Bruce Pearl is an American college basketball coach who has a career leading various men's basketball teams. As of 2024, he is the head coach of Auburn Tigers men's basketball team, a position he has held since 2014.
Prior to joining Auburn, he served as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team from 2005 to 2011 and the Milwaukee basketball team from 2001 to 2005. Before Milwaukee, he was head coach at Southern Indiana from 1992 to 2001.
He is the second-fastest NCAA coach to reach 300 victories, achieving this milestone in just 382 games. In 1995, he was named the NABC Division II Coach of the Year. In 2006, he received the Sporting News Coach of the Year award. In 2008, he was honoured with the Adolph Rupp Cup. Additionally, Pearl has been recognized as the Horizon League Coach of the Year three times (in 2002, 2003, and 2005) and the SEC Coach of the Year three times (in 2006, 2008, and 2022).
Bruce Pearl’s NCAA Tournament Record
Bruce Pearl started his coaching career in 1982 as assistant coach and became the head coach in 1992 at Southern Indiana. He has been the head coach of Auburn since 2014 and achieved a record of 17-12 in NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament according to Wikipedia.
Bruce Pearl’s Sweet 16 Record
Bruce Pearl has appeared in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament a total of seven times as of the 2023-24 season. His first appearance in the Sweet 16 came in the 1995-96 season when he was head coach for Southern Indiana.
Following his time at Southern Indiana, Pearl made Sweet 16 appearances as head coach for Milwaukee and Tennessee. Currently, as head coach of Auburn, Pearl has yet to make a Sweet 16 appearance.
Bruce Pearl’s Elite Eight Record
In the 2009-10 season, Bruce Pearl, as the head coach for the Tennessee men's basketball team, led them to the NCAA Elite Eight tournament. The team achieved a record of 28-9 during that season. This marked Bruce Pearl's first appearance in the Elite Eight.
Bruce Pearl’s Final Four Record
In the 2018-19 season, Bruce Pearl led the Auburn men's basketball team to appearance in the NCAA Final Four. The team's season record stood at 30-10, under his coaching. As of 2024, this is Bruce Pearl's only NCAA Final Four appearance.
Bruce Pearl’s National Championships
Bruce Pearl is yet to make it to the NCAA national championships.
Bruce Pearl NCAA Tournament Year by Year Finishes
Bruce Pearl began his head coaching career in 1992 as the head coach for the Southern Indiana men's basketball team. Since then, he has made several appearances in the NCAA Tournament, leading various teams year by year.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (Great Lakes Valley Conference) (1992–2001) | |||||
| 1992–93 | Southern Indiana | 22–7 | 14–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division II Regional Third Place |
| 1993–94 | Southern Indiana | 28–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Runner-up |
| 1994–95 | Southern Indiana | 29–4 | 15–3 | 3rd | NCAA Division II champion |
| 1995–96 | Southern Indiana | 25–4 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 |
| 1996–97 | Southern Indiana | 23–5 | 16–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division II First Round |
| 1997–98 | Southern Indiana | 27–6 | 16–4 | 3rd | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 |
| 1998–99 | Southern Indiana | 26–6 | 18–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 |
| 1999–00 | Southern Indiana | 25–6 | 17–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division II Sweet 16 |
| 2000–01 | Southern Indiana | 26–4 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II First Round |
| Southern Indiana: | 231–46 (.834) | 148–28 (.841) | |||
| Milwaukee Panthers (Horizon League) (2001–2005) | |||||
| 2001–02 | Milwaukee | 16–13 | 11–5 | 3rd | |
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee | 24–8 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2003–04 | Milwaukee | 20–11 | 13–3 | 1st | NIT First Round |
| 2004–05 | Milwaukee | 26–6 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 |
| Milwaukee: | 86–38 (.694) | 51–13 (.797) | |||
| Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) (2005–2011) | |||||
| 2005–06 | Tennessee | 22–8 | 12–4 | 1st (East) | NCAA Division I Round of 32 |
| 2006–07 | Tennessee | 24–11 | 10–6 | 2nd (East) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 |
| 2007–08 | Tennessee | 31–5 | 14–2 | 1st (East) | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 |
| 2008–09 | Tennessee | 21–13 | 10–6 | T–1st (East) | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2009–10 | Tennessee | 28–9 | 11–5 | 3rd (East) | NCAA Division I Elite Eight |
| 2010–11 | Tennessee | 19–15 | 8–8 | 5th (East) | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| Tennessee: | 145–61 (.704) | 65–31 (.677) | |||
| Auburn Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2014–present) | |||||
| 2014–15 | Auburn | 15–20 | 4–14 | 13th | |
| 2015–16 | Auburn | 11–20 | 5–13 | 13th | |
| 2016–17 | Auburn | 6–14 | 0–11 | 11th | |
| 2017–18 | Auburn | 26–8 | 13–5 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 |
| 2018–19 | Auburn | 30–10 | 11–7 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Final Four |
| 2019–20 | Auburn | 25–6 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Canceled |
| 2020–21 | Auburn | 13–14 | 7–11 | T–10th | Ineligible |
| 2021–22 | Auburn | 26–6 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 |
| 2022–23 | Auburn | 21–13 | 10–8 | 7th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 |
| 2023–24 | Auburn | 27–8 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
FAQ's On Bruce Pearl NCAA coaching Record
A. Bruce Pearl was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
A. Bruce Pearl attended Sharon High School in Sharon, Massachusetts.
A. As of 2024, Bruce Pearl serves as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team at Auburn University.
A. Bruce Pearl has amassed an impressive overall head coaching career record of 676–264 (.719), as of 2024.
