Eugene Chizik (born December 28, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Auburn University football team, a position he has held since the 2009 season. Chizik's 2010 Auburn Tigers football team completed a 14–0 season with a victory over Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game. Chizik played college football at the University of Florida in 1981 for head coach Charley Pell.

Chizik began his coaching career at Seminole High School, serving as their defensive coordinator and inside linebacker coach from 1986 to 1988. He then became a graduate assistant at Clemson from 1988 to 1989, working with the outside linebackers. During his time at Clemson he coached in the 1988 Citrus Bowl and the 1989 Gator Bowl, under secondary coach Bill Oliver.

His initial full-time coaching job was as the defensive ends coach at Middle Tennessee State from 1990 to 1991. In 1990, the Blue Raiders won the Ohio Valley Conference championship. His next assignment was at Stephen F. Austin, serving as their linebackers coach from 1992 to 1995. SFA advanced to the Division I-AA semifinals in 1995. He was then promoted to the defensive coordinator role, which he held from 1996 to 1997. He then served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach for Central Florida from 1998 to 2001.

Arian Foster (born August 24, 1986), is an American football running back for the Houston Texans. He was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and was added to their active roster from the practice squad on November 17, 2009. He played college football at Tennessee. Foster is known for his signature bow called "Namaste" when he scores a touchdown.

Foster was born August 24, 1986 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Carl Foster, a former wide receiver for the University of New Mexico, and Bernadette Sizemore, an administrative assistant for the university. Foster competed in football at Valley High School, where coaches told him that he was not good enough to play running back. His parents divorced in 2000, and in 2002 he moved to San Diego, California, to be with his father. Foster competed in football at Mission Bay Senior High School, where he initially played as a linebacker, but became a full-time running back in his senior year. He was Mission Bay's featured running back that year, and led San Diego County in all purpose yards with 2,500 while compiling 2,093 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in addition to six scores on kickoff returns. In a game against Claremont, Foster ran for 321 yards and for his efforts, he was named San Diego Union Tribune All-San Diego Western League Player of the Year, received All-West Region appointment by PrepStar, and also earned All-California Interscholastic Federation honors. Then-Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders and running backs coach Trooper Taylor were impressed by Foster when recruiting in San Diego. Foster chose to attend Tennessee and was part of the 2004 signing class.

Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player and current analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's (NBA's) most dominating power forwards. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times, and once to the All-NBA Third Team. He earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP in 1991. In 1993, he was voted the league's Most Valuable Player and during the NBA's 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States' Dream Team. In 2006, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league. He was frequently involved in on- and off-court fights and sometimes stirred national controversy, as in March 1991 when he mistakenly spat on a young girl, and as in 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models. Short for a power forward, Barkley used his strength and aggressiveness to become one of the NBA's most dominant rebounders. He was a versatile player who had the ability to score, create plays, and defend. In 2000, he retired as the fourth player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists.

Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is the third player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, win a national championship, and be the first overall pick in the NFL draft all in the same one-year span, joining Leon Hart (1950), and Angelo Bertelli (1944).

Newton is the son of Cecil Newton, Sr., who was cut as a safety from the pre-season rosters of the 1983Dallas Cowboys and 1984Buffalo Bills, and he is the younger brother of Cecil Newton, Jr., a center who currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

Newton was initially a member of the Florida Gators before transferring to Blinn College, where his team won a national junior college football championship. Newton was then recruited by head coach Gene Chizik of Auburn University and transferred once more. He became just the third player in major college football history to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season. His performance earned him the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player, and he led Auburn to their second national championship in school history, despite controversy concerning his eligibility. In his NFL debut, Newton became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in his NFL regular-season opener, breaking Peyton Manning's rookie record.