountable. The University needs to be held accountable.”

According to a statement provided to AL.com by an Auburn spokesperson, “On site medical staff reported a few minor injuries which were addressed locally by EMS.”

Sammy Lifshen (pictured above) was one of the students injured from the rush toward the front of the line. She sustained multiple facial injuries, including a chipped tooth and a laceration on her chin that required six stitches.

It happened after she said, “everyone started stampeding and full-on sprinting, and I got tripped and fell flat on my face.”

Lifshen was able to get up and rejoin the line, but she was helped inside the arena by security where she was treated by EMS before going to the hospital. Despite her injuries, she still got a wristband to gain entry back into the arena for the game and was complimentary of the arena staff and security guard who helped her.

“All the staff inside Neville and the security guard that helped me were super nice,” Lifshen told AL.com.

The full statement from Auburn read:

“Extreme weather conditions during the course of the week forced Auburn to make the difficult decision to disallow the traditional premier match-up camp out which occurs in Jungle Village, and allows students to line up gradually over a period of time.

As temperatures deemed a camp out to be unsafe, the student line was announced to open at 6:30 a.m., prior to doors opening for students and fans at 7 a.m.

For a brief moment upon line opening, a group of students rushed around the side of security, working personnel and students who had staged near the barricade entry. Those students began jumping barricades to gain entry which impacted the students trying to enter the barricades in an orderly fashion.

All students in line in advance of this morning’s live broadcast – including students who walked up after the initial line was cleared – were admitted to the arena and provided with a wristband for entry to tonight’s game.

On site medical staff reported a few minor injuries which were addressed locally by EMS. Auburn is reviewing feedback and video footage from the line to develop plans for future games to ensure student safety."

One student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he came with a friend, but “completely lost him” once students began rushing toward the front of the line.

“Feet weren’t touching the ground, but moving with the crowd,” the student said. “This one girl’s face was wrecked. It was bad.”

A number of people took to social media to voice their frustrations with how the line was handled.

In the statement, the university stated that “All students in line in advance of this morning’s live broadcast – including students who walked up after the initial line was cleared – were admitted to the arena and provided with a wristband for entry to tonight’s game.”

However, some students such as Cooper Smith decided to leave after being present for the rush toward the gate.

“If we had stayed in, like we would’ve gotten in, but we were in a bad mood after what happened,” Smith said.

Tipoff for Auburn’s matchup with Tennessee is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Students are allowed to get back in line at 4 p.m. and doors are scheduled to open at 6 p.m.

This story will be updated

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com