Why did Bruce Pearl leave Tennessee? All we know about the Auburn HC's coaching career

Bruce Pearl, one of the top coaches in college basketball, was at the helm of Tennessee basketball from 2005 to 2011.

While he was relatively successful with the Volunteers, his tenure as the coach of the program ended abruptly. Let's examine the reason for his exit.

Bruce Pearl was fired by Tennessee in Mar. 2011 after the university found out about his series of violations, which were under NCAA investigation. His dismissal came just three days after the Volunteers had suffered a blowout loss to Michigan in the NCAA Tournament.

It started when Pearl invited a high school junior Aaron Craft and his family to a cookout at his Knoxville home during the recruit’s unofficial visit to Tennessee. Pearl acknowledged that Craft's presence at the event violated NCAA rules but urged attendees to keep the gathering a secret.

The cookout, though, leaked and the NCAA initiated an investigation into the matter. Bure Pearl denied the existence of the cookout when questioned by the body. He was also said to have encouraged Craft's father to do the same, further complicating the situation.

Subsequently, Pearl took back his initial assertion on the allegation and admitted to lying to the NCAA about the cookout in September 2010. He further acknowledged the recruitment violations concerning his illegal meeting with Craft and his family at the cookout.

In response, Tennessee imposed sanctions on Pearl and his entire staff, which included a $1.5 million reduction in salary over the following five years and a delayed retention bonus. He was also suspended for the first eight games of the 2010 season by the Southeastern Conference.

In the next few months, the NCAA brought out additional violations committed by Bruce Pearl, which deepened his infraction case. Things got complicated when a player in the team violated the school substance abuse policy, resulting in the firing of Pearl on Mar. 21, 2011.

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What sanction did the NCAA impose on Bruce Pearl?

Bruce Pearl was sanctioned with a three-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA for providing false information on Aug. 23, 2011, with the penalty effective until Aug. 23, 2014. He was prohibited from participating in any recruiting activities, including contacting recruits.

It’s worth noting that the NCAA said that Pearl's dishonesty escalated what would have been a minor violation into a major infraction. His assistant coaches were also given one-year show-cause orders. For them, the penalty was effective until Aug. 23, 2012.