Less than 24 hours after it was reported that Ole Miss head basketball coach Chris Beard was a top target for the opening at Arkansas, the Rebels’ frontman assured fans on Friday that he is not leaving.
In a simple social media post, Beard shut down speculation that he was bouncing for Fayetteville after just one year in Oxford.
“HOTTY TODDY,” Beard wrote on X. “Great times ahead in Oxford. We are just getting started.”
HOTTY TODDY
Great times ahead in Oxford. We are just getting started. #WinInTheSip#Culture pic.twitter.com/u8rRwmfkSC
— Chris Beard (@CoachBeard) April 5, 2024
Sources informed SuperTalk Mississippi News on Thursday that Beard had become a “priority” for Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek once indications pointed to former Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman taking the job at USC (Spoiler: he did.).
Nevertheless, Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter was able to stave off a deal sources called “lucrative for a college basketball coach” and keep the former AP Coach of the Year at Ole Miss.
To celebrate, Carter posted a very Mississippi-esque social media post.
Pretty good Friday morning. Brought this beard back from Georgia @TylerJordan @Realtree and kept another Beard rolling with @OleMissMBB @CoachBeard. Ole Miss Athletics isn’t messing around folks. We’re here to win and win big! 🔴🔵🏀🏆🦃 pic.twitter.com/SrcbpefB3L
— Keith Carter (@KeithCarterOM) April 5, 2024
In his inaugural season at Ole Miss, Beard quickly revived a program that fell inept during the latter part of Kermit Davis’ tenure. The Rebels won 20 games for the first time in five years and just missed the NCAA Tournament, spurring Beard and company to decline the opportunity of any lesser postseason play.
Beard, who previously coached at Texas Tech and Texas before being fired from the latter over now-dropped domestic violence charges, agreed to a contract extension with the Rebels on March 13. But as anyone familiar with college athletics knows, new contracts rarely stop speculation of program-hopping. Along with the Arkansas speculation, Beard was reportedly linked to the opening at Louisville but showed little interest.
Fortunately for Ole Miss, this time around, Beard will be back in Oxford for the 2024-25 season and if all goes as planned, he will stay put through the 2029-30 season and possibly beyond with added benefits to his current extension now being put in place, per sources.
