Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's coach at

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

(

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

). He also previously served as head coach at

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Angelo State, 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 district (United States), special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands ...

. 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 at ...

, 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 university, private Christian research university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an R2 (High Research Spending and Doctorate Production) institutio ...

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 The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the final game of the single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I college basketball national ...

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 Coast C ...

. 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 and Abilene Christian, Beard was an assistant coach at

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

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

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a Public college, public community college in Fort Scott, Kansas. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, including Pittsburg, Kansas, Pittsburg and Frontenac, Kansa ...

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 (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

. 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. It was announced he had been hired as the men's coach at Marian University in Indianapolis on May 8, 2024. Prior to that he was a scout for the Indiana Pacers of t ...

, 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 professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

, 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, but resigned six days later for the same position at

McMurry University McMurry University is a Private university, private United Methodist Church, Methodist university in Abilene, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1923 and named after William Fletcher McMurry. The university offers forty-five majors in the ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, where he spent one season. 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

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, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

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

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, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

. 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 who last coached the men's basketball team at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, t ...

's departure to Memphis, 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 university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

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 college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

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

to earn the school's first

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, 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 be ...

berth. The Red Raiders would finish runners-up to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

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

Arrest and firing from Texas

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 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. 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.

Ole Miss

The

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". Beard had been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Rebels since the school fired

Kermit Davis Kermit John Davis Jr. (born December 14, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach for the Ole Miss Rebels from 2018 to 2023. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Middle Tennessee for 16 seasons. His he ...

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. For the 2024–25 season, Beard won the Jim Phelan Award as national coach of the year.

Personal life

Beard has three daughters with his ex-wife Leslie.

Head coaching record

References

External links