Bruce Pearl proudly painted a "V" on his chest to support the Lady Vols. What other methods have coaches used to show their school spirit?
Photo by AP
In case you missed it, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl took school spirit to a whole new level on Monday night when sat in the student section for the Lady Vols' showdown with No. 1 Duke with a "V" painted on his bare chest. Although Duke won the game 84-80 we think the real winner was Pearl, who may have looked a tad foolish, but endeared himself to the Tennessee student body with the display. I mean, we can't picture Coach K or Jim Calhoun doing the same for their school's respective women's teams (or any of the school's women's teams for that matter).
Today, our question is simple. Has any NCAA coach, in any sport, done something like what Pearl did on Monday night? What other creative (read: crazy) methods have coaches used to show their school spirit?
I am an Arkansas Razorback fan and i still think it's great what he did. It shows his loyalty to his school and I cannot IMAGINE Stan Heath doing something like that...still though, GO HOGS!
Bruce Pearl is awesome. i remember watching him coach for UW-Milwaukee against the badgers and that guy was more energized than the players, i might add he sure sweats just as much. i got alot of respect for a coach that would do that to support not only the womens program at tennessee but all sports at tennessee will benefit from this in some sort of way. Skip Bayless is a tool and should not be allowed to be on t.v. i hate that guy.
If anyone criticizes this move, they are jealous that Pearl is not their coach. Even if you can't imagine your coach doing such a thing, you have to admire Pearl for having the guts to do it. He epitomizes what college sports are all about.
Pearl has always been the kind of guy that has always supported his school and local community. Now he never did anything like that at the University of Southern Indiana, but he always been a big supporter of other school sports programs and activities.
I just hope he is able to get that color off or you won't be tell if wearing that awful orange jacket or not!
Of Course Some People Like The Bama Fan Are Gonna Hate, If They Didnt Then Something Wouldnt Be Right..It Must Be Nice Playing Second Fiddle To UT Huh?... Best Coach In The Country...PERIOD
Of Course Some People Like The Bama Fan Are Gonna Hate, If They Didnt Then Something Wouldnt Be Right..It Must Be Nice Playing Second Fiddle To UT Huh?... Best Coach In The Country...PERIOD
bruce pearl has been able to get a traditional football school excited about basketball and thats the only way UT basketball can continue to get better. he seems like a fun coach to play for and i know if i were choosing a coach to play for, i'd take him.
Coach Pearl is a godsend for UT basketball. His intensity and enthusiam are bleeding over to the fans. I think the future is very bright for UT basketball.
Whether its the orange jacket or the orange body paint, Pearl embodies what a college head basketball coach should be. He goes far beyond his coaching duties to help his school out and get the students excited about not only his team but others (like girls basketball) across campus. He's got that extra character that makes him a loveable person around campus. I'm thinking the only other guys that could pull this off would be Kelvin Sampson and Thad Matta.
Why didnt he stay the whole game???? If he wanted to support the girls team rather than promote his own, he would have at least cheered while the game was going on. Hes a jerk for turning the girls game into a publicity stunt. Grow up Pearl! This is almost as bad as him putting his OWN KID on the team over hundreds of players probably more deserving of the opportunity.
Coach Pearl rules! As a UT Alum, I wish he had coached the team in my day. He just raised the bar for showing support for a colleague. I hope we keep him as long as we have Pat.
Lets face it, women's basketball is not a big sport, all he did was try to bring attention to the sport and to the game. I thought it was a hilarious move!!
Yeah good for the women to get that support but come one UT's mens program is still nothing event though they claim it to be a national program like my memphis tigers but even though UT beat Mem go and check the polls look at the past five years- tourney results, recruits(before Pearl) and overall attention. Sorry Vols :)
The Bruce was loose last night...I'm glad I got to witness it first hand. The TB arena went CRAZY when he and some of the men's team came in. It got us really pumped up. I'm proud to have Bruce at my school. GO VOLS!!
this proves the common thought that people in tennesse are all worthless hicks. I mean what kind of fat loser paints himself for a womens game. this guy is just pulling a crap stunt to make up for the ut's overall mediocritey in relevant sports. The football team cant win ten games and was thrilled to make it to a bowl. and the mens b-ball team will be out early in march madness. So i guess now tennesse has a bald fat boy for a football coach, a chubby sweating idoit for a b-ball coach, and PE teacher he-woman of a girl b-ball coach. By the way the only uglier orange than UT is Clemson. And Ut people dont kid yourselves, the real sport is football and ya'll havent won sec champ this century and havent been relevant since tee martin left
Wow. I am not suprised that Tennessee fans are proud of a complete moron running their team. Fat Phil has been acting just as classless for the last decade. Instead of watching dunkless basketball, Coach Pearl should be sweating through his blazers worrying about the Dawgs coming to town in a week. By the way, to the Alabama fan that stopped making out with his cousin to place a post, tell Ronald Steele that he should pack a bag before traveling as far as he did before the last shot on Saturday.
