The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
Second Season at Texas
A Texas Longhorn who led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA Championship Game and the 2018 Elite Eight, Chris Beard has quickly sparked a resurgence in all facets of The University of Texas program. Beard was named the 25th Head Basketball Coach at The University of Texas on April 2, 2021.
In 12 seasons overall as a collegiate head coach, Beard has compiled a 274-115 (.704) record. During his seven years as a NCAA Division I head coach, he has guided his teams to a 164-72 (.695) mark and five NCAA Tournament appearances in six opportunities (COVID-19 canceled the 2020 postseason), winning an average of 23.4 games per season. Beard has posted an impressive 11-5 record in his five NCAA Tournament appearances, including a perfect 5-0 mark in First Round games.
Beard has served as a head coach at seven collegiate programs during his career. In addition to his one year at Texas (2021-22) and five seasons at Texas Tech (2016-21), he 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).
Beard at Texas
To say Chris Beard hit the ground running in his first year in Austin would be a massive understatement. At Beard’s introductory press conference, his two main points of emphasis were “players, players, players” and “Unite the Family.”
Beard immediately pieced together his coaching staff and then went to work on assembling a competitive roster, mixing four returning players with eight transfers from all over the country for the 2021-22 season. Despite not putting the final roster pieces together until early August, Beard led the Longhorns to a 22-12 overall record (10-8 Big 12 Conference, fourth). Texas earned an 81-73 win over Virginia Tech in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, marking the school’s first NCAA tourney win since 2014, before falling to No. 10/9 (No. 3 seed) Purdue in a hard-fought battle in the Round of 32.
The 22 total wins by the Longhorns were the most since Texas had 24 victories in 2013-14. UT, which appeared in every Associated Press Top 25 poll except one during the season, placed No. 25 in the final AP poll. This marked just the second time Texas had been in the final AP poll since the 2010-11 season (UT was No. 9 in the final poll in 2021). The Longhorns reached the 20-win mark in the month of February for the first time since 2013-14 and reached the 20-win mark in the regular season for the first time since 2015-16.
Playing in the toughest league in the country, the Big 12 featured a pair of No. 1 seeds in Kansas and Baylor, the eventual national champion (Kansas), two additional Sweet 16 teams and six total NCAA tourney squads (all six won their respective NCAA Round of 64 games). Texas played AP-ranked opponents in eight of its last 11 games and faced 10 NCAA Tournament opponents in a total of 16 games. In their two matchups against the national champion Jayhawks, the Longhorns earned an impressive 79-76 home win over No. 8/8 Kansas (Feb. 7) and took the No. 6/7 Jayhawks to overtime on Senior Day in Allen Fieldhouse before falling 70-63 (March 5).
All five Texas starters (Timmy Allen, second team; Marcus Carr, third team; Christian Bishop, honorable mention; Andrew Jones, honorable mention; Courtney Ramey, honorable mention) earned spots on the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Award teams, selected by the league’s head coaches. The Longhorns led the Big 12 and finished No. 10 in scoring defense (60.6 ppg), ranked second in the league and No. 22 nationally in turnover margin (+3.4) and second in the league in turnovers per game (11.5), showcasing a culture of defense and ball security.
Texas was No. 15 in the final KenPom analytics rankings. UT finished No. 14 in the nation in defensive efficiency (91.6) and No. 26 nationally in offensive efficiency (112.5). The Longhorns were one of 10 teams to rank in the Top 30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in 2021-22, joining Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Baylor, Arizona, Villanova, UCLA, Auburn and Illinois.
Off the court, Beard prioritized student attendance in year one and knocked that objective out of the park. Texas students filled their lower bowl sections to capacity in the final year of the Frank Erwin Center during every game while school was in session. In a student-only attendance game at Gregory Gym, an electric crowd of 2,834 packed the historic on-campus gym and watched the Longhorns post a 73-57 win over Sam Houston (Nov. 29) in the first men’s basketball contest inside Gregory since Texas hosted Baylor on Feb. 26, 1977 in the first round of the Southwest Conference Tournament.
Based on the excitement of Beard’s hire in the fan base, UT set a single-season record for most season tickets distributed (9,287), topping the previous mark of 8,882 achieved in 2004-05. The Longhorns recorded a total of three sellouts in the final season of the Erwin Center, marking the first sellout since Feb. 29, 2016 against No. 1 Kansas. The total attendance during the 2021-22 season in the Erwin Center was 232,729 fans in 18 games, marking the fourth-highest single-season attendance total in Erwin Center history and most since the 2010-11 season.
