Details emerge on Bruce Pearl’s new deal at Auburn

Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl announced Friday, along with athletic director Allen Greene, that he reached a contract extension to stay at the school “for life.” The new deal between coach and school came quickly after reports that the University of Louisville reached out to his camp about their vacant position.

According to AL.com’s Tom Green, the new deal keeps Bruce Pearl at Auburn for eight years. The contract extension starts at $5.4 million annually with a $250,000 escalator each year.

The Tigers have won a SEC regular season championship, a conference tournament championship, made the Final Four, finished second in the league standings, and reached No. 1 in the AP poll over the last five seasons. Auburn also has 112 wins over the last five seasons. No program in the SEC has won more over that time period.

Auburn announces extension

Athletic director Allen Greene took to Twitter to announce the extension. Both he and Pearl spoke during a video posted online, with the two beaming with excitement.

“War Eagle, Auburn family,” Greene said in a video on Twitter late Friday night. “Tonight’s a great night. I got a big surprise for you. We locked him up.”

Pearl then came into the shot and spoke on what being the Auburn basketball coach meant to him. He said the process of getting an extension was easy for everyone involved.

“Hey, War Eagle everybody,” Pearl said. “Listen, it wasn’t that hard. I’m grateful to Allen, I’m grateful to the administration… My family and I are going to be able to stay and be your basketball coach for a long, long time. I’m grateful, I’m humbled, I’m blessed to be your coach.”

Pearl is currently 61 years old and will turn 62 in March, before the end of the season. If he was to play out his entire contract, Pearl would dip into his 70s and finish out his career on the Plains.

Before Pearl arrived, Auburn had only made the NCAA Tournament eight times throughout its history. A rebuild was required but the Tigers are facing their third appearance under Pearl in eight years. The 2018-2019 season saw an SEC regular-season championship and a second-ever SEC Tournament championship. Even better, the Tigers made it all the way to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Now, Auburn is the No. 1 team in the country and looking to make another run in the postseason. A brutal SEC schedule and a couple of tournament runs still remain.