The best college basketball team will keep their coach for the foreseeable future. 1 Auburn and Bruce Pearl agreed to a contract extension on Friday, the school announced Friday. The eight-year deal will net Pearl $5.4 million a year — more than Tigers football coach Bryan Harsin — with an annual escalator of $250,000.
“By leading Auburn’s men’s basketball program to unprecedented heights, Coach Bruce Pearl has earned this contract extension that is commensurate with his level of achievement in the Southeastern Conference. We are excited to agree to terms that will keep BP in the Plains for many years to come while investing in its assistant coaches and support staff,” Auburn athletic director Allen Greene said in a statement. communicated. “In addition to Auburn’s remarkable success on the field under his leadership, Coach Pearl has tirelessly championed Auburn Athletics and Auburn University while serving our community in countless ways. This extension ensures that the commitment of Auburn to Coach Pearl matches BP’s commitment to Auburn.”
Pearl, a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, gave Auburn a blistering 19-1 (8-0 SEC) start to the season. On Monday, the program came in at No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in the program’s history. The timing of the extension is also interesting considering Louisville, one of college basketball’s premier jobs, which recently became available after coach Chris Mack was fired by the Cardinals. Although Pearl hasn’t been directly linked to the open job, he is one of the best coaches in the sport and his name would float alongside any blue hoops program.
“My family and I are going to be able to stay and be your basketball coach for a long, long time,” Pearl said in Greene’s announcement video. “I’m grateful, I’m humbled, I’m lucky to be your coach. And War Eagle.”
This is Pearl’s second contract extension with Auburn. this whole decade.
Auburn has thrived in Pearl’s eight seasons at the helm, reaching the NCAA Tournaments in 2017-18 and 2018-19 with another appearance likely this year. Before Pearl took over, the Tigers had missed 11 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Pearl is 157-93 all-time at Auburn, and his winning total and .628 winning percentage rank fourth and third, respectively, in program history. The 61-year-old became the only Auburn coach to reach the Final Four in 2019.
Prior to Auburn, Pearl had successful stints in Milwaukee and Tennessee. Milwaukee reached the NCAA Tournament in two of Pearl’s four seasons (2001-2005) and has done so only once since. Tennessee, meanwhile, won three regular-season championships under Pearl, who coached the Volunteers from 2005 to 2011.
Tennessee fired Pearl after the 2010-11 season after lying to NCAA investigators during a recruiting investigation.
Auburn is expected to return to its field against Oklahoma on Saturday at 2 p.m., giving Pearl a chance to bask in the praise from Tigers fans for sticking around.