Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

for the men's team. He previously coached at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas ...

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Angelo State Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

, and

McMurry McMurry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Morton McMurry (1862–1936), American educator *John E. McMurry, whose name is given to the McMurry reaction *Lillian McMurry (1921–1999), American record producer See also * ...

. Beard graduated from high school from McCullough High School in

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...

. He was a manager at Texas under former Longhorns coach

Tom Penders Thomas Vincent Penders (born May 23, 1945) is an American retired college basketball coach, who last coached from 2004 through 2010 at the University of Houston. He is from Stratford, Connecticut and has a 649–437 career record. As a college ath ...

, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology. He received a Masters of Education from

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of t ...

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 The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic ...

. He was recognized as the 2019 AP National Coach of the Year.

Coaching career

After serving as a student manager and student assistant at the University of Texas for

and a graduate assistant at

Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

and

Abilene Christian Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of th ...

, Beard was an assistant coach at

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort W ...

from 1997 to 1999. From there, Beard was hired as head coach at

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a community college in Fort Scott, Kansas, United States. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, including Pittsburg and Frontenac, along with sites in Paola and at the Hillsdale Learni ...

where he coached the team to a 19–12 record and its first winning season in 8 years. 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

to work under the legendary

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

. 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

and his son

Pat Knight Patrick Clair Knight (born September 21, 1970) is an American basketball coach and scout. He is a scout for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Knight assumed his position on July 1, 2014, and is the Pacers' college s ...

, often citing the influence of the two men as his keys to success. Beard also spent one year as head coach for the South Carolina Warriors of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

, where he led the team to a 29–2 record. On March 8, 2012, Beard was hired as head coach at

Lamar State College–Port Arthur Lamar State College Port Arthur is a public community college in Port Arthur, Texas. The college has 2,740 students as of the Fall 2019 semester. It is a member of the Texas State University System. History Lamar State College Port Arthur is a t ...

, but resigned six days later for the same position at

McMurry University McMurry University is a private Methodist university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1923 and named after William Fletcher McMurry. The university offers forty-five majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural science ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan stati ...

where he spent one season. In March 2013, he was hired as the sixth head coach at

. In two years with the Rams, he went 47–15.

Little Rock

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 Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

85–83 in double overtime to advance to the Second Round, where they fell to

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

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

Texas Tech

On March 27, 2016, Beard accepted the head coaching job at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

. When the

head coaching job was made vacant by

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Unive ...

's departure to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, Beard took the Texas Tech job on April 15, 2016. Beard cited his 10 years as an assistant coach at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

under

and

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 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 The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

. 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. 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. On March 30, 2019, Beard led Texas Tech to the first Final Four appearance in school history with a 75–69 victory over

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places * Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy * Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily People with the surna ...

to win the West Regional. On April 6, 2019, Beard led the Red Raiders to a 61–51 victory over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

to earn the school's first

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

berth. The Red Raiders would finish runners-up to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

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, becoming the third-highest-paid college basketball coach in the country.

Texas

On April 1, 2021, Beard was hired as the 25th head coach at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. In his first season, Beard led Texas to a 22–12 season and a win in the NCAA tournament. Texas lost to

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

and Creighton. On January 5, 2023, Texas fired Beard. He finished his career at Texas with a 29–13 record.

Arrest and firing

On December 12, 2022, Beard was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of assault against a family member for strangulation. According to the police report, Beard's fiancé 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. He was subsequently suspended without pay by the University of Texas. 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." Beard was fired from his position at the University of Texas on January 5, 2023. On January 26, Beard listed his house in Austin for sale, which had been listed in the Austin Police Department arrest affidavit. 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.

Personal life

Beard has three daughters with his ex-wife Leslie. He is engaged to Randi Trew.

Head coaching record

References

External links