In his first 13 years as a head coach, Bruce Pearl had experienced success on several different levels of competition. He had led NCAA Division II Southern Indiana to a national championship and then moved up to the mid-major level where he took UW-Milwaukee to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
His 14th season as a head coach, his first year at Tennessee, Pearl reached an entirely new level of success. Entering the 2005-06 campaign, the Vols were picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division. With a team that had lost two of its top players from the previous season and just one new player added to the rotation, it was no surprise expectations were low in Knoxville.
At the end of the season, Tennessee had won 22 games and won the SEC Eastern Division title with a 12-4 league record. UT swept its regular season series against four of the other five SEC Eastern Division schools (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt) and were ranked as high as No. 8 by the Associated Press.
Fans around East Tennessee took notice of what was happening at Thompson-Boling Arena. With six home crowds of at least 20,000, UT's average attendance in 2006 was 17,954 -- the fifth-highest average in the nation. In SEC games, Tennessee averaged 20,796 fans per game.
Along the way the honors began pouring in. The Sporting News named Pearl its national coach of the year. He was also named USBWA All-District IV Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year and the Phelan Award for national coach of the year.
In just one season, Pearl had elevated the Tennessee basketball program among the nation's elite.
In 14 seasons as a head coach, Pearl has compiled a 339-92 career record. His teams have received postseason bids 13 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 13 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 brought an exciting style of play, both for fans and players alike. In 2006 his Tennessee team led the Southeastern Conference in scoring offense (80.4 ppg), assists (16.97 apg), steals (10.03 spg), turnover margin (+5.30), assist/turnover ratio (1.32) and 3-point field goals made (8.80 3pg).
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.
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. These seasons with Davis provided Pearl a foundation of basketball knowledge that enabled him to move on to a head coach position.
Pearl’s first head coaching job came at Division II, Southern Indiana. In his first year he led the Screaming Eagles to a 22-7 record and in his second year Southern Indiana played for the National Championship. In his third year Pearl led his team back to the National Championship game in the ’94-’95 season, winning the Championship and ending the year with a 29-4 record. During his tenure at Southern Indiana Pearl posted a 231-46 record and made the move to his first NCAA Division I head coaching position at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
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. In May 2005 she received a nursing degree from UW-Milwaukee. The couple has two daughters, Jacqui and Leah, and two sons, Steven and Michael.
