BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The NCAA is investigating Auburn's "Tiger Prowl" one year after the event ended for good, the university said this week.

The Birmingham News made an open-records request to Auburn seeking documents related to any individual NCAA violations from last year's Tiger Prowl, the attention-grabbing recruiting practice that Auburn coaches used while traveling the state. Auburn denied the request, saying that Tiger Prowl is the subject of a "pending investigation" and that Alabama law therefore does not require release of the records at this time.

"The NCAA is not reviewing Tiger Prowl as individual violations. They are reviewing the entire event as a whole," Auburn Senior Associate Athletics Director Scott Carr wrote in response to The News' request. "Therefore, the investigative phase of this event is still on-going and we are currently working with the NCAA."

Auburn did not say what the NCAA is investigating in relation to Tiger Prowl. Auburn declined to comment further.

Tiger Prowl started in 2009 as a way for Auburn coaches to introduce themselves to fans and recruits across the state. Coaches rode in stretch limo Hummers to various high schools in Alabama during the spring evaluation period.

After landing a top-five recruiting class, Auburn unveiled a new version of Tiger Prowl in 2010. A highly decorated bus with images of Auburn football toured each city in which the coaches visited high schools.

Auburn described the bus as a way to promote the school to fans and get younger players thinking of Auburn in the future. In March of last year, Auburn assistant coach Trooper Taylor said he heard from recruits who wanted to be part of the recruiting show.

"They've been asking us about it -- when it's going to be, who's going to be there. It's almost like having another tradition," Taylor said. "It's viral. It spreads. That's something we're really proud of. Getting them interested is a big step."

Taylor also said Auburn had to be cautious about following NCAA rules, such as not allowing recruits in pictures or in the limo.

Also, evaluation periods can sometimes lead to coaches being accused of violating the NCAA's "bump rule," which allows coaches to exchange nothing more than pleasantries with prospects during evaluation periods.

Tiger Prowl ended in April 2010 when the NCAA Division I Board of Directors passed a rule saying schools could no longer send more than two coaches to visit a high school on the same day during an evaluation period.

The NCAA's rationale was that multiple coaches were appearing at the high schools of prospects largely just to be seen. Many football programs were unnecessarily spending money simply for perception purposes rather than truly evaluating, the NCAA said.

After the NCAA ruling came out last year, Auburn coach Gene Chizik distanced himself from the phrase "Tiger Prowl." Chizik said last May that the recruiting trips to high schools were not part of Tiger Prowl. Tiger Prowl, he said, was the nighttime events for fans to meet coaches and see the decorated bus.

Auburn recruiting has run afoul of the NCAA before. In 2009, Auburn was found to have committed five NCAA secondary violations from "Big Cat Weekend." Auburn self-imposed a reduced number of official visits by recruits and Taylor was not allowed to recruit off campus for four months.

The NCAA now has leeway to hand down one- or two-game suspensions to coaches for secondary violations. Among the areas the American Football Coaches Association wants the NCAA to better police is impermissible contact.

E-mail: jsolomon@bhamnews.com

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