Getty Bruce Pearl
While current Auburn Tigers basketball coach Bruce Pearl has helped the program turn the tides and become one of the top SEC teams, his coaching history still lingers. There’s no question that Pearl was a popular and often-talked about head coach while with the Tennessee Volunteers, but things didn’t end on good terms.
Back in March of 2011, his tenure with the school came to a conclusion, as the higher-ups decided to part ways with the coach. As ESPN previously revealed, Tennessee fired Pearl, even though they had hoped to keep him through the off-court issues hanging over the program’s head.
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said in a statement released late Monday that school officials decided to dismiss Pearl, who has been charged by the NCAA with unethical conduct, after learning of additional violations committed on Sept. 14, 2010, and in March 2011.
They also reported that it was later revealed to be the school’s chancellor, Jimmy Cheek, who made the call to fire Pearl.
Bruce Pearl Admits Wrongdoing at Tennessee
In the same story with sources from ESPN’s Andy Katz and Chris Low, it cites that Pearl did admit to the fact that he had given investigators false information when asked about a cookout at his home. This cookout featured high school juniors in what was a recruiting violation. He was charged with unethical conduct by the NCAA for this, and additional charges came down later.
But this news conference in which Pearl admitted wrongdoing came on September 10, and he was cited for speaking with a high school junior on a recruiting trip to Georgia on September 14. In short, the issues which led to Pearl’s firing from Tennessee stemmed from recruiting violations and a cover-up. But just how in-depth the situation was wound up becoming more evident as time went on.
Pearl’s Coaching History With Volunteers
After four seasons as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in which Pearl posted an 86-38 record, he was hired by the Volunteers. He spent six seasons with Tennessee and made the NCAA tournament every year. His team earned the No. 1 ranking in the country in 2007-08 and won the regular-season SEC championship three times.
Pearl’s final record as University of Tennessee head basketball coach is 145-61 with his best year coming in the aforementioned 2007-08 season. During that stretch, the team went 31-5 and lost in the Sweet 16 of the tournament to the Louisville Cardinals.
Bruce Pearl’s Sanctions Carry Over to Auburn
In a story by Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune, he points out that while Pearl was out of coaching for three years, he still dealt with repercussions once he returned. After being hired by Auburn in 2014, Pearl was not allowed to recruit for five months under the NCAA’s show-cause penalty.
Obviously, Pearl has found success with his new team, as the Tigers posted a 27-9 record heading into a second-round 2019 NCAA tournament matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks. Over his five seasons at Auburn, the team has gone 97-71 and made each of the past two tournaments.
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