Bruce Pearl

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When University of Tennessee Director of Athletics Mike Hamilton began the search for a new basketball coach, he cited the desire to hire an established coach who, over a period of time, had proven success in leading his teams to championships.

Hamilton found his man, naming Bruce Pearl as Tennessee's 17th basketball coach on March 28, 2005, in a mid-court ceremony at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"Bruce Pearl possesses all the criteria for success in men's basketball at the University of Tennessee," Hamilton said. "He is a proven, nationally-recognized winner. His teams are disciplined, mentally tough and exciting to watch. He is a relentless recruiter, a passionate promoter of his program, an excellent floor coach and a staunch family man."

Pearl's success has been described as magical. At Division II Southern Indiana he led the Screaming Eagles to nine NCAA Division II Tournaments, including a national championship in 1995 and a runner-up finish in 1994. He then moved to mid-major UW-Milwaukee, where he directed the Panthers to the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament with wins over major conference powers Alabama and Boston College.

A ringing endorsement from a Tennessee basketball legend who is considered one of the top front office talents in the NBA didn't hurt either.

"He's a basketball junkie," former UT All-America and current president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards Ernie Grunfeld said about Pearl. "He loves the game. He loves to talk about it. He lives it, breathes it and eats it, and those are the type of people you want running your program. And besides all that, he's a good guy."

In 13 seasons as a head coach, Pearl has compiled a 317-84 career record. His teams have received postseason bids 12 times and have advanced to the Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournaments seven times. Five times he has been named league coach of the year and 12 times his teams have registered at least 20 wins, including a school record 26 at UW-Milwaukee in 2005.

During the 2005 campaign he became one of the fastest coaches in NCAA history to reach the 300-win milestone. Pearl needed just 382 games to reach the 300-win mark, which was second only to Roy Williams (Kansas and North Carolina) who needed 370 games.

Pearl's success has been a result of hard work, both by the coaches and players. As a staff, the coaches quickly developed a reputation in Tennessee for working from sunrise until late into the night, leaving no stone unturned while working to improve the program. On the court, the coaches expect 100 percent effort from the players.

"One thing I can tell you about our basketball team is that they will play hard, they will play unselfishly and people are going to know we never got outworked by our opponent," Pearl said.

Pearl brings an exciting style of play, both for fans and players alike. In each of his four seasons at UWM the Panthers led the Horizon League in scoring offense, averaging 76.2 points per game.

"We're going to pressure the ball for 40 minutes. We'll do it 94 feet most of the time. The talent level will dictate how fast we make people go or how slow we make them go. There are two ways to control tempo -- pressure defense or holding the ball. I just prefer pressure defense."

That pressure defense resulted in the Panthers leading the Horizon League in steals (8.34 spg) and forcing their opponents into almost 18 turnovers per game in 2005.

Major Success As A Head Coach

In today's world of instant gratification, Pearl wasted no time in turning UW-Milwaukee into one of the most successful mid-major programs in the nation.

In his four years at UWM, the Panthers won a pair of Horizon League regular season titles (2004 and 2005) and two Horizon League Tournament championships (2003 and 2005). They advanced to Division I postseason play for the first time in school history, making two NCAA Tournament appearances (2003 and 2005) and receiving an NIT bid (2004).

In 2005, Pearl led the Panthers to the most successful season in school history. In addition to winning regular season and conference tournament titles, UWM set a school record with 26 wins and made its first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 with NCAA Tournament wins over Alabama and Boston College.

During the Panthers' run to the Sweet 16, Pearl received national acclaim including being named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year honor with fellow coaches Bruce Weber of Illinois, Roy Williams of North Carolina, Skip Prosser of Wake Forest, Al Skinner of Boston College and Tubby Smith of Kentucky.

Honors consistently were bestowed upon Pearl and his players. Three times in his four seasons at UWM he was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year. In 2004, Dylan Page was named the Horizon League Player of the Year while Ed McCants repeated the feat in 2005. Four players (Clay Tucker in 2002 and 2003, Page in 2003 and 2004, McCants 2005 and Joah Tucker in 2005) earned first team all-conference honors under Pearl's direction.

Pearl's 51-13 (.797) record in Horizon League games gives him the best winning percentage of any coach in league history. He became the second-fastest coach to win 300 career games with a 73-56 win over Loyola Jan. 8, 2005. Only North Carolina's Roy Williams reached the milestone faster.

