The Florida Gators won the national title for the third time in program history against the Houston Cougars. Along the way in the NCAA Tournament, Florida faced Bruce Pearl and theAuburn Tigers and won that game by a final score of 79-73.
Florida defeated Auburn twice last season. The Tigers were SEC regular season champions, and the Gators were SEC tournament champions as well. They were both number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament. However, there was shocking news across the college basketball landscape on Monday. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that Auburn's Bruce Pearl plans to retire. Steven Pearl is expected to be the Tigers' next head coach. This was one of the biggest surprises on Monday.
Florida Gators Fans React to Auburn Tigers Head Coach Bruce Pearl Retiring
Pearl has been a huge fan of Gators head coach Todd Golden for quite some time. Well, many Florida fans believe that Golden beating Pearl in the Final Four was the final straw of his coaching career in college basketball.
Todd Golden really sent Bruce Pearl into retirement 😂
— Florida Gators 🐊🔥 (@gatorsszn) September 22, 2025
The Toddfather. https://t.co/TgQe16IOX2 pic.twitter.com/NrveVFvHtN
— Harrison (@Harrison954_) September 22, 2025
Bruce Pearl retiring. Son taking over as coach. Gators broke him
— Timbers (@timbers74083) September 22, 2025
Pearl has been with the program since the 2014-15 season. He has led this program to two Final Four appearances and has made them a national title contender. There is no doubt that he is going to be missed with Auburn's program. It will be interesting to see what is next for Pearl after coaching basketball.
Gators fans can joke all they want about Golden sending Pearl into retirement earlier than expected. He was 65 years old and there were no signs of him retiring anytime soon after having its most successful season in program history during the 2024-25 season.
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ESPN insiders hint at potential career shift for Auburn's Bruce Pearl after shocking retirement | Sporting News