Bruce Pearl and No. 21 Auburn will honor late Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach before hosting the Bulldogs’ basketball team Saturday night at Neville Arena.

The Tigers will wear special shirts honoring Leach during pregame warmups and shootaround prior to their 7:30 p.m. tip against the Bulldogs. It will be the first time an Auburn team has faced one of Mississippi State’s teams since Leach died Dec. 12.

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The long-sleeved shirts are white, with Leach’s signature below the collar and his catchphrase, “Swing Your Sword” printed across one side of the shirt. The other side of the shirt says “MIKE,” with the “I” replaced by a cowbell featuring a skull and crossbones to honor the man known as The Pirate.

Leach coached at Mississippi State for three seasons and went 19-17 with the Bulldogs before his unexpected passing in December. He was 61.

Prior to his time at Mississippi State, where he was hired by current Auburn athletics director John Cohen ahead of the 2020 season, Leach spent eight seasons at Washington State (2012-19), and before that he was the head coach at Texas Tech from 2000-09. He went 158-107 over the course of his career as a head coach, but his impact on the sport was far-reaching as a pioneer of the Air Raid offense, which he developed along with Hal Mumme in the 1990s.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.