Bruce Pearl spoke to students, faculty and the general public about his faith in a lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the Alumni Memorial building.

Pearl became the head coach of UT in March of 2005, said the UT basketball website. His record at UT is 46-19, with an overall record of 363-103.

Tuesday night, he spoke about his faith, childhood, his views on being considered a role model and on the upcoming basketball season.

I wasn't ever going to back down and hide from who I was. I was going to wear it on my sleeve, if you will. Bruce Pearl, UT men's basketball head coach Pearl grew up in Boston and was very aware of the stereotypes placed on him because of his Jewish faith. He spoke about feeling left out as a child, because at sports banquets a prayer would be said that was almost always given by a priest, and many of his friends were Christian.  However, he was always proud of his faith and who he was.

"I wasn't ever going to back down and hide from who I was. I was going to wear it on my sleeve, if you will," he said.

Pearl addressed his being called a role model.

"I am very honored," he said.

However, he is "not a role model. I do the best I can and I need to do better," Pearl said. 

Pearl also spoke about the trip the basketball team took to Europe this summer. They went to places such as Vienna, Austria and Prague. He got to know his players better, he said.

"We were ambassadors for our University," he said. "We were ambassadors for the game of basketball."  

In reference to this year's season, Pearl has reasonable expectations.

"I think we're doing good, I think we're doing well," Pear said. "I want people to expect more of the same... Expect us to be competitive."

Pearl is glad to be in Knoxville. He said he has worked his whole life to be in a place like the University of Tennessee.

"I really love Knoxville. It's a beautiful place," he said. "I'm thrilled to be here."