Bruce Pearl looks back on 10 years of winning on and off the court at Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. – When the Tigers tipped off the 2023-24 season vs. Baylor Nov. 7, Auburn officially became the longest stop in Bruce Pearl’s illustrious coaching career.
“You can say God’s got a plan or you can actually believe it,” said Pearl, whose previous longest stint was his first as a head coach, nine seasons at Southern Indiana from 1992-2001. “I go to work every day trying to reward Auburn for giving me and my family the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Pearl has rewarded Auburn with three Southeastern Conference championships in the past six seasons, the program’s first No. 1 ranking and the only NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance of any team from the state of Alabama.
“It’s easier to get it going than it is to keep it going,” he said. “My goal is to compete for championships every year.”
Mindful of Auburn’s basketball history, Pearl aspires to pass Joel Eaves to become the Tigers’ all-time winningest coach.
“It’s going to take a few more years of success to do that but I would like that if we can,” said Pearl, whose nine wins so far this season give him 182 Auburn victories, just 31 shy of Eaves’ 213.
Since his first day on the Plains on March 18, 2014, Pearl has consistently and creatively reached out to Auburn students, who have repaid that investment by packing their courtside section known as The Jungle hours before each game.
“Our student body has separated itself in the world of intercollegiate athletes,” Pearl said. “What our students bring to Jordan-Hare and Neville Arena is the envy of anybody in college sports.
“The environment in Neville Arena could be the toughest environment in college basketball with the combination of the quality of our team and the intensity and passion of our fans.”
I go to work every day trying to reward Auburn for giving me and my family the opportunity of a lifetime.
Bruce PearlOn-court success tells only part of Pearl’s impact. His annual golf tournament has raised more than $1 million for Children’s Harbor and his AUTLIVE initiative has raised more than $1 million for local cancer patients.
The Bruce Pearl Family Foundation sponsored the 2023 Southern tour of the musical “We’ll Meet Again,” and BP, as he’s called by friends and fans, co-chairs Auburn University’s Together We Will scholarship campaign to support a diverse student body.
“To whom much is given, much is expected,” said Pearl, quoting Scripture. “Because we feel so blessed and supported, we feel driven to give back. As I get older, the more I want to serve.”
In his first six years at Auburn, Pearl formed a friendship with former head football coach Pat Dye, modeling his role model’s perspective related to community and campus involvement.
“If it was good for Auburn, then it was the right decision,” Pearl said.
Recruiting some of the country’s best high school prospects and future NBA first-round draft choices such as Jabari Smith and Isaac Okoro, Pearl has also adjusted to the transfer portal era, landing 2022 national defensive player of the year Walker Kessler and current Tigers Johni Broome, K.D. Johnson, Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” Pearl said.
In 2021, the NCAA revised its name, image and likeness policy, leading to the creation of On To Victory, the collective that benefits Auburn student-athletes.
“We do need the Auburn family to step up and embrace this opportunity,” Pearl said. “The success of On To Victory is going to go hand-in-hand with the success of our intercollegiate athletic teams. Based on the landscape right now, I don’t see how you can have one without the other.”
Nearly a decade has passed since Bruce and his wife, Brandy, joined the Auburn family.
With daughter Jacqui in Tennessee, daughter Leah, son-in-law Stephon and grandchildren Chaya and Jaden in Atlanta, sons Michael and Steven, Auburn’s associate head coach, and daughter-in-law Brittany in Auburn, the Pearl family’s roots have grown deep like one of the Japanese maples on the Crooked Oaks farm Coach Dye’s family recently donated to Auburn.
“I’ve liked every place I’ve been, but I’ve never been in love with a university, a community and a league like I am here,” Pearl said. “What more could a father and a grandfather ask for?”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer