Bruce Pearl

  • Head Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee



Bruce Pearl is leading a major renaissance period in Tennessee basketball history entering his third season as the program’s head basketball coach.

 

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Coaching On and Off the Court

Coach Pearl's philosophy on coaching is that it is a way to help young adults grow and mature not only on the basketball court but also, and more importantly, in life. ...

Coach Pearl's philosophy on coaching is that it is a way to help young adults grow and mature not only on the basketball court but also, and more importantly, in life.

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Biography
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One of the most successful college basketball coaches of the modern era, Bruce Pearl is now a college basketball analyst for ESPN.

Prior to joining ESPN, Pearl was the head coach at Tennessee for six years. His team made the NCAA tournament all six years – three times in the Sweet Sixteen – setting a school record for consecutive appearances. He was also the first coach to lead the Volunteers men’s basketball team to a national No. 1 ranking. Pearl was recognized as the Adolph Rupp National Coach of the Year in 2008 and was also named SEC Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2008.

He previously coached at UW-Milwaukee, where in four seasons he led the team to 86 wins and the school’s first NCAA tournament appearances in 2003 and 2005. Pearl’s first head coaching job was at Southern Indiana in 1992 where compiled a 231-46 record and was named NABC Division II coach of the year in 1995 after leading the Eagles to their first Division II national championship.

Pearl graduated from Boston College in 1982, where he served as the manager of the men’s basketball team. He was the first president of the Jewish Coaches Association and served as the head coach for the gold-medal winning Maccabi USA basketball team in the 2009 World Maccabiah Games. Originally from Boston, Pearl currently resides in Knoxville, Tenn. with his family.