The Auburn family had a special birthday surprise awaiting its newest men's basketball head coach.
Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs introduced Bruce Pearl as the program's 20th men's basketball coach Tuesday night in front of a raucous crowd of students and fans in the Auburn Arena.
"We've raised the bar for men's basketball, I'll tell you that," Jacobs said. "Like I've always said, we're committed to winning championships here, and doggone it, we started that right here tonight."
Auburn and Pearl agreed to a six-year, $2.2 million dollar contract Tuesday, making Pearl one of the top 20 highest paid coaches in the nation.
According to Jacobs, Pearl, who celebrated his 54th birthday Tuesday, is a perfect fit for an Auburn program that went just 48-75 in the past four seasons.
"When I started visiting with Bruce, I found a man that had passion, who had a vision, who is a family man, a man that wants to win and do it the right way," Jacobs said. "And to take Auburn basketball to a sustainable level that we haven't had in a long time. We found that in Bruce Pearl."
Pearl remains under a show-cause sanction until August for NCAA violations he committed as head coach at the University of Tennessee.
Pearl was fired in 2011 due to those violations and has spent the last three years in marketing and as a college basketball analyst at ESPN.
"It's been a long three years being away from the game," Pearl said. "When I made the mistakes that I made at Tennessee, I let a lot of people down. I let my family down, I let my university down and I let the people down that believed in me. That's why I still walk around with pain."
Pearl said Auburn's forgiving atmosphere convinced him it was the right place for he and his family to make a fresh start.
"I have found this part of the country to be a part of the country that offers grace," Pearl said. "But for the grace of God, I wouldn't be here today as your next men's basketball head coach."
With an estimated crowd of 2,000 students and fans on hand to see his arrival, Pearl described the reception from Auburn students and fans to be "beyond our wildest dreams and expectations."
"We feel your love, we feel your support and we're going to represent you in a very, very significant way," Pearl said. "Is this not the biggest press conference you've ever been to?"
Pearl has a 462-145 record as a college basketball head coach and carries a history of turning around SEC programs mired in mediocrity.
The former Volunteer head coach gave no timetable for when Auburn would achieve success, but assured fans that he and the players would lay a foundation for future championships.
"We will play for championships at Auburn, there is no question in mind," Pearl said. "These guys have a chance to make history by being the guys to lay the foundation for a championship basketball program."
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