Cliff Ellis is a man of his word.

A little more than three years ago the former Auburn coach, who was the last Tigers' coach to lead the program to not only an SEC championship but to the NCAA Tournament, said that he would "kiss (the) ring" of the next person to win a regular-season conference title on the Plains.

On March 3, that person became Bruce Pearl after Auburn topped South Carolina in the regular-season finale to complete a wire-to-wire run atop the SEC standings and take home a share of the program's first regular-season crown since 1999 -- when Ellis' Tigers went 14-2 in league play.

"I got to admit, I did," Ellis said with a hearty laugh Monday. "I said whoever wins the SEC regular-season championship at Auburn, I'm going to kiss his ring -- so I got to kiss it."

While Pearl and his players will have to wait to receive their rings, the Tigers' fourth-year coach will instead make due with a congratulatory message from Ellis, who reached out to his fellow coach after Auburn defeated South Carolina, 79-70, at Auburn Arena.

"I got over 300 text messages, and when you're dealing with that at 3 o'clock in the morning on Saturday trying to send messages back because I can't sleep, I had to hesitate for a second, but he truly did reach out," Pearl said. "Chris Porter reached out too and left me a wonderful voicemail message. I can't tell you how many former players, coaches and so many of our fans have. It's just been absolutely wonderful, the reception. I'm just so proud for Auburn to add to the excellence. That's what we did. We just added to the excellence on campus, so I'm really happy about that."

While neither Ellis nor Pearl disclosed the contents of the message, Ellis -- who has gone on the record saying he hoped Pearl would be the one to win at Auburn -- said he was "very happy" for Pearl and Auburn's players for what they accomplished this season while taking home just the third regular-season conference title in program history.

The Tigers went 25-7 overall, including 13-5 in league play to earn the top overall seed in last week's SEC Tournament and the double-bye that comes with it. Auburn bowed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals against Alabama and then earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament to snap a 15-year program drought. That was the longest drought in the SEC, and it dated back to 2003, when Ellis last guided the Tigers into the Big Dance as a No. 10 seed.

"It's been a long time coming," Ellis said. "I mean, my goodness, it's been a long time coming. If you look back from 99-03, in that little period of time there, there was three NCAA Tournament berths, an SEC championship, a runner-up, two Sweet 16s, and... those guys left the table loaded with some tradition. To see it just fall off was really a sad thing, and Bruce has come back and given it a shot. That's just a wonderful thing."

Ellis understands better than most how difficult it is to win at Auburn. He spent a decade on the Plains and won one SEC title, took the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament three times and earned another four trips to the NIT. Auburn made the Sweet 16 twice during Ellis' tenure, in 1999 when the program earned a No. 1 seed and then in 2003, when the Tigers were a No. 2 seed and lost to eventual-champion Syracuse in the third round.

Since that loss, the Tigers went 5,462 days before hearing their name called on Selection Sunday. That, of course, changed this past weekend when Auburn earned the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region.

"Auburn's a tough job," Ellis said. "I mean, it is a very tough job. Every three or four years, you can go to the NCAA Tournament, but it doesn't have the tradition that Kentucky or Arkansas or a lot of the programs that are in the SEC have -- but it shouldn't take 15 years, you know?

"It shouldn't take 15 years, and so it's good to see it back. It's been a long time coming. I'm very happy for them."

Auburn will take on 13th-seeded College of Charleston -- the Colonial Athletic Association champion -- in the first round in San Diego on Friday. The game will tip at 6:27 p.m. from Viejas Arena and will be broadcast on TruTV.

The Tigers head into the matchup as a double-digit favorite and will have a chance to earn the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since Ellis' team defeated Wake Forest in the second round on March 23, 2003.

"I will make a point to see it and try to follow it as best I can," Ellis said. "Without question I'll be pulling for them."

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