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Chris Beard

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This article is about the college basketball coach. For other uses, see Chris Beard (disambiguation).

Chris Beard
Beard coaching Texas Tech in 2019
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamOle Miss
ConferenceSEC
Record26–12 (.684)
Annual salary$3.25 million
Biographical details
Born (1973-02-18) February 18, 1973 (age 51)
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin (BS), ('95)
Abilene Christian University (MEd), ('98)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1995Texas (GA)
1995–1996Incarnate Word (GA)
1996–1997Abilene Christian (assistant)
1997–1999North Texas (assistant)
1999–2000Fort Scott CC
2000–2001Seminole State JC
2001–2011Texas Tech (assoc. HC)
2011–2012South Carolina Warriors
2012–2013McMurry
2013–2015Angelo State
2015–2016Little Rock
2016–2021Texas Tech
2021–2023Texas
2023–presentOle Miss
Head coaching record
Overall262–109 (.706)
Tournaments11–5 (NCAA Division I)
2–1 (NCAA Division II)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973)[1] is an American basketball coach who is the head men's coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). He also previously served as head coach at Texas, Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, and McMurry. Beard graduated from high school from McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas. He was a manager at Texas under former Longhorns coach Tom Penders, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology. He received a Masters of Education from Abilene Christian University where he served as a graduate assistant in 1998.

Under Beard's watch, the Texas Tech Red Raiders made the deepest NCAA Tournament runs in school history. In 2019, the Red Raiders won a school-record 31 games on the way to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game against the Virginia Cavaliers. He was recognized as the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year.

Coaching career

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After serving as a student manager and student assistant at the University of Texas for Tom Penders and a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian, Beard was an assistant coach at North Texas from 1997 to 1999.

From there, Beard was hired as head coach at Fort Scott Community College where he coached the team to a 19–12 record and its first winning season in 8 years.[2] In 2000, he was hired as the head coach at Seminole State College. In his one year there he went 25–6 and finished ranked 14th in the country.

Following that season, Beard was hired as an assistant and later associate head coach at Texas Tech to work under the legendary Bob Knight. During his time at Texas Tech, the Red Raiders made four NCAA tournament appearances along with a trip to the NIT Final Four. Chris Beard spent 10 years coaching at Texas Tech under Bob Knight and his son Pat Knight, often citing the influence of the two men as his keys to success.[3]

Beard also spent one year as head coach for the South Carolina Warriors of the American Basketball Association, where he led the team to a 29–2 record.[4] On March 8, 2012, Beard was hired as head coach at Lamar State College–Port Arthur, but resigned six days later for the same position at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, where he spent one season.[5] In March 2013, he was hired as the sixth head coach at Angelo State. In two years with the Rams, he went 47–15.

Little Rock

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On April 8, 2015, Beard was named the head coach of Arkansas–Little Rock.

In his first and only season at UALR, the Trojans went 30–5 and won the regular season and Sun Belt tournament titles to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Little Rock was awarded a 12 seed and knocked off fifth-seeded Purdue 85–83 in double overtime to advance to the Second Round, where they fell to Iowa State.

Beard was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Texas Tech

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On March 27, 2016, Beard accepted the head coaching job at UNLV.[6] When the Texas Tech head coaching job was made vacant by Tubby Smith's departure to Memphis, Beard took the Texas Tech job on April 15, 2016.[7] Beard cited his 10 years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech University under Bob Knight and Pat Knight amongst the reasons that he took the job and the proximity to his daughters who live a few hours away from Lubbock.