Other milestones under Pearl's guidance included the school's first win over a ranked team and first wins over teams from the SEC, Big Ten, Big East, Conference USA, WAC and Mountain West.

One of the most recognizable sports figures in the city, fans took notice of UWM's success under Pearl. In each of his four seasons in Milwaukee, the Panthers drew record-setting crowds for their home games.

First Job Nets National Championship

A coach whose career had taken him to stops as an assistant in major conferences such as the Big East, Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences, Pearl's first head coaching opportunity came at Southern Indiana, a Division II school located in Evansville, Ind.

Inheriting a team that had won only 10 games the previous season, Pearl's first squad at USI posted a 22-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

That first season was a precursor of things to come for the school. Over the next nine seasons the Screaming Eagles posted a 231-46 (.834) record and won four Great Lakes Valley Conference championships. They received NCAA Division II Tournament bids in each of Pearl's nine seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 six times.

USI experienced unparalleled postseason success under Pearl's guidance. The Screaming Eagles won a national championship in 1995 and finished second in the NCAA II Tournament in 1994. In nine postseason appearances, USI won 16 NCAA Tournament games.

After winning the national championship in 1995, Pearl was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Coach of the Year. Two times (1993 and 1994) he was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year, and in 2000, he garnered NABC Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors.

Late in the 2000 season, Pearl earned his 200th career win, making him the fastest coach in NCAA history to reach the 200-victory mark at one school. Needing just 240 games, Pearl easily broke the record of 250 that had been held by North Carolina State's Everett Case.

In 2001, Pearl's final season at USI, the Screaming Eagles earned their sixth No. 1 national ranking over a seven-season period while posting a 26-4 record and winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship.

While at USI, Pearl's successes were not limited to the basketball court. Serving a dual role as head basketball coach and coordinator of athletic development, Pearl helped spur record growth in the school's booster organizations. Pearl's marketing efforts and success on the basketball court led to the sellout of every chairback seat for USI home games and helped raise more than $500,000 annually for the university.

Humble Beginnings

Pearl's coaching career began at his alma mater, Boston College, as a student assistant coach to the legendary Dr. Tom Davis. After 14 seasons seated to the right of Davis, the 32-year-old Pearl embarked on his own head coaching career.

"It's a great country, isn't it, when you can start from really humble beginnings, work hard, believe passionately and accomplish just about anything," Pearl said.

Pearl's first break came while an undergraduate at Boston College when Davis offered him a position of administrative assistant in 1978. In 1981, the Eagles won the Big East Conference championship and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The following season, BC advanced to the Elite Eight.

When Davis moved on to Stanford in 1982, Pearl joined his staff as an assistant coach and then, at the age of 23, was promoted to associate head coach for the Cardinal. While in Palo Alto, Calif., they ended a streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons with a 19-12 overall record in 1983-84, laying the groundwork for a resurgence in Stanford basketball. During this time they recruited four players who were drafted by the NBA, including Todd Lichti who finished his career as Stanford's all-time leading scorer with 2,336 career points.

After four seasons on the West Coast, Pearl followed Davis to the University of Iowa in 1986. Over the course of the next six seasons, the Hawkeyes received five NCAA Tournament berths while compiling a 129-63 overall record. In 1987, the Hawkeyes recorded a 30-5 record and advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to UNLV. The following year, Pearl was recognized as one of the top Division I assistants in the country by Basketball Weekly while helping direct the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16.

His six seasons in Iowa City helped produce 11 NBA draft picks for the Hawkeyes, including Brad Lohaus, Kevin Gamble, B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble and Acie Earl.

These 14 seasons with Davis provided Pearl a foundation of basketball knowledge that enabled him to move on to a head coach position.

"I feel like I had a great mentor in Dr. Tom Davis," Pearl said. "If you're any good at anything, chances are you had somebody pretty good who taught you how to do it. I had the pleasure of being by his side for 14 years. He was a brilliant defensive strategist. He taught me how to press and how to run, but, more than anything else, he taught me how to work with young people, how to be patient, how to be disciplined and how to get the most out of them, even more than they ever dreamed they could have."

A native of Boston, Mass., Pearl received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Boston College in 1982, graduating cum laude. His wife, Kim, is the niece of college coaching great Norm Sloan. They have two daughters, Jacqui and Leah, and two sons, Steven and Michael..

Coach Bruce Pearl can be available for personal appearances and to speak at your next event. Contact us for further information.