Auburn basketball’s already faced adversity. Steven Pearl explains why
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Auburn basketball’s already faced some adversity, head coach Steven Pearl said, navigating Bruce Pearl’s retirement.
Bruce Pearl is coming to a television near you.
The former Auburn basketball coach, who abruptly retired last month, was named an in-studio analyst on Thursday, Oct. 16 for TNT Sports’ newly expanded regular-season college basketball coverage, according to a news release from Warner Bro’s Discovery, which owns TNT Sports.
In his new role, Pearl will cover both the Big East and Big 12 conferences and will appear alongside Jalen Rose and Adam Lefkoe in the studio. Pearl announced it himself shortly after it was released with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Excited to be apart of this incredibly talented group, showcasing college basketball. The quality of our game right now has never been better. There are dozens of teams capable of making a Final Four run and we are going to bring ALL THAT ACTION! @Big12Conference @BIGEAST https://t.co/fFSJBKiF65
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) October 16, 2025
Pearl is no stranger to the TV side of college basketball, having appeared on TNT and CBS’s shared coverage of March Madness in past years once the Tigers were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. He will continue to be part of March Madness coverage in this new role, according to the news release.
“I’ve long admired and deeply respected the way TNT Sports delivers the best studio shows in the industry, along with the way they treat everyone as family, and I could not be more excited to join the amazing team they’ve assembled to cover college basketball,” Pearl said in a statement.
“The product has never been in better shape on the court and I’m going to bring the same passion I displayed as a coach to broadcasting. I can’t wait for the start of the season.”
One of the better college basketball coaches in recent memory, Pearl helped led Auburn to two Final Four berths and, last season, led the program to its first No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament its second 30-win season under his leadership. In his 21 seasons as a Division I college basketball head coach, which included stints at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Tennessee and Auburn, Pearl posted an all-time career record of 465-224.