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Chris Beard      

Former Head Men's Basketball Coach at The University of Texas

Christopher Beard is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously coached at Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, and McMurry.

Beard was named Texas Tech's 17th head coach on April 15, 2016 by Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt and Interim University President Dr. John Opperman. He had previously spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech University under the legendary Bob Knight. 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. Beard was also named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in back to back seasons in 2018 and 2019 after reaching the Elite Eight in 2018 for the first time in program history and guiding the team to the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship.

Beard's prolific career at Texas Tech broke multiple team records during his tenure from 2016 to 2021. 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. 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. 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. On April 1, 2021, Beard was hired as the 25th head coach at The University of Texas.

A Texas native, Beard graduated from high school from McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas. He was a manager at the University of 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.

News

Texas ranked highly in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25
Chris Beard and his staff landed a handful of the nation’s top transfers, and with some key pieces still in Austin, Texas is in a good position ahead of Beard’s first season. When Chris Beard was introduced as the Texas Longhorns new head basketball coach, he didn’t hesitate to proclaim that this wasn’t going to be a rebuild in Austin — he intends to win now.
Texas’ Chris Beard says his preconceived notion of Bob Knight was all wrong
Texas head coach Chris Beard refers to his being hired by Bob Knight at Texas Tech in 2001 as the break of his life. After spending two years as a coach in the junior college ranks, Beard joined Knight in Lubbock after he had met Knight and his son Pat when they were out recruiting. The elder Knight was also looking for a new assistant, and Beard made a quick impression and was eventually hired.
Guns drawn, Horns up: Texas steals coach Chris Beard away from Texas Tech
Kirby Hocutt simply couldn’t hide his frustration Thursday. Same goes for just about everyone else in Red Raider Nation. They’d all reached a boiling point. Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Chris Beard had indeed left the Red Raiders for rival Texas, his alma mater.

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