Ole Miss has officially announced Chris Beard as the university’s next head men’s basketball coach.
Beard, a four-time conference coach of the year and 2019 national coach of the year, has compiled a 237-98 record in 12 years as a college head coach and has appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times, including a trip to the championship in 2019 as Texas Tech’s head coach.
“We are excited to welcome Coach Beard and his daughters, Avery, Ella, and Margo, to the Ole Miss family,” Ole Miss Athletics Director Keith Carter said. “We thoroughly evaluated a number of outstanding candidates, and there is no doubt Coach Beard is one of the top coaches in the nation. After conducting due diligence and speaking to a number of individuals on and off the court, it was evident he is the right person to guide our team to greatness.”
In addition to his short tenure at Texas (2021-23) and five seasons at Texas Tech (2016-21), Beard has also led five other schools, serving as head coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2015-16), Angelo State University (2013-15), McMurry University (2012-13), Seminole State College (2000-01) and Fort Scott Community College (1999-2000).
“I am honored to be joining the Ole Miss family and excited to get started at this great university,” Beard said. “I can’t express how grateful I am to Chancellor Boyce, Keith Carter and the rest of the search committee for their belief in me to lead this program. I am really looking forward to being an active part of the Oxford community. I know we have one of the best venues in the country in the SJB Pavilion, and we are going to work tirelessly to build a championship caliber program. I can’t wait to connect with our players and recruits and begin this journey together. Hotty Toddy!”
Beard, who replaces Kermit Davis, was ousted from his position at Texas on January 5 due to an off-campus domestic incident in which the basketball coach was arrested for assaulting his fiancé. The charges initially filed against Beard were later dropped.
A public introduction will take place Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. The event will be open to the public and featured live on The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network and streamed in its entirety on SEC Network+. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. CT.