In addition to his embrace of the Texas students and fan base, Beard consistently showcased his “Unite the Family” mantra by opening the doors and inviting former players, coaches and support staff personnel dating back to the 1960s to campus. Texas played host to the three-game Abe Lemons Classic, honoring one of the most beloved coaches in program history and welcomed a large group of former players from those teams in the 1970s and early 1980s. Beard and the staff also gave former coach Rick Barnes and so many of his former players a great salute when Barnes brought Tennessee to the Erwin Center for a Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup in late January.
On the recruiting trail, all Beard and his staff did in their first full cycle in 2022 was ink a four-man freshman group that was ranked as the No. 5 recruiting class in the country by Rivals and 247 Sports. The class featured a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris, marking the first time since 2016 and just the fifth time in program history that the Longhorns have had two signees named to the prestigious roster in the same year (2004, 2006, 2010, 2016 and 2022). Texas also added a pair of transfers through the portal in Tyrese Hunter (Iowa State), the 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and Sir’Jabari Rice (New Mexico State), who both led their former teams to wins in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Beard and the Longhorns are also in the process of changing the physical face of the Texas Basketball program. The 2022-23 season marks the debut of Moody Center, a world-class arena on campus which opened in April 2022 and will be the home to UT Men’s and Women’s Basketball games, graduations, concerts and other events. The $338 million venue was constructed on land fully owned by UT without using any university or public money.
The arena will provide an intimate, state-of-the-art men’s and women’s basketball fan experience and feature student seating surrounding 270-degrees of the court. The new basketball arena is named Moody Center in honor of a $130 million grant to The University of Texas at Austin from the Moody Foundation. In addition to Moody Center, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs are slated to move into their new 64,000-square foot state-of-the-art practice facility in Fall 2022.
Prior to Texas as a Division I Head Coach
Beard inherited a program at Texas Tech that was coming off five losings seasons in the six years prior to his arrival, and he went on to guide the Red Raiders to five straight winning seasons and an overall record of 112-55 (.671), including an impressive 9-3 mark in NCAA Tournament contests. Texas Tech advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in 2018 and returned the following season with a trip to the 2019 National Championship Game, which included a school-best 31 victories. After the 2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, the Red Raiders advanced to the 2021 NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
The 2019 Associated Press National Coach of the Year and two-time Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2018 and 2019), Beard led Texas Tech to a 74-13 mark in home games at the United Supermarkets Arena, including a 33-12 record in Big 12 contests. Keenan Evans (2018 consensus second team) and Jarrett Culver (2019 consensus second team) each earned All-America honors under Beard’s guidance, and Texas Tech produced a total of 13 All-Big 12 selections and 21 Academic All-Big 12 honorees during the past five years.
Three of Beard’s players at Texas Tech were selected in the NBA Draft. Zhaire Smith became the second NBA Draft first-round pick in program history, when he was selected No. 16 overall by the Phoenix Suns (traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night). Jarrett Culver was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Jahmi’us Ramsey was selected No. 43 overall in the 2020 Draft by the Sacramento Kings.
During the 2020-21 season, Beard led the Red Raiders to an 18-11 mark (9-8 Big 12) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Texas Tech earned a 65-53 win over Utah State in the NCAA Round of 64 before falling to Arkansas, 68-66. The Red Raiders were ranked in The AP Top 25 throughout the entire season for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 7 in February and sitting at No. 21 in the final poll.
Texas Tech led the Big 12 in scoring defense (63.2 ppg) and held 13 of its 29 opponents below 60 points. The quartet of Mac McClung (second team), Terrence Shannon Jr. (third team), Kyler Edwards (honorable mention) and Kevin McCullar (honorable mention) earned All-Big 12 honors, while McClung claimed spots on the NABC and USWBA all-district teams. In addition, a school-record six players garnered Academic All-Big 12 team recognition.
During the shortened 2019-20 season (COVID-19), Texas Tech posted an 18-13 record and tied for third in the Big 12 with a 9-9 league mark. The Red Raiders defeated No. 1 Louisville 70-57 at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden and registered an 88-42 home win against TCU, marking the largest margin of victory (46 points) in Big 12 play in program history. Jahmi’us Ramsey (second team) and Davide Moretti (honorable mention) earned All-Big 12 honors, while Ramsey and Shannon claimed spots on the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
Beard led the 2018-19 team to a 31-7 record and a national runner-up finish, setting a school single-season mark for most victories. The Big 12 Conference co-champions (14-4), the Red Raiders defeated Northern Kentucky and Buffalo in the first and second rounds in Tulsa. Texas Tech followed with wins against Michigan and Gonzaga in Anaheim to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history. The Red Raiders knocked off Michigan State 61-51 in the national semifinals and took Virginia to overtime in the National Championship Game before falling 85-77.
