Bruce Pearl has added another enemy this March: SMU’s social media admin.
We can’t all be named Pearl. https://t.co/fHb6zMhrgE
— SMU Basketball (@SMUBasketball) March 15, 2026
Pearl already publicly feuded this season with Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler over his argument that a then-undefeated Miami team wasn’t as worthy as a .500 Auburn team.
Pearl continued into the night tweeting about SMU’s resume compared to Auburn.
I asked the question and that was the answer the commissioner gave. Nobody got screwed here as it’s always close but Auburn was better than SMU in 5 out of 7 metrics and the number and quality wins aren’t even close. AU beat 3 Power 5 Conference Champs! SMU OOCSOS 191 AUBURN 16 https://t.co/eFQGBQYj1e
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) March 15, 2026
Pearl, who left Auburn right before the season and replaced himself with his son, Steven, as head coach, is still on the university payroll while appearing on national television to advocate for his former team.
Bruce Pearl still on Auburn payroll while employed at CBS, TNT, per public record https://t.co/sJVoCLS4Bu pic.twitter.com/Wh3MnYn793
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 15, 2026
Pearl’s Auburn team in 2025 went all the way to the Final Four, and in the first year without him at the helm, the team has been relegated to the NIT.
Respect the hell out of Auburn for accepting the NIT. If beating a bunch of mid majors is easy go do it https://t.co/bplsH4jWyR
— GFed (@GfedGoCrazy) March 16, 2026
Eyes will now be closely on them as they compete against the same mid-majors they said they would’ve beaten all season.
