SEC INSIDER

Auburn AD Jacobs announces resignation

The Sports Xchange

November 03, 2017 at 6:34 pm.

Mar 18, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head basketball coach Bruce Pearl is welcomed by athletics director Jay Jacobs during his introductory press conference in the Auburn Arena on Tuesday.  Photo Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 18, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head basketball coach Bruce Pearl is welcomed by athletics director Jay Jacobs during his introductory press conference in the Auburn Arena on Tuesday. Photo Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs announced Friday that he will resign by June 1, 2018.

He might resign sooner if a replacement can be found.

Jacobs’ decision may have resulted from the Tigers’ basketball scandal. It is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation that led to the September arrest of assistant coach Chuck Person.

Auburn has decided to hold sophomore center Austin Wiley and junior forward Danjel Purifoy out of competition indefinitely as a result of the scandal. Person allegedly gave the families of those two players $18,500 to ensure they had a financial adviser when they turn pro. Person allegedly took more than $90,000 from an FBI informant in exchange for steering potential NBA players toward certain agents.

Jacobs was hired as Auburn’s AD in December 2004. He hired two head football coaches for Auburn, first hiring Gene Chizik in 2008 from Iowa State and later hiring Gus Malzahn, the current coach. Auburn supporters expect the Tigers to be in the running for national titles, especially since rival Alabama has been the nation’s dominat football program in recent years.

Jacobs also hired current head basketball coach Bruce Pearl.