New Auburn Head Basketball Coach Steven Pearl has promoted Ira Bowman to Associate Head Coach. Pearl made the announcement in his introductory presser:

Bowman has spent the past eight seasons on the Tigers’ staff. During his tenure on The Plains, Bowman has played a pivotal role in Auburn’s rise to national prominence under Bruce Pearl, helping the program to two Final Four appearances (2019, 2025), four SEC Championships, a program-record 32-win season, and the school’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking. Widely regarded as one of the top high-major assistants in the country, he was instrumental in recruiting and developing NBA talents such as Jabari Smith, Isaac Okoro, JT Thor, and Sharife Cooper, while also being recognized in 2024 by the SEC Opportunity Forum as one of the league’s top assistant coaches.

Before arriving at Auburn, Bowman spent six seasons at Penn, where he helped lead the Quakers to an Ivy League title and their first NCAA Tournament berth in over a decade. He also played a key role in NJIT’s turnaround from a winless program to a conference contender. His coaching career has been complemented by leadership experience with the Assist by Knight Foundation and involvement with NBA development programs.

A standout guard himself, Bowman was the 1996 Ivy League Player of the Year at Penn after beginning his career at Providence. He went on to play professionally with the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, overseas in Italy and Australia, and in the CBA. A Newark, N.J. native and former Seton Hall Prep star, Bowman now shares the Auburn sidelines with his son, Jeremiah, a freshman on the Tigers’ roster.