COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 27: Head coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the first quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on September 27, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
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Hugh Freeze was fired last week by Auburn University after going 15-19 over two-plus seasons as their football coach. While the play of Auburn was very mediocre during Freeze’s tenure, many inside the program also blamed his golf habit for his release.
After Auburn’s 10-3 loss to Kentucky on November 1, which moved the Tigers to 1-5 in SEC play, the university decided to fire Freeze and pay his $15.8 million buyout.
Freeze’s release from his coaching duties was not a surprise. The Tigers had lost five of their last six games after starting the season with three wins. But according to multiple sources, it wasn’t just the poor play on the field that cost Freeze his job, his love for golf also was a factor.
According to a CBS Sports report by John Talty, multiple sources inside the Auburn football program/community told him “ just how much Freeze seemed to prioritize his golf game over doing everything possible to improve the Tigers’ football program. Last season, for instance, he was spotted on the golf course multiple times on Sundays after losses the previous day.”
One program booster, according to Talty, proclaimed “The only problem we didn’t foresee is that he wanted to play golf way more than coach anymore!”
Another Auburn booster told the outlet that they had seen Freeze at the golf course on a Friday before a home game and the football coach “just came out to the golf course without clubs to watch guys play golf.”
Freeze had stated publicly in the past that golfing did not detract from his coaching work, but he was not seen as much on the golf course this fall during Auburn’s struggles. Other coaches however, have used Freeze’s golf addiction against him. This summer, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin commented on a Freeze ‘X’ post about a Ryder Cup event he was in, and how it wasn’t helping recruiting, amid his worst ranked recruiting class in the SEC.
AUBURN, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 21: Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels (R) shakes hands with head coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers after their match at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
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Golf was even involved in tipping off Auburn fans that Freeze was about to be fired. A sleuth Auburn fan noticed that his standing tee time at Auburn University Golf Club had been taken off the tee sheet for Sunday following the Tigers’ loss to Kentucky.
Hugh Freeze commented earlier this year about his golf saying, “Everybody seems to like to talk about my golf game,” Freeze said. “I enjoy playing it to get away.” After his firing and the $15.8 million buyout, he will have plenty of time and money to pursue his golfing passion.
