Auburn’s Bruce Pearl to Serve NCAA Suspension, Won’t Coach vs. Nebraska

Former Husker hoops assistant Wes Flanigan is taking his place for two games

Joe Hudson | Dec 10, 2021

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn will be without its head coach Saturday when the Tigers take on Nebraska in Atlanta. Bruce Pearl received a two-game suspension as part of NCAA penalties announced Friday.

The case, uncovered in 2017, revolved around former associate head coach Chuck Person, who accepted bribes in exchange for steering players to certain financial advisers. Another assistant paid a walk-on's tuition.

"It is time to put this behind us," Pearl said in a statement Friday. "As part of our penalty, I will begin my two-game suspension tomorrow against Nebraska."

Wes Flanigan, a Nebraska assistant from 2010 to 2012, will serve as Auburn's interim head coach.

Pearl, 61, is in his eighth year at Auburn and entered the 2021-22 season with a 138-92 record at the school, a 60 percent winning percentage. Additional sanctions imposed Friday against Auburn are detailed at this link.

The Huskers and the No. 18 Tigers tip off at 10:30 a.m. CST Saturday in Atlanta's State Farm Arena. The Huskers also are down a coach, as assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih has taken a leave to address an unspecified health issue.

Published Dec 10, 2021

JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.