Former Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl talks about death of former AD Mike Hamilton

Bruce Pearl may have had a less-than-amicable split with Tennessee, but he had nothing but kind things to say about the late Mike Hamilton, who was the athletic director during most of Pearl's tenure with Vols basketball.

Hamilton, who died Nov. 10 because of complications from a liver transplant, was Tennessee's AD from 2003 to 2011. Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005 to 2011, before scandal led to his ousting from Knoxville.

Pearl spoke at length about Hamilton this week at Hamilton's celebration of life, talking about his split from the Vols and how Hamilton helped him get the job at Auburn.

“Mike Hamilton hired me at Tennessee," Pearl said. "He was 41 years old, fairly new athletics director at Tennessee at the time. There were a few things that connected us. One was Ernie Grunfeld. Ernie Grunfeld was the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. I was coaching at the University of Wisconsin-Milwakuee. Our kids, Jacqui and Danny, become friends. ... I later coached Danny in the Maccabi Games in 2009 when we won the gold medal, so we became family friends. Ernie was a legend at Tennessee, obviously. ... (Tennessee) had called Ernie Grunfeld years before when the job was open, and he made a recommendation about a young coach from Wagner University. This was before I was going to take the job. Tennessee didn’t take his advice. That young coach was Jay Wright.

“When Tennessee called Ernie Grunfeld this time about the job when it opened and I was in Milwaukee, he said, ‘That’s OK. Don’t worry about it.’ They said, ‘What do you mean don’t worry about it?’ And he went and told the story again: ‘Don’t call me if you don’t want to really (take my advice).’ They said, ‘Well, we care what you think.’ He said, ‘You should hire Bruce Pearl.’

“... Mike looked into it. John Currie, who’s now the athletics director at Wake Forest, was Mike’s right-hand man. They looked into it, and obviously they hired me at Tennessee. We became great friends, we did great things together. Renovating Thompson-Boling Arena, getting the curtains down and building those suites. We built the Pratt Pavilion, the new practice facility at Tennessee. All in just a very short six year’s time. Obviously, we made the tournament six years in a row."

REQUIRED READING: Mike Hamilton obituary reveals ex-Tennessee AD died after liver transplant complications

Pearl led the Vols to a 145-61 (65-31 SEC) record in six seasons, including their lone Elite Eight appearance in 2010. He also made Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2007 and 2008.

However, when Pearl was investigated by the NCAA for the illegal recruitment of Aaron Craft, Tennessee fired him. Pearl talked about Hamilton's role in the firing and the difficulty attached to it.

“One of the hardest things Mike did was fire me," Pearl said. "I don’t think Tennessee should’ve fired me. I think we could’ve got through it. But they chose differently, and unfortunately a few months after that Mike Hamilton resigned. Probably was forced to resign. It didn’t end well for either one of us at Tennessee, but Mike and I stayed connected. I always felt badly. Very badly. Still do. That part of the mistakes that I made at Tennessee, and we made some mistakes — we’ve always been apologetic and accountable for those mistakes — was part of the reason why he failed. Always felt badly about that."

Pearl buttoned the story up with a happy ending, and talked about how Hamilton got him the Auburn job he's held since 2014. He referenced AUTLIVE, Auburn's annual cancer awareness event.

“Mike Hamilton actually was one of the first ones to ever call me and said, ‘If the Auburn job opened, would you be interested?’" Pearl said. "That one came out of nowhere. Just sort of long story short, it was Mike Hamilton who put (then Auburn AD) Jay Jacobs and I together when the job did open up. I just wanted to tell that story because, unfortunately, Mike passed. Died of cancer. Was not able to outlive, AUTLIVE, his cancer. Was a tremendous celebration of his life the last couple days. I was able to go up to the funeral yesterday for a short period of time. I had Tennessee on my mind and we’re talking about AUTLIVE."

Others from Tennessee's past and present talked about Hamilton's impact on Knoxville after his death, and Hamilton's relationship with Pearl since firing him has been documented.

"I wouldn't have this job if it weren't for Mike," Pearl told The Tennessean in 2015. "His recommendation to Jay (Jacobs) was about more than just basketball. Mike and I went through a lot together, but all that never changed Mike's opinion of me as a person."

Clearly, that continues to ring true eight years later.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former UT coach Bruce Pearl talks about death of former AD Mike Hamilton