Culver earned consensus second-team All-America honors and was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, the first player in Texas Tech history to receive the accolade. Culver (first team), Matt Mooney (second team) and Tariq Owens (honorable mention) claimed All-Big 12 honors. Beard was tabbed National Coach of the Year by The Associated Press, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, the USBWA District VII Coach of the Year and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Coach of the Year.
The 2017-18 Red Raiders posted a 27-10 mark and advanced to the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight. Beard led his team to NCAA tourney wins over Stephen F. Austin and Florida in the first and second rounds in Dallas. The Red Raiders followed with a 78-65 victory against No. 2 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual National Champion Villanova in the Elite Eight. Texas Tech finished second in the Big 12 Conference with an 11-7 record and earned a No. 6 ranking in the final USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll. The Red Raiders were ranked in the top 15 of The AP poll for the final 10 weeks of the regular season, including six weeks in the Top 10.
Keenan Evans claimed consensus second-team All-America honors, and Evans (first team) and Zhaire Smith (honorable mention) garnered All-Big 12 accolades. Beard was selected as the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year, the NABC District 8 Coach of the Year, the USBWA District VII Coach of the Year and the John McClendon National Coach of the Year.
In his first season as head coach at Texas Tech (2016-17), Beard led the Red Raiders to an 18-14 record including a 16-3 mark in home games. Texas Tech registered three wins against AP ranked opponents, defeating No. 4 Baylor (84-78), No. 7 West Virginia (77-76 ot) and No. 25 Kansas State (66-65). Evans (third team) and Zach Smith (honorable mention) claimed All-Big 12 honors.
Prior to his five-year run as head coach at Texas Tech, Beard served as head coach at Little Rock for one season (2015-16) and led the Trojans to a 30-5 mark and a trip to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Little Rock won the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the 30 victories set a school single-season record for most wins. In the NCAA Tournament, Little Rock overcame a 14-point deficit in the final five minutes to win an 85-83 double-overtime thriller against fifth-seed No. 12 Purdue in the NCAA Round of 64.
The 30-5 mark was a 15-game improvement from a 13-18 campaign during the previous year. The 15-game improvement tied for the top turnaround in NCAA Division I that season, and his 30 wins tied for the sixth-most victories by a first-year Division I head coach. Little Rock’s 27 wins and .871 winning percentage in the regular season were both tops in the country. The Trojans claimed road wins against San Diego State, Tulsa and DePaul en route to a 10-0 start to the year, tying a program record for most wins to begin a season. Bears claimed Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 24 Coach of the Year honors.
The Journey
Beard spent two seasons as head coach at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Prior to Beard’s arrival, the Rams had posted three consecutive losing seasons, including a 9-17 mark in 2012-13. In Beard’s first season (2013-14), Angelo State registered a 19-9 overall record. The Rams followed with a 28-6 mark in 2014-15 and made the program’s first NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance. The 28 victories marked a school single-season record, and Angelo State concluded the year with a No. 19 national ranking. Beard garnered Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year and NABC South Central Region Coach of the Year accolades.
He led McMurry University (Abilene, Texas) to a 19-10 mark during the school’s first season as a NCAA Division II member in 2012-13. He also spent one season (2011-12) as head coach of the South Carolina Warriors (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Beard paced the Warriors to a 31-2 mark and the Mid-Atlantic Championship, advancing to the ABA finals in the franchise’s first year.
A 25-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Beard spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech (2001-02 through 2010-11), working seven seasons as an assistant coach under Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight and three years as an associate head coach under Pat Knight. During those 10 years, the Red Raiders recorded a total of 188 wins and made four NCAA Tournament and a pair of postseason NIT appearances. Texas Tech advanced to the 2005 NCAA Sweet 16, defeating UCLA and No. 11 Gonzaga in the first and second rounds.
Beard was the head coach at Seminole State College (Seminole, Okla.) for one season in 2000-01, guiding the team to a 25-6 mark and a No. 14 national ranking in the final NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Division I poll. He also spent one year as head coach at Fort Scott Community College (Fort Scott, Kan.) in 1999-2000, leading the squad to a 19-12 record and a NJCAA Division I Regional appearance.
