Bruce Pearl, one of the most recognizable college basketball coaches of the last two decades, is handing in his whistle effective immediately. Pearl, 65, is stepping down from his post as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, ending a coaching career that began over 40 years ago.
The surprising news comes just three weeks before Auburn is set to hold an exhibition to tip off the 2025-26 season, and exactly six weeks before the Tigers start their next campaign with a game versus Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 3. Pearl spent 11 years guiding the Tigers and will remain with the athletic department, albeit not on a sideline. He will serve as a special assistant to the athletics director while also being an ambassador for Auburn athletics.
Pearl’s son, Steven Pearl, will take the reins from his father after serving as his assistant for the last eight seasons. The younger Pearl also played for his father at the University of Tennessee and brings three years of administrative experience at Auburn in addition to his tenure as an assistant coach.
“I have been at this for almost 50 years and truthfully as hard as it is for me to say this, I have come to the realization that it’s time for me to step aside. Being the head coach at Auburn has been the privilege of my life,” Bruce Pearl said.
“Auburn Family, I love you and I hope you understand that for me, it is time. Brandy and I are looking forward to the opportunity to continue serving the Auburn Family—just, in a new capacity. War Eagle!”
Pearl also thanked his players, his staff, the administrators at Auburn, the prior regime that hired him, as well as the school’s current president and athletic director. He also noted that he took great pride in building the Auburn basketball program “from the ground up and taking it to heights it had never reached before.”
Pearl certainly did that for a school that was only known for its football program for decades. Hired in 2014, Pearl led the Tigers to its only two Final Fours in school history, including just this past season, along with in 2019. The school previously had just one Elite Eight appearance (1986).
He also won three SEC regular season championships and another two SEC Tournament championships. Prior to Pearl’s arrival, the program, which has been around since 1906, had just three regular season titles and one conference tournament championship.
During the 2021-22 season, Pearl led Auburn to its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll, a feat he then did again just this past season. The 2024-25 Auburn Tigers won a school record of 32 games, won the SEC regular season title, earned a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Final Four before falling to eventual national champion Florida.
Auburn’s athletics director, John Cohen, lauded Pearl for not only the work he did on the basketball court but also by helping shape the student-athletes into productive members of society outside of basketball.
“I have seen BP coach over these last three seasons, not just games, but at morning workouts, and in the practice gym,” Cohen said in a statement. “It has been a pleasure watching Coach Pearl love the student-athletes so deeply and take pride in their success both on and off the court—but also instilling in them what it is to be an Auburn man.
“I know Bruce and Brandy will continue to be pillars of the Auburn community and that they will be strong advocates for the next chapter of Auburn Men’s Basketball and all of Auburn University.”
Prior to joining Auburn in 2014, Pearl spent six years at another SEC school with the Tennessee Volunteers. He led them to the NCAA Tournament every year at the school, including an Elite Eight appearance. Pearl also served as head coach at Milwaukee and at Southern Indiana, beginning his head coaching career at the latter in 1992.
A graduate of Boston College, Pearl began his coaching career in 1982 as an assistant at Stanford. He was notable for being one of the few head coaches in the sport who not only never previously played competitive college basketball, but Pearl never even played high school basketball, even at the junior varsity level.
He finishes his career with a record of 706-268 (.725). That includes winning a Division II national championship (1995) while at Milwaukee. He is coming off a year in which he was named co-National Coach of the Year and was a nine-time conference Coach of the Year across his four different schools.
