Bruce Pearl steps down as Auburn hoops coach after 11 seasons

Bruce Pearl has stepped down as the men’s basketball coach at Auburn and will move into an ambassador’s role in the athletic department as special assistant to the athletics director, the school announced Monday.

Steven Pearl, Pearl’s son and the Tigers’ associate head coach, received a five-year contract as the program’s new head coach.

Dear Auburn Family, I truly love you.@CoachBrucePearl x #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xFJAEetMLv

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) September 22, 2025

Bruce Pearl, 65, is coming off a season in which he guided Auburn to its second-ever Final Four appearance. The Tigers earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA men’s tournament after winning the SEC regular-season championship, racking up 32 wins before falling to Florida in the national semifinal.

He has been the head coach at Auburn for 11 seasons, leading the Tigers to six NCAA tournament appearances and both of the program’s Final Four runs. During Pearl’s time at Auburn, the Tigers earned at least a share of three SEC regular-season titles and won two SEC tournament championships.

He went 246-125 at Auburn, but only 232 of those wins are recognized because of NCAA infractions that led the Tigers to vacate games from the 2016-17 season.

“Eleven years ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become the head basketball coach at Auburn, and it has been nothing short of amazing,” Pearl said in a statement. “With the Auburn Family’s unwavering support, we have built a program from the ground up and taken it to heights it had never reached before. Not only have we won championships, but we have built the best home-court advantage in college basketball, we’ve invested in this community and changed lives, and we’ve developed and graduated Auburn men. We built a program with the core tenants of faith, family and passion, and together, we made history. I hope we have made Auburn proud.”

Pearl has long been linked to a post-coaching career in politics, something he addressed in early September following monthslong rumors regarding him as a potential candidate for Tommy Tuberville’s open U.S. Senate seat, but he said Monday he’s not running for Senate.

“Many of you know that I thought and prayed about maybe running for United States Senate, maybe to be the next great senator from the state of Alabama,” Pearl said. “That would’ve required leaving Auburn. And instead, the university has given me an opportunity to stay here and be Auburn’s senator.”

Before taking over at Auburn, Pearl had been the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee and Southern Indiana. He went to the NCAA tournament in all six of his seasons with the Volunteers, including three Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight run. He was fired in 2011 after being charged by the NCAA with unethical conduct after lying during an investigation into recruiting violations.

Pearl was given a three-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA, with Auburn hiring him five months before it ended.

Steven Pearl played 101 games for his father at Tennessee from 2007-11. He then was a medical sales representative for three years before joining the Auburn staff in 2014, and was promoted to associate head coach before the 2023-24 season.

“I’m incredibly grateful to President Dr. Roberts, Athletics Director John Cohen, and the entire Auburn leadership team for entrusting me with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Steven Pearl said in a statement. “In a sense, I’ve spent my lifetime preparing for this moment, learning from one of the best in BP, and building a foundation rooted in character, hard work, and team-first values. We’re not starting over — we’re building forward, with the same principles that have made Auburn Basketball elite. I’m honored to lead this program, and I’m ready to rise to the moment.”