Auburn men’s basketball coach walked into the media room inside Neville Arena on Tuesday, expecting to meet with the usual suspects on the Auburn beat.

Instead, Pearl was greeted by a room full of guests wearing AUTLIVE t-shirts. AUTLIVE is an arm of the Bruce Pearl Family Foundation and “raises the awareness of cancer prevention and detection while t-shirt sales and donations raise money to benefit cancer patients and their local hospitals.”

While some of Tuesday’s surprise guests were cancer survivors themselves, others came representing loved ones.

The moment was captured by Auburn’s media team and shared on social media Wednesday.

After Pearl settled in, guests went on to go around the room to share their own stories.

“Bruce, I just want to say thank you for what you do for all these different organizations,” a young man told Pearl. “I’m actually here filling in for one of my buddies, Jack. He wasn’t able to make it today because he got some scan that came back not so great. But I’ve got a video from him to you.”

In the video, Jack thanked Pearl for supporting the Smile-A-Mile foundation, a Birmingham-based organization that sets out to “provide hope, healing of the spirit and love for the whole family during the childhood cancer journey.”

Another woman told Pearl that she was representing her “buddy Cole,” who she said is a “huge Auburn fan.”

“The good news is, he’s at home being a kid,” she told Pearl. “He’s going to baseball practice this afternoon, he’s in school. And a few years ago, his parents didn’t know if he was going to have those moments. And that’s what you and the AUTLIVE game help raise funds for — moments for kids to be kids.”

Cole’s representative also brought a letter he wrote to Pearl.

“I am so happy I’m still alive,” Pearl read aloud. “If it wasn’t for y’all, I wouldn’t be alive.”

At the start of the video, a woman and Pearl reflect on the growth of the AUTLIVE initiative at Auburn.

“I think the first year when you came here, we may have been able to give five organizations maybe $2,000 each,” she said. “But last year, raising over $300,000 to give to different organizations.”

In addition to t-shirt sales and donations, Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Preferred Real Estate has pledged $25 for every 3-point shot Auburn makes this season. The count currently sits at 128 made 3-pointers, which has raised $3,200.

Auburn is also set to host its AUTLIVE game on Feb. 17, when the Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats at Neville Arena.