Auburn Football Ladies Clinic: 'Our favorite day of the year'

AUBURN, Ala. –  Wearing the same No. 91 that family patriarch Vick Costellos wore when he captained the Auburn football team in the early 1940s, six members of the Costellos family attended Saturday’s annual Ladies Clinic.

“I don’t think he’d believe this, us being here,” said Maria Johnson, among the second of four generations of Auburn fans in the Birmingham-based family, whose cousins Gusty and Tommy Yearout also played for the Tigers. “He had us here every Saturday, and we’re still doing it. We really love Auburn. We’re obsessed.”

Head coach Alex Golesh took pictures with all of the nearly 500 attendees, joining the Costellos familiy for a spirited “War Eagle!” after their photo opportunity.

“We named our group the Kool-Aid gang because every time we come to this, we drink the Kool-Aid,” Johnson said. “We are literally drunk on the Kool-Aid after meeting him. We are so pumped.”

“We love Auburn,” said Stacey Collins, Vick Costellos’ granddaughter. “Our granddad is the one who developed this love in us. It’s passed through generations. This is our favorite day of the year. Every moment is incredible. We love Coach Golesh. You can feel the vibe around here.”

Golesh’s motto: “Be who you say you are,” resonated with Lynda Byrd, whose father graduated from Auburn University in 1957.

“If he lives the Auburn Creed, then he’s got to be good,” said Byrd, a native of Ozark, Alabama, who lives in Panama City, Florida. “We love Auburn. It’s in our blood. I’ve been a fan since Shug Jordan. We’ll still be here to support them regardless, always.”

During an introduction of Auburn’s coaching staff, Golesh received a standing ovation from attendees, as did associate head coach Kodi Burns.

“I was blessed and fortunate enough to win a national championship,” Burns said, drawing more roars from the crowd at Auburn’s indoor practice field. “Blessed and fortunate to win multiple SEC championships here. And I’m here to tell you today, we are not done.”

During the introductions, cornerbacks coach DeMarcus Van Dyk recognized two of the women in his group who were celebrating birthdays.

“It’s my first year at Auburn and I love it here,” Van Dyk said. “They’ve got a saying, “If you love Auburn, it’ll love you back.’ Auburn has loved me and I’m loving it, too.”

Following the introductions, attendees divided into groups to conduct drills on offense and defense before learning more about strength and conditioning, equipment, video study, nutrition and roster management.

“This has been a great event,” said assistant AD Bianca Webb, who works with NIL events and strategic initiatives. “It’s so great to have almost 500 women here who absolutely love Auburn. They love football. We’re super excited to have the support for our football team and for On To Victory.”

After rotating through stations at the Woltosz Center, attendees completed their day at Jordan-Hare Stadium, running onto Pat Dye Field six weeks before their favorite team kicks off the Golesh era Sept. 5 against Baylor in Atlanta.

“It was incredible meeting everybody,” Golesh said. “I’m super grateful to you choosing to spend your weekend with us here. I’m beyond excited and humbled to be the head football coach and be a small piece of representing Auburn.

“We’ve got an elite staff. We’ve assembled a staff of some incredible men and women that care about their players and are elite at their jobs. They came here eight months ago to get this thing back to where it belongs and to start putting years back up on these walls and to start making you proud.”

Many attendees will be back at Jordan-Hare Stadium in seven weeks for Kickoff on The Plains, Auburn’s Sept. 12 home opener vs. Southern Miss.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer