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Auburn announces War Eagle VII’s retirement, replacement
By Dave Holcomb
Published:
Auburn announced Friday that Nova, the football team’s War Eagle VII, will retire, and Aurea, a golden eagle, will take his place as War Eagle VIII.
“Nova has brought much attention to wildlife conservation and is treasured by the Auburn Family and countless fans and conservationists across the country,” Interim President Jay Gogue said according to AL.com.
Nova, who hatched at Montgomery Zoo, hasn’t flown at an Auburn home game since 2017 after veterinarians diagnosed him with a chronic heart disease called cardiomyopathy. His condition worsened in October, leading to his retirement.
“The plan to retire Nova and name Aurea was already underway when we received the test results,” said Calvin Johnson, dean of the Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine. “We will take every precaution with Nova who has been an instrumental part of our Southeastern Raptor Center’s educational programs, even since being sidelined from flying at games.”
He first flew around Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2004 and earned the title War Eagle VII in 2006. Nova went 44-14 in the 58 contests in which Nova performed a pregame flight.
Auburn will carry on the pregame Eagle flight tradition with Aurea as War Eagle VIII. She made her debut last year against Liberty and has flown at most of the home games this season.
Dave covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