On January 3, 2017, Beard led Texas Tech to upset #7 West Virginia[8] leading the Red Raiders to their first regular-season win over the Mountaineers in program history. The following year he again led Texas Tech to a 72–71 win over #2 WVU. His 2017–18 team was also the first Texas Tech team to win at Kansas, snapping a 17-game road losing streak against the Jayhawks. Beard won the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year in 2018. On March 23, 2018, Beard coached Texas Tech to its first-ever Elite Eight berth in program history with a 78–65 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.[9]

On March 9, 2019, under Beard's leadership Texas Tech won a share of the Big 12 regular season title, Texas Tech's first ever title in the Big 12 conference and its first conference title since 1996 when the team played in the Southwest Conference.[10] At the conclusion of the 2019 season, Beard earned Big 12 coach of the year honors as he led Texas Tech to a 26–5 regular season record, second only to Tech's 30–1 record in 1995–96.[11] On March 30, 2019, Beard led Texas Tech to the first Final Four appearance in school history with a 75–69 victory over Gonzaga to win the West Regional. On April 6, 2019, Beard led the Red Raiders to a 61–51 victory over Michigan State to earn the school's first National Championship berth. The Red Raiders would finish runners-up to Virginia in the final, losing 85–77 in overtime.

On April 29, 2019, Beard signed a six-year extension worth more than $4.5 million a season,[12] becoming the third-highest-paid college basketball coach in the country.

Texas

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On April 1, 2021, Beard was hired as the 25th head coach at the University of Texas.[13] In his first season, Beard led Texas to a 22–12 season and a win in the NCAA tournament. Texas lost to Purdue in the second round. Texas won the most games and had its first NCAA tournament win since 2013–14.

In the 2022–23 season Beard led Texas to a 7–1 start including wins against then top ten ranked Gonzaga and Creighton.[citation needed] On January 5, 2023, Texas fired Beard.[14][15] He finished his career at Texas with a 29–13 record.[16]

Arrest and firing from Texas

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On December 12, 2022, Beard was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of assault against a family member for strangulation.[17][18] According to the police report, Beard's fiancée Randi Trew told them Beard, "choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts," consistent with bite marks on her arm and cuts on her face and leg.[19][20] He was subsequently suspended without pay by the University of Texas.[21] Trew later claimed that Beard was acting in self-defense and that he never strangled her, stating "As Chris' fiancé and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself. Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening. Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that. I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted."[19][20] Beard was fired from his position at the University of Texas on January 5, 2023.[14][15][16]

On January 26, Beard listed his house in Austin for sale, which had been listed in the Austin Police Department arrest affidavit.[22]

On February 15, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that based on the case evidence and the fiancee’s wishes not to prosecute, he likely could not get a conviction. The third-degree felony charge was dismissed as was the threat of up to 10 years in prison.[23]

Ole Miss

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The University of Mississippi named Beard their new men's basketball coach on March 13, 2023. ESPN quoted Beard as saying, "I am honored to be joining the Ole Miss family and excited to get started at this great university".[24] Beard had been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Rebels since the school fired Kermit Davis in late February. Davis had compiled a record of 74–79 over five seasons and failed to reach the NCAA tournament following an appearance in his first season.

