Rod Bramblett, the radio voice of the
Auburn Tigers, and his wife, Paula, died late Saturday night from injuries suffered in a serious car accident at around 6 p.m. CT, Auburn spokesman Kirk Sampson confirmed.
The two-vehicle accident involving one SUV carrying a 53-year-old male and 52-year-old female and another carrying a 16-year-old juvenile occurred near the intersection of Shug Jordan Parkway and West Samford Avenue in Auburn.
Paula Bramblett died in the emergency room at East Alabama Medical Center shortly after her arrival, according to a statement from Lee County coroner Bill Harris. Rod Bramblett suffered critical injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where he later died.
The juvenile "was taken by ambulance to East Alabama Medical Center emergency room with non-life-threatening injuries." His name has not yet been released.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, which is still under investigation by the Lee County Coroner's Office and Auburn Police.
Bramblett graduated with a degree from Auburn University in 1988 and has been calling games for the Tigers since 1993, working his way up to his role as director of broadcast operations for Auburn Sports Properties. In that time, he was named the Alabama State Broadcaster of the Year three times (2006, 2010 and 2013) and the National Broadcaster of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2013.
He began calling baseball games in 1993 and took over for the late Jim Fyffe as the voice of football and men's basketball in 2003. He has attended 257 consecutive Auburn football games dating back to the 1999 season, calling every one since 2003. He and Andy Burcham celebrated their 25th season calling Auburn baseball games together before a game against rival Alabama on May 4 of this year.
Some of Bramblett's legendary calls include David Ross' walk-off home run in a 1997 NCAA Regional at Florida State; "Go crazy Cadillac, go crazy" when running back Cadillac Williams broke free for an 80-yard touchdown in the 2003 Iron Bowl; Auburn's victory over Oregon in the 2010 BCS National Championship game; the Prayer at Jordan-Hare against Georgia in 2013; and of course, the most famous, his call of the Kick Six win over Alabama in the 2013 Iron Bowl.
Support poured out from fans and members of the Auburn University community late Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
"Our hearts are full of grief," university president Steven Leath tweeted. "Janet and I offer our sympathy and support to the family of Rod and Paula Bramblett. The Auburn family loves you!"
"You will not find a kinder, more unselfish sole (sic) than Rod," men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl tweeted. "His love for Auburn, our student athletes and coaches is genuine and heard loud and clear. Praying for Rod, Paula and Bramblett Family."
"This news of Rod and Paula Bramblett is devastating," former football coach Gene Chizik tweeted. "They were fantastic human beings. I will always cherish my 4 years working with Rod. He loved his Tigers. He loved his family. He loved his job. He loved people....Please PRAY for Shelby and Josh, their 2 children."