Bama Central

Bruce Pearl Considers Major Punishment for Alabama Playing Charles Bediako: Roll Call

Your daily briefing on what's going on with the Alabama Crimson Tide, including full TV listings.
Hunter De Siver|
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats and Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl shake hands before the game as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats and Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl shake hands before the game as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Alabama Crimson Tide

Former Auburn men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl retired last September and has since become a CBS Sports analyst.

Pearl and Alabama have had quite the history since he was hired more than 11 years ago. Pearl was 11-12 against the Crimson Tide. Alabama head coach Nate Oats had a 7-5 edge on the 65-year-old.

Countless coaches, analysts and fans have voiced their opinions on Alabama center Charles Bediako's eligibility case for the last two weeks, and Pearl joined the party on Saturday. However, he took it a step further when OutKick's Dan Dakich asked him a loaded question on Saturday: Should the NCAA ban Alabama from playing in the NCAA Tournament for playing Bediako?

“I think they should consider it,” Pearl told OutKick's Dan Dakich. “I think it’s something that should be talked about… [Fans might think that because I'm the former Auburn coach] what I'm saying about Alabama must be something personal, so let's just take that right off the table. This has nothing to do with Auburn and Alabama's rivalry."

Pearl proceeded to share an anecdote for why he isn't in favor of Bediako's case.

"I lost my job because I had some kids over at the house that committed to me as juniors and I shouldn't have. I fed them and I didn't tell the truth about it. I lost an $11 million contract and I almost got knocked out of coaching.

"Now, if I had gone to court, do you think the courts would have said, 'Geez, you've got this whole career, you've done all this, that's a big penalty.' I'm not so sure I could get an injunction and win that. But I broke the rules. This is what the rules were. I made a mistake, and it cost me."

Pearl then looked at it from Alabama's and the NCAA's perspectives.

"Alabama went, ‘Hey, we want to get Bediako eligible. We think there’s some argument about the fact that he’s being treated differently as an American that played professionally vs. European kids.’ It’s a good argument to have, but the NCAA said no.

"They said, ‘No, he’s not eligible. You guys are part of the SEC, you’re part of the NCAA. You guys choose to be here. Therefore, you choose to play by our rules.’ And so, when we don’t like the ruling, what do we do? We go to court and get an injunction.”

All information leading up to Bediako's rescheduled Feb. 6 injunction can be found here.

Countdown to Alabama Football's 2026 Season Opener

216 days (Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium)

Roll Call: Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026

  • Former Alabama guard Keon Ellis has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 26-year-old spent his first four years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. Ellis has played in 43 games (five starts) this season and is averaging 5.6 points and 1.1 steals in 17.6 minutes per contest.
  • And speaking of Charles Bediako, analyst Seth Greenberg shared on ESPN's College GameDay how far he thinks Alabama could go in the NCAA Tournament if the Crimson Tide center wins the Feb. 6 injunction hearing and stays with the team for the rest of the season.
  • Former Alabama standout Brandon Miller has helped lead the Charlotte Hornets to seven wins in their last eight games. This includes a 26-point outing during Saturday's 111-106 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Crimson Tide product Collin Sexton also shined for the Hornets, as he tallied 21 points off the bench.
  • On Jan. 31, 2023, the Houston Texans hired former Alabama linebacker DeMeco Ryans as the team's next head coach. The Texans combined for just 11 wins from 2020-22, but Ryans has led Houston to three consecutive NFL Playoffs appearances since his arrival and has logged a combined regular-season record of 32-19.

Saturday's Alabama Crimson Tide Results:

  • Track and Field at PNC Lenny Lyles Invite: 60m hurdles — 5th (John Landers | 8.37, PR – 891 points); pole vault — 2nd (Landers | 4.77m (15-7.75) – 840 points); 1,000-meter — 1st (Landers | 2:33.40 – 948 points); Final Point Total: 3rd (Landers | 5,595 points, PR, No. 2 all-time at UA); Mile — 5th (Milicent Wafula | women's | 4:46.24, PR) 6th (Bismack Kipchirchir | men's | 4:01.05, No. 7 all-time at UA, 7th (Jackson Harris | men's | 4:03.63, PR); Pole Vault — 3rd (Isabella Maple | women's | 3.87m (12-8.25), PR, No. 10 all-time UA), 4th (Amelia Johnson | women's | 3.87m (12-8.25), indoor PR, No. 10 all-time UA)

Sunday's Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule:

  • No. 24 women's basketball at No. 6 LSU, Baton Rouge, La., 11 a.m. SEC Network, Listen, Live Stats
  • Men's tennis vs. Alabama State, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 4 p.m., Watch, Live Stats

This Date in Alabama Crimson Tide History:

February 1, 1943: Deploring the fact that millions of football fans weren’t able to see the sport’s biggest games, Alabama coach Frank Thomas proposed colleges make it a practice to have complete moving pictures of all of their games made available for public consumption. While showing the highlight film of Alabama's 37-21 Orange Bowl win over Boston College, Thomas said the number of calls and letters the athletic department received made him convinced that the public deserved to get a look at the film. Thomas also noted that he expected attendance would increase dramatically if fans could see the excellence of college football on a regular basis. – Bryant Museum

Alabama Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

“I can tell you what Nick Saban believes in from my head to my toe, and I can tell you that because he kept hammering it and hammering it, and you tell it a lot of different ways, and eventually it sinks in.”

— Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, who was Saban’s quarterbacks coach
with the Miami Dolphins (2005-06)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.

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