Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene announced a contract extension for men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl on Friday night.
“War Eagle Auburn Family! Hey tonight’s a great night, I got a big surprise for you. We locked him up,” Greene said in a video on Twitter, as he panned over to Pearl.
“Hey War Eagle everybody. Listen, it wasn’t that hard. I’m grateful to Allen and to the administration ... my family and I are going to be able to stay and be your basketball coach for a long, long time,” Pearl said.
According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Pearl signed a new 8-year contract just as the program reached the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for the first time in school history. The financial terms of the deal are not yet known.
The Tigers have sprinted out to a 19–1 start and a perfect 8–0 record in SEC play this season behind freshman forward Jabari Smith, who is averaging a team-high 15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.
After Louisville parted ways with coach Chris Mack earlier this week, some speculated that Pearl could emerge as a potential replacement.
The new contract for Pearl comes just three years removed from the extension he signed after the program’s 2019 Final Four run.
No. 1 Auburn hosts Oklahoma at 2 pm on Saturday.