Coach Pearl isn't a basketball coach acting like a rockstar, he's a ROCKSTAR acting like one hell of a basketball coach! Makes me proud to be an Alumnist! (And the fact that it makes an alabama fan jealous is just icing!)
Smart move. Bruce knows the true power in Knoxville is Pat. He made his debut as the Vols coach at the Lady Vols' Final Four appearance, cheered his butt off for Pat's team.
Gotta give the guy credit. It was a brilliant move in terms of connecting with the students and it took a lot of gut to strip down and show off those 12-pack abs.
Bruce Pearl is class personified and what he's done for UT Men's basketball in two short years is nothing short of phenomenal. We are incredibly lucky to have him and I hope we do whatever it takes to keep him for a long long time. You Vol haters are classless cretins - why is it so hard to acknowledge a quality in someone else's school? Nobody dislikes Florida more than I do but no Florida fan was pulling harder for them to beat Ohio State than I was. Intense rivalry and competition between SEC schools? you bet - psychotic rants about schools you don't like? count me out.
First, that's more like a keg, not a 12-pack. Second - it's great to have a guy like Pearl in Knoxville. The Vols will become major players in college basketball in the years to come as long as they can keep him on The Hill.
Bruce Pearl is incredible - what he's done at UT in two short years is phenomenal. He makes me even more proud to be a Vol and a UT alumnus. Hats off to the fans of other SEC schools on here with the class to acknowledge his accomplishments. To the two or three Vol haters who posted - grow up and show a little SEC class.
Coach Pearl has been doin it since his days at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, maybe even before. Always workin with students, players, anybody supporting the team. Lucky that the Vols got him and will have him for years to come.
Wow, a lot of ignorant people on here seem to think Pearl was stupid for doing this stunt. Um, hello, it's brilliant! The guy just has what it takes to be successful. I am a UWM alum and he took an absolutely nothing mainly commuter school and put them on the NCAA tourney map. Just wait a couple of years and see what he does with a top-tier Division I school like TENN.
When I was at the Naval Academy in the late 90's, our football coach at the time, Charlie Weatherbie, would always rip his shirt off at pep rallies and start leading cheers. This included the rallies we had before the Army-Navy game. We'd be outside on an athletic field right on the Chesepeake Bay in the first week of Decembr (read: cold) and he'd be on stage shirtless, smiling, and yelling.
Welcome to the Pearly Gates. This is heaven. It's finally good to have a real coach on campus other than Pat. Bruce connected himself to the students and fans in general. Additionally, what high school player would not want to play for him? Oh and Memphis fan, don't be a hater just because Pearl is entering your recruiting domain. How about this? Tennessee will give Memphis to Mississippi and improve the IQ of both states
Pearl is the best thing to happen to Tennessee basketball since Erine & Bernie. He will make UT a national power in the next 3 years. The more exposure that UT BBall gets the on ESPN or on Website like this one, is the best advertizing. Who won't love to play for this guy. I am so proud to be a VOL fan!!!
There are so many schools now where the men's and women's coaches don't get along (i.e. UCONN). Being a former college athlete, I know how much supporting each other helps programs. I'm not even a UT fan and I love Pearl. What a great way to show his support. It doesn't matter how good or bad their football or other teams are...it shows a lot about a program when a coach puts aside their pride to show support.
Posted: 1:35 PM by Scott Walker (yeah, my real name... Go Vols!)
Say whatever you want, this man has energized a long stagnant program. I can't remember this much enthusiasm in Big Orange country since Allen Houston. Bruce Pearl is a super motivator, an excellent coach, and by all accounts, just a great human being. Hats off to UT... you hired a winner!
For the guy who said Pearl left the game...he left the student section and let another guy have his seat...he then showered took another seat behide the Lady Vols bench. And for the guy made the comment "Fat Phil"...that fat man and Vols football team came to your house this year cleaned your clock...how did it feel losing to both Vandy and KY?
Wow... looks like there are alot of Tennessee haters out there. Look I'm sorry that you live in Alabama and your life blows but up here on Rocky Top we like to have a little fun.
For the folks who DON't like what Bruce did, read John Donne: the bell is tolling for you, too. You need to lighten up and enjoy life. Like Bruce does, and like Tennessee fans are along with him. Bruce is truly The Man!