Personal life

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Beard has three daughters with his ex-wife Leslie.[25][26]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
McMurry War Hawks (Heartland Conference) (2012–2013)
2012–13 McMurry 19–10 10–8 None[27] NCCAA Regional Final[28]
McMurry: 19–10 (.655) 10–8 (.556)
Angelo State Rams (Lone Star Conference) (2013–2015)
2013–14 Angelo State 19–9 8–6 3rd[29]
2014–15 Angelo State 28–6 11–3 2nd[30] NCAA Division II Third Round
Angelo State: 47–15 (.758) 19–9 (.679)
Little Rock Trojans (Sun Belt Conference) (2015–2016)
2015–16 Little Rock 30–5 17–3 1st NCAA Division I Round of 32
Little Rock: 30–5 (.857) 17–3 (.850)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 Conference) (2016–2021)
2016–17 Texas Tech 18–14 6–12 T–7th
2017–18 Texas Tech 27–10 11–7 T–2nd NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2018–19 Texas Tech 31–7 14–4 T–1st NCAA Division I Runner-Up
2019–20 Texas Tech 18–13 9–9 T–3rd NCAA Division I Cancelled
2020–21 Texas Tech 18–11 9–8 T–6th NCAA Division I Round of 32
Texas Tech: 112–55 (.671) 49–40 (.551)
Texas Longhorns (Big 12 Conference) (2021–2023)
2021–22 Texas 22–12 10–8 4th NCAA Division I Round of 32
2022–23 Texas 7–1[a] 0–0
Texas: 29–13 (.690) 10–8 (.556)
Ole Miss Rebels (Southeastern Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24 Ole Miss 20–12 7–11 10th
2024–25 Ole Miss 6–1 0–0
Ole Miss: 26–13 (.667) 7–11 (.389)
Total: 262–110 (.704)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ Chris Beard was the head coach for the first eight games of the season. Texas suspended Beard on December 12, 2022, and fired him on January 5, 2023.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ NCAA® Career Statistics
  2. ^ Schulte, Troy (March 8, 2016). "Net worth: UALR's Beard lives to coach basketball". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  3. ^ "TEXASTECH.COM Pat Knight Names Chris Beard Associate Head Coach – Texas Tech University Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  4. ^ "South Carolina Warriors | Schedule | 2011–2012 Season Results". Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  5. ^ "Newly hired Seahawks basketball coach changes mind". The Beaumont Enterprise. March 12, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Anderson, Mark (March 27, 2016). "UNLV picks Beard as new basketball coach". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  7. ^ Goodman, Jeff (April 16, 2016). "Chris Beard hired by Texas Tech weeks after accepting UNLV job". ESPN.
  8. ^ "West Virginia vs. Texas Tech – Game Summary – January 13, 2018 – ESPN".
  9. ^ "Red Raiders Make School History". texastech.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  10. ^ "Texas Tech, K-State basketball share Big 12 regular-season title". ncaa.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  11. ^ "Chris Beard and Jarrett Culver announced as Big 12 Coach and Player of the Year, Red Raider team takes Honors victories". ncaa.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Chris Beard's eye-popping new contract sends message on where Texas Tech sees itself as a program". April 29, 2019.
  13. ^ "Chris Beard named Men's Basketball head coach". TexasSports.com.
  14. ^ a b Norlander, Matt (January 5, 2023). "Texas fires coach Chris Beard for cause following arrest on felony charge of assaulting fiancée". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Texas fires Beard amid domestic violence charge". ESPN.com. January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Gates, Billy (January 5, 2023). "Texas fires men's basketball coach Chris Beard after arrest, domestic violence charge". KXAN Austin. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  17. ^ Norlander, Matt (December 12, 2022). "Texas coach Chris Beard arrested on third-degree assault charge against family member". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Medcalf, Myron (December 12, 2022). "UT's Beard arrested on domestic violence charge". ESPN. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Autullo, Ryan (December 23, 2022). "Chris Beard's accuser says the Texas basketball coach may have acted in self-defense". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  20. ^ a b O'Neil, Dana (December 27, 2022). "O'Neil: Hey Texas, what are you waiting for?". The Athletic. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  21. ^ "Texas suspends coach Chris Beard after arrest on assault charge". ESPN. December 12, 2022.
  22. ^ Gates, Billy (January 29, 2023). "Home owned by Chris Beard's company in Austin neighborhood is up for sale". KXAN Austin. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  23. ^ "Why did DA drop felony charge against ex-Texas basketball coach Chris Beard?". The Associated Press. February 16, 2023.
  24. ^ "Ole Miss hires Chris Beard as men's basketball coach". ESPN.com.
  25. ^ "Chris Beard Men's Basketball Coach". Texas Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  26. ^ "Texas coach Chris Beard arrested on felony domestic assault, suspended indefinitely". Field Level Media. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  27. ^ Standings/Schedules
  28. ^ McMurry University War Hawks Athletics – Men's Basketball Comes Up Short In NCCAA Regional Final
  29. ^ Lone Star Conference – 2013–14 Men's Basketball Standings
  30. ^ Lone Star Conference – 2014–15 Men's Basketball Standings
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