The Pearl Era at Tennessee

Tennessee has averaged 24.5 wins per season, posted four straight 20-win seasons and made four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament—reaching the Sweet 16 twice. UT has ranked fourth nationally in attendance for each of the last three seasons and has drawn 32 home crowds larger than 20,000. The Volunteers have won an outright SEC championship, three SEC Eastern Division titles and recorded more SEC wins than any other league school. The Vols have played more than 50 games on national television and have annually boasted one of the nation's strongest strength-of-schedules.

Bruce Pearl has presided over arguably the most successful period in Tennessee basketball history entering his fifth season as the program's head basketball coach. In four seasons at Tennessee, Pearl has led the Vols to an average of 24.5 wins per year, three SEC Eastern Division titles, an overall SEC championship, the school's first No. 1 national ranking, a school record 31 wins in 2007-08 and four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament—including back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16. He has been named SEC Coach of the Year twice (2006 and 2008) and earned national coach of the year honors two times as well.

Before coming to Tennessee, Pearl's success had been described as magical. At Division II Southern Indiana, he led the Screaming Eagles to nine NCAA Tournaments, six Sweet 16s, a national championship in 1995 and a runner-up finish in 1994. He then moved to mid-major UW-Milwaukee, where he directed the Panthers to the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament with wins over major conference powers Alabama and Boston College.

In 17 seasons as a head coach, Pearl has compiled a 415-121 career record that includes a 98-37 record in four years at Tennessee. His teams have received postseason bids 16 times and have advanced to the Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournaments nine times. Six times he has been named league coach of the year, and 16 times his teams have registered at least 20 wins. His teams have set school records for wins two times (26 at UW-Milwaukee in 2005 and 31 at Tennessee in 2008).

A native of Boston, Mass., Pearl received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Boston College in 1982, graduating cum laude. Pearl has two daughters, Jacqui and Leah, and two sons, Steven and Michael. He is married to the former Brandy Miller of Sevierville, Tenn.