Beard began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas) in 1995-96. He spent one year (1996-97) as an assistant coach under Shanon Hays at Abilene Christian University and two seasons (1997-98 and 1998-99) as an assistant coach under Vic Trilli at the University of North Texas.
Beard earned his Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from The University of Texas in 1995. During his undergraduate time at Texas, he worked as a student assistant under head coach Tom Penders. Beard received his master’s degree in education from Abilene Christian University in 1998.
Beard played his high school basketball for Mike Kunstadt at Irving High School (Irving, Texas) and for Terry Priest at McCullough High School (The Woodlands, Texas). Beard’s coaching tree includes five former assistants who moved on to head coaching roles, including Wes Flanigan (Little Rock in 2016, now an assistant at Auburn), Chris Ogden (UTA in 2018, now on the Texas staff), Brian Burg (Georgia Southern in 2020), Brette Tanner (Abilene Christian in 2021) and Mark Adams (Texas Tech in 2021).
Beard has three daughters, Avery, Ella and Margo. He is engaged to Randi Trew.
The Chris Beard File
|
Hometown |
Irving, Texas |
|
Education |
University of Texas, bachelor’s degree, kinesiology, 1995 Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas); master’s degree, education, 1998 |
|
Daughters |
Avery, Ella and Margo |
Beard’s Year-by-Year Coaching Resume
As a Collegiate Head Coach
|
Year |
School |
Overall W-L |
Conf W-L |
Postseason |
|
1999-2000 |
Fort Scott CC |
19-12 |
- |
NJCAA Regional |
|
2000-01 |
Seminole State College |
25-6 |
- |
- |
|
2012-13 |
McMurry |
19-10 |
10-8 |
NCCAA Central Regional |
|
2013-14 |
Angelo State |
19-9 |
8-6 |
- |
|
2014-15 |
Angelo State |
28-6 |
11-3 |
NCAA Division II Sweet 16 |
|
2015-16 |
Little Rock |
30-5 |
17-3 |
NCAA Round of 32 |
|
2016-17 |
Texas Tech |
18-14 |
6-12 |
- |
|
2017-18 |
Texas Tech |
27-10 |
11-7 |
NCAA Elite 8 |
|
2018-19 |
Texas Tech |
31-7 |
14-4 |
NCAA Runner-Up |
|
2019-20 |
Texas Tech |
18-13 |
9-9 |
(no postseason, COVID-19) |
|
2020-21 |
Texas Tech |
18-11 |
9-8 |
NCAA Round of 32 |
|
2021-22 |
TEXAS |
22-12 |
10-8 |
NCAA Round of 32 |
|
Overall Totals |
12 seasons |
274-115 (.704) |
- |
|
|
Division I Totals |
7 seasons |
164-72 (.695) |
- |
5 NCAAs |
As an Assistant Coach
|
Year |
School |
Overall W-L |
Conf W-L |
Postseason |
|
1995-96 |
Incarnate Word % |
20-9 |
11-3 |
- |
|
1996-97 |
Abilene Christian |
15-12 |
- |
- |
|
1997-98 |
North Texas |
5-21 |
4-12 |
- |
|
1998-99 |
North Texas |
4-22 |
4-12 |
- |
|
2001-02 |
Texas Tech |
23-9 |
10-6 |
NCAA Round of 64 |
|
2002-03 |
Texas Tech |
22-13 |
6-10 |
NIT 3rd Place |
|
2003-04 |
Texas Tech |
23-11 |
9-7 |
NCAA Round of 32 |
|
2004-05 |
Texas Tech |
22-11 |
10-6 |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
|
2005-06 |
Texas Tech |
15-17 |
6-10 |
- |
|
2006-07 |
Texas Tech |
21-13 |
9-7 |
NCAA Round of 64 |
|
2007-08 |
Texas Tech |
16-15 |
7-9 |
- |
|
2008-09 |
Texas Tech ^ |
14-19 |
3-13 |
- |
|
2009-10 |
Texas Tech ^ |
19-16 |
4-12 |
NIT Quarterfinals |
|
2010-11 |
Texas Tech ^ |
13-19 |
5-11 |
- |
|
Totals |
14 seasons |
232-207 (.528) |
- |
4 NCAAs, 2 NITs |
% Beard served as a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word
^ Beard was the associate head coach at Texas Tech for three seasons