Bruce Pearl's energy is amazing. Before Coach Pearl, I regularly sat amungst 4,500 fans in a 24,000 seat arena, and most days didn't feel like UT had much of a chance to win. This man has stood on tables in the UT Cafeterias and asked the students to come to the games, turned a bunch of average players into winners, signed some big time recruits, has painted himself orange, and now the arena is full. He is a great ambassador for all UT sports and has single-handedly put UT basketball back on track. Thank God for Bruce Almighty!
Thank you, Bruce. This put fun on the map again in a way that few can imagine. Sure, others will say it's more fun to win, or that he's not in great shape. I say, Yee-Haw and love the way he looks. You know, like a real man who leads a real life should.
Tenn. sucks! I love it when they lose games! My favorite team is the FLORIDA GATORS! DUAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! My second fav team is anyone who plays against the volunTEARS! Pearl, no one wanted to see him shirtless! I think a college coach should have a level of professionalism and his actions were very unprofessional! Discpline is lost when authority wants to be buddies with the kids! I would have this same position if Urban Meyer had gone shirtless. Pearl was simply classless and unprofessional! Someone please tell him he is no longer a college kid!
Didn't Bruce Pearl also sell Illinois out for recruiting violations? Yup, just ask Deon Thomas. Just another reason to love him. Bo Ryan has to be considered for school spirit given his uncanny resemblance to Buckinham U. "Bucky" Badger. That was also a mean hambone solo he did before the Illinois game.
Everyone's so proud, but I bet that some of you wish he had been figuring out a GAMEPLAN for the weak OLE MISS team that beat Tennessee by about 20 soon after Pearl's publicity stunt.
Maybe wearing the "V" was Pearl's way of expressing that he wishes he was at Vanderbilt, the team in the state of Tennessee who's 5-1 against ranked teams this season.
Bruce Pearl is an idiot who has never met a camera he wouldn't mug for. It is so clear that this was a stunt to get the men's team and more importantly himself some publicity. If you are one of those who foolishly believes that he did that to support the women's team, ask yourself these questions: Did he stay for the entire game? Would he do the same thing at a game not televised nationally? Is he preparing himself for his next job because he knows he's taken Tenn men as far as he can and he knows the women will always overshadow the men? Have you ever seen a coach who gets himself on tv more than this guy? Do his constant sideline antics help or hurt his team. Bruce Pearl is a self serving joke and I hope all those drinking their orange kool-aid wake up to this snake-oil salesman. You've got a real class act and her name is Pat Summit.
Nick Saban wouldn't have to do this. He won a National Championship at LSU without having to take off anything. And to say Pearl is the best coach in the country?!? If pulling off a desperate publicity stunt to get you and your team attention because the girl's program has more fans and support than the Men's team is being a great coach, then he should get coach of the year. I guess when you lose to Ole Miss and Auburn you do what you have to do.
This was a total PR stunt. The Top Three sports at UT are Football, Spring Football, and Women's Hoops. Desparate tricks from a man used to pulling these types of stunts( just research what he did at Iowa as an assistant).
Although I hate the man and I made fun of him at the UF/UT football game, I have to admit that it's pretty cool that he did that :) just my opinion even though I don't like you VOLS!
Bruce Pearl is self-absorbed and needed to focus attention away from the Auburn loss, caused by him getting t'd up in the last minute. He inherited Bo Ryan's recruits at UW-Milwaukee. His star will fade.
Why didn't you show his back? He was third in line and the chests spelled GO VOLS--Their backs spelled LADIES. A coach that will walk around with V D painted on his body--PRICELESS
Pearl is a "PEARL". He does many things in the community, like TV advertisement for one of the major traffic changes downtown that was going to cause confusion. He is true to his Jewis faith, attending his religious services rather than an awards ceremaony. He is stict with the discipline of his players. All many things to be admired.
Pearl is a crook. He tapes conversations to potential recruits (which is illegal) and gives false testimony to the NCAA to get ahead in his professional life. I wish the worst for him.
Bruce Pearl was incredible when he coached UW-Milwaukee. He is truly one of the most colorful and charismatic coaches in all of sports. We loved him here in Milwaukee and were sad to see him leave. I'm glad to see he's still crazy after all these years! Best of luck, Coach Pearl!
I'm a Horn fan of the other UT. I couldn't imagine Rick Barnes doing that at a Lady Horns game. But I think it is great for the sport and the school. I wish more faculty at every school would get involved. Good on ya Pearl. Hook 'em.
Way to go, Pearl! Another team-spirited coach is Houston Nutt (Arkansas football). While he was coach of Murray State he set up a pa system on campus and sang the school fight song. ra
how can anyone knock it, it was fun, not evryone could or would do it, and that doesnt mean other coaches dont support their chool, etc.It was just asilly thing, have a laugh, and givethe students somehting to enjoy, more power to him.
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