By the time Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl spoke to reporters Tuesday ahead of actually making the trip to Spokane, Washington, for the NCAA Tournament, he had a point to clarify.

Pearl, like any coach, wishes his team was a better seed. He still believes the run to an SEC Tournament championship should have held more weight. It didn’t. He said he’s actually excited to go to Spokane after initially expressing disappointment on Selection Sunday.

“Very excited about going to Spokane,” Pearl said Tuesday. “Beautiful city. Very excited about going to Gonzaga and seeing that campus. But I’d prefer to go there fishing. And go hang out with (Gonzaga head coach) Mark Few.”

Pearl’s frustration with Spokane, he said, lies less in his own travel on a chartered direct flight, but more so for fans wanting to attend the games now faced with an arduous and expensive task of traveling across the country.

Even some of the cheapest round trip airplane tickets cost upwards of $700 and that’s before the costs of hotels, food and game tickets.

“I just think about our fans, and I think about our players’ parents,” Pearl said. “And I think about the families that are trying to get out there. The pod system was created so that you didn’t have to do this. You know? So, that’s my only complaint. We’re leaving on Tuesday to play a game on Friday in another time zone.”

Within his own locker room, Pearl said his staff is weighing future travel plans should Auburn advance to the Sweet 16. Despite starting in Spokane, Auburn is in the East Region, which means a trip to Boston for the second weekend. Pearl is undecided, if Auburn gets that far, if the team will come back to Auburn briefly after Spokane or fly directly to Boston.

“Are we paying a price for being in Birmingham last year and getting an incredible opportunity against Houston, the one seed? Perhaps,” Pearl said Sunday. “It’s a long way to travel for our fans.”

It’s exhausting travel regardless for a team playing in the most important games of the year. Auburn also isn’t the only team from Alabama doing this.

UAB is a No. 12 seed in Auburn’s same pod, playing No. 5 seed San Diego State in the first round. Alabama is a No. 4 seed in the West Region, begins play in Spokane as well.

Three state schools in Alabama and their fans all trying to get across the country together on short notice.

“I mean, Alabama, UAB and Auburn in Spokane, Washington? Enough said,” Pearl said Sunday.

And there’s still Samford, a No. 13 seed shipped off to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Pearl proposed a solution.

“Rather than just complaining about things, my advice would be to do a study of where the teams are in the country are that are making the tournament,” Pearl said. “And if there’s a preponderance of teams that are making the tournament in the Southern part of the country that are making the tournament, or the West, or the Northeast, then have more regions, have more pods in those locations.”

Matt Cohen covers sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]