The 22nd-ranked Auburn football team (8-4) accepted an
invitation Sunday to play 15th-ranked Clemson (9-3) from the Atlantic
Coast Conference in the 40th annual Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. The
game will be played at the Georgia Dome beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on
Dec. 31, 2007. It will mark the program's fourth trip to the
Atlanta-based bowl.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to play in the
Chick-fil-A Bowl against a very good Clemson team," Auburn head coach
Tommy Tuberville said. "Our players and staff have worked very hard
this season and this is a tremendous reward for their efforts. We look
forward to seeing Auburn fans paint Atlanta orange and blue during bowl
week."

Members of Tigers Unlimited will be able to order bowl tickets
on-line at auburntigers.com and are reminded to order using their
customer number to ensure that their order is assigned based on
priority. Tigers Unlimited members can also order via phone at
1-800-282-1957, ext. 1, Monday-Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm CT. On-line orders
save $10 on the handling charges. Priority deadline for Tigers Unlimited
members is Friday, Dec. 7.

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Auburn University's Department of Building Science, in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, has a new name and designation and will now be known as the Earlon and Betty McWhorter School of Building Science in honor of the former Board of Trustees president pro tempore and his wife.

The McWhorters recently committed $5 million to the College of Architecture, Design and Construction and directed $3 million of the total toward endowments in what was the Department of Building Science. At the November meeting of the Board of Trustees, the board voted unanimously to recognize the quality of the program by making it a school and to pay homage to the McWhorters by renaming the program in their honor.

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The Auburn University Board of Trustees' planning and facilities committee Nov. 29 approved the final aspects of a $10.6 million renovation of guest rooms in The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

"We are very proud to be the front door of Auburn University," said Hans Van Der Reijden, hotel general manager. "This will be the first renovation of the rooms since the hotel opened in 1988, other than carpet. The improvements will add to the Auburn experience for our guests who see the hotel as their first point of contact with the university."

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Sparked by two $5 million pledges and a $10 million payment, private giving to Auburn University rose to an all-time high of $131.3 million in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. This tops the previous year's total of $105.3 million and is the third year in a row the university has broken the prior year's fundraising record and raised more than $100 million.

The year's total is more than a 25 percent increase above the previous fiscal year's earnings. Contributions were made by 37,875 donors, and the total represents pledges, deferred and outright gifts. Gifts of more than $1 million came from 23 donors. These gifts totaled over $54 million, or 41 percent of the total giving for the year. An additional 30 percent of the fiscal year's gifts were from donations of $100,000 to $999,999.

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The Auburn University Foundation recently received 248 acres of timberland valued at $1.26 million from the estate of Clinton McClure.

The gift will benefit the Clinton McClure Fund for Excellence in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences which sustains an annual fellowship in McClure's name. The fund provides enhancement funds for faculty, graduate students or undergraduate students.

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