Auburn Claims 7 Additional CFB National Championships, Includes 13-0 Team in 2004

In the blink of an eye, Auburn's football program went from having two national titles in its storied history to nine.

Auburn athletic director John Cohen announced on Tuesday the football program will claim seven additional national championships.

"For too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program’s storied history—choosing to only recognize Associated Press National Championships," Cohen said. "Starting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn’s proud history."

The claimed titles will be from the pre-major college football poll era in 1910, 1913 and 1914, as well as the 1958, 1983, 1993 and 2004 seasons.

Auburn previously only claimed titles from the 1957 and 2010 seasons.

The history of national titles in college football is murky because there's not an official NCAA championship. Instead, it was usually determined by an acknowledged poll or selector that would determine the champion.

This model could lead to split titles within the same season. For instance, in 1997, Michigan and Nebraska both finished undefeated with Michigan ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll and Nebraska atop the final coaches' poll, so both teams claimed the national title.

The system has improved somewhat over the years with the advent of the BCS and now the College Football Playoff. The BCS model was also deeply flawed, as Auburn found out in 2004.

The 2004 regular season ended with five undefeated teams. Auburn, USC and Oklahoma were the three clubs fighting for the top two spots in the BCS and a matchup in the Orange Bowl to determine the BCS champion.

The Trojans and Sooners finished in the top two spots, leaving Auburn to "settle" for a matchup with Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. USC ran all over Oklahoma in a 55-19 win, but the program later vacated its final two wins from the 2004 season and all of its wins in 2005 as part of NCAA sanctions stemming from impermissible benefits given to Reggie Bush.

The BCS announced in June 2011 it stripped USC of the 2004 national title as a result of the Bush investigation. There hasn't been a formally recognized champion for that season since, but Auburn is claiming one after finishing 13-0.

It's not uncommon for programs to claim more national titles than the NCAA formally recognizes. For example, Alabama's football program claims 18 titles, two more than the NCAA officially recognizes.

Cohen's announcement about Auburn claiming seven additional national titles comes as the program is preparing to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the 2010 team that went 14-0 and defeated Oregon in the BCS Championship Game.

The school will retire Cam Newton's No. 2 jersey prior to an Oct. 11 game against Georgia. Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy after throwing for 2,584 yards, running for 1,473 yards and accounting for 50 touchdowns.

Auburn's nine claimed national titles in football is tied with USC and Ohio State for sixth-most all-time.