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Bruce Pearl will be the next coach of the Auburn Tigers, Pearl and the school confirmed Tuesday.
"I'm humbled and blessed to be back in the game that I love," Pearl said in a statement. "I don't know how long it will take, but it's time to rebuild the Auburn basketball program and bring it to a level of excellence so many of the other teams on campus enjoy."
Pearl, 54, was fired in 2011 after taking Tennessee to the NCAA tournament in each of his six seasons. He has worked for ESPN as an analyst the past two years.
He was fired for lying to the NCAA in March 2011 in regards to the recruitment of Aaron Craft (at the time a junior in high school who ended up at Ohio State) and given a three-year show cause by the NCAA. The show-cause expires in August and will not allow him to have contact with potential recruits this summer. Pearl, however, will be allowed to evaluate recruits in the all-important July recruiting period.
Bruce Pearl has a 231-99 record at the Division I level in 10 seasons at Milwaukee and Tennessee.
NCAA spokeswoman Emily James said Auburn has 30 days to file a report to the Committee on Infractions either contesting or accepting the show-cause penalty barring Pearl from recruiting until Aug. 23.
Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said he believes Pearl "has learned from his mistake." The coach was to be introduced at a news conference at Auburn Arena Tuesday night.
"I've thought about this a great deal, and obviously so has Coach Pearl. I believe people who are genuine and sincere deserve second chances. If I did not believe Coach Pearl's apologies were sincere and heartfelt, I would not have even considered him."
Pearl was greeted by 100-plus fans when he landed at the airport in Auburn. He jumped into a mosh pit of fans.
"I want this same reception when we come back with an SEC championship," he told fans upon arrival.
Auburn fired Tony Barbee last week after the Tigers finished 14-16 and 6-12 in the SEC. The former coach at UTEP was 49-75 in four seasons at Auburn.
"From the moment I met Coach Pearl and heard his vision for our basketball program, it was clear he's the right man at the right time for Auburn," Jacobs said in a statement. "Coach Pearl is a proven winner who will bring energy and excitement to our program.
"We have raised the bar for Auburn basketball, and I could not be more excited for our student-athletes and our future under Coach Pearl's leadership. I know he agrees with me -- it's time to win."
Pearl spent four seasons at Milwaukee and took the program to two NCAA tournaments -- including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2005. He was hired at Tennessee in 2005 and was 145-61 in six seasons with the Vols.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Pearl becomes the fifth coach over the last 50 years to coach multiple SEC schools, joining Don DeVoe (Tennessee/Florida), Tubby Smith (Georgia/Kentucky), C.M. Newton (Alabama/Vanderbilt) and Eddie Fogler (Vanderbilt/South Carolina). Those four coaches all had above .500 records in their second SEC stint.
