UT waiting for Pearl to finalize deal

A source close to the situation told the News Sentinel that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach had not been offered the job as of Sunday, but a deal was basically a formality.

Pearl visited Knoxville on Saturday to get a feel for what could be his new home.

Pearl met with UT president John Petersen and athletic director Mike Hamilton before returning to Milwaukee to contemplate his future.

A decision from Pearl is expected soon, but the coach wants to bring his wife, Kim, to Knoxville.

"(Tennessee) is very interested and I want to bring Kim back to look at it," Pearl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday. "They haven’t made an offer yet but I like the position I’m in. I feel like they are going to."

Pearl and his wife have four children, two boys (Steven and Michael) and two girls (Jacqui and Leah).

"It’s not good timing because my son is a senior in high school, we feel like we just got here and our work is not done," Pearl said.

Pearl and Bobby Lutz of Charlotte were the only interviewed candidates remaining Sunday to replace Buzz Peterson, who was fired March 13.

Mike Anderson of Alabama-Birmingham and Dana Altman of Creighton pulled their names out of contention Saturday night.

Pearl has a base salary of $275,000 with a total package somewhere in the vicinity of $400,000. He also has a vehicle and country club membership in his deal at UWM. Pearl said Sunday that UWM has put together a new package in advance of any offer.

Peterson had a total package worth approximately $850,000, more than double Pearl’s deal.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee officials are expected to try and sweeten Pearl’s contract after he led UWM to a Sweet 16 appearance this season.

"It’s an exciting opportunity because it’s a place you can with a national championship from," Pearl said about UT during his coach’s show Sunday on Milwaukee television station WDGT.

"I’ve got to do what’s best for my family, we’ll have to continue to work on this and see what happens over the next few days."

Pearl and Altman were thought to be the two favorites to replace Peterson, but Altman and Anderson jumped out of the race the same day Pearl visited Knoxville.

Hamilton said from the outset of Peterson’s firing he wanted to bring a proven winner into the fold at UT.
Pearl fits the bill.

The 45-year-old Boston native has won everywhere he has been on the collegiate level. Former UT All-American Ernie Grunfeld already has endorsed Pearl.

In four years at UWM, Pearl is 86-38, including back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

During nine seasons at Southern Indiana, Pearl compiled 231 victories, a Division II national championship in 1995, and a runners-up finish in 1994.

He also was a longtime assistant under Dr. Tom Davis at Iowa and Stanford after graduating from Boston College.

"Tom Davis taught me many things about basketball," Pearl said in an interview with OnMilwaukee.com earlier this month.

"He also taught me a lot about working with young people, motivating them, being patient with them, caring about them and how to get them to be the best they can be."

Pearl also credits Washington State coach Dick Bennett, Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, Illinois coach Bill Self and Denver Nuggets coach George Karl with some of his coaching philosophies.