6. Bruce Pearl, Auburn, $5,958,852

Bruce Pearl is reportedly hanging up the clipboard.

The ring leader of Auburn men's basketball program is stepping down after 11 seasons, the school announced Monday. Pearl is expected to give the program over to his son, Steven Pearl, for the upcoming 2025-26 college basketball season, per multiple reports.

Pearl, one of the better college basketball coaches in recent memory, is coming off a historic season with the Tigers that saw them earn their first No. 1 overall seeding in the NCAA tournament and their second 30 win season under Pearl.

The decision by Pearl to step away with well under two months to go until Auburn's season opener is a shocker in the college basketball world, but one that has followed a trend in recent years of top head coaches leaving the sport as Name, Image and Likeness and the transfer portal become a bigger factor in day-to-day operations.

Pearl's successes as a head coach go beyond his 11 seasons at Auburn, as he led University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Tennessee to successful stints as well.

Here's a deeper look into Pearl's record and time as a college basketball coach:

Bruce Pearl record

  • Bruce Pearl record: 465-224

In his 21 seasons as a Division I college basketball head coach, which included stints at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn, Pearl posted an all-time career record of 465-224. His best season came at Tennessee in the 2007-08 season when the Vols posted a 31-5 overall record and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament after winning the SEC regular season crown.

Note: Pearl's career record does not include the 12 wins that were vacated from his resume by the NCAA in the 2016-17 season.

Here's a full breakdown of how Pearl's teams fared under him:

  • UW-Milwaukee (2001-05): 83-38 overall
  • Tennessee (2006-11): 145-61 overall
  • Auburn (2014-2025): 234-125

Bruce Pearl record at Auburn

  • Bruce Pearl record at Auburn: 234-125

In his 11 seasons at Auburn, the Tigers went 234-125 overall under Pearl, which included six seasons of reaching at least 25 wins. His 234 wins at Auburn, which rank for the second-most wins by an Auburn head coach, does not include the 12 wins that were vacated by the NCAA from the 2016-17 season.

Here's a year-by-year breakdown of how Auburn fared under Pearl:

  • 2014-15: 15-20
  • 2015-16: 11-20
  • 2016-17: 6-14 *
  • 2017-18: 26-8
  • 2018-19: 30-10
  • 2019-20: 25-6
  • 2020-21: 13-14
  • 2021-22: 28-6
  • 2022-23: 21-13
  • 2023-24: 27-8
  • 2024-25: 32-6

How many NCAA tournaments did Bruce Pearl go to?

Pearl led his teams to the NCAA tournament 14 times throughout his coaching career. He led Tennessee and Auburn to six March Madness appearances each, while he led University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to two NCAA berths out of the Horizon League.

He led Auburn to its first No. 1 overall national seed in the NCAA tournament in program history this past season.

How many Final Four's did Bruce Pearl go to?

Pearl coached in the Final Four of the NCAA twice in his career, both coming at Auburn: first in 2019 and then most recently last season. The Tigers lost in the national semifinal game in both of those trips, 63-62 to eventual national champion Virginia in 2019 and then 79-73 to eventual national champion Florida this past April.

Did Bruce Pearl ever win a Division I NCAA national championship?

No.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Pearl record, NCAA tournament history: Coach leaves with second-most wins in Auburn history

Reporting by John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect