KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Less than a week after receiving a three-year, show-cause penalty from the NCAA's committee on infractions, former Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has decided to leave the sport and head into the private sector, specifically grocery distribution.
Pearl said in a statement Tuesday that he is turning down a job offer to coach the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks' D-League franchise, and instead is joining H.T. Hackney Co. in Knoxville, Tenn., as vice president of marketing, according to an ESPN report.
A news release from the wholesale grocery company cited Pearl's marketing and economic background as a student at Boston College. He will begin work there Thursday.
"I've known Bruce Pearl for years; his leadership, competitiveness and understanding of marketing is a great fit for our organization," H.T. Hackney CEO Bill Sansom, a former University of Tennessee trustee, said.
Pearl received the three-year penalty Aug. 24 from the NCAA's Committee on Infractions for failing to provide initial truthful statements about a backyard cookout at his house in 2008 that included high school juniors on an unofficial campus visit, ESPN reported. Pearl also called the father of one of the players and encouraged him not to disclose the event.
Pearl's show-cause penalty limits his ability to get another NCAA Division I coaching job because a school would have to decide that it wants to take on Pearl with recruiting restrictions during that period.
Pearl, however, said the decision came down to his family. Two of his children are still in high school. Two of his older children work in the Knoxville area, and his second wife, Brandy, is from Sevier County, just outside the city, according to ESPN.
Pearl coached the Volunteers for six seasons, leading Tennessee to a 145-61 record (65-31) and its first-ever Elite Eight appearance two years ago and its first-ever No. 1 ranking.
"A three-year show cause puts me out of the game longer than I anticipated," Pearl said. "That said, the realities of being a husband and being a father, you have to take care of your family."
As for coaching again, Pearl said: "It depends on what happens the next three years. I'm going to stay close to the game that I love. I hope that when you look at the last 33 years of my life you can say basketball was very good to me and I hope in some way I was good to college basketball.
"But I'll also try to lead through the adversity and what not to do and how not to handle an NCAA investigation, and it obviously cost me dearly."
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