UNLV President Len Jessup and Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy announced Monday that an offer has been made to Chris Beard to become the head coach of the men’s basketball program and he has accepted the agreement in principle. The contract is pending approval of terms by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.
A press conference will be held following a Regents meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.
Beard will become the 12th full-time head coach in UNLV men’s basketball history. He comes to Las Vegas after leading the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to a spectacular turnaround this season, which included both the Sun Belt’s regular-season and tournament championship and a victory over No. 12/10 and fifth-seeded Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.
In his only year as head coach of the Trojans, Beard led the team to a 30-5 overall record after it was just 13-18 the previous season. Little Rock also recorded road victories this season at San Diego State, at Tulsa and at DePaul. He was named the Sun Belt’s Coach of the Year.
Beard was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for 10 years, including seven under Hall of Famer Bob Knight, and has been a head coach at five other places before UNLV, winning everywhere he has been. In fact, he has often inherited sub-.500 teams and immediately turned them into winners.
“Chris is a high-character coach and proven winner with a clear vision for building a successful program on the court and in the classroom at UNLV,” said Jessup. “He is one of the rising head coaches in the sport, and we’re confident he’s the right person to lead our program and continue the proud, winning tradition of Runnin’ Rebel basketball.”
In seven seasons as a head coach, Beard has a career record of 171-50 (.774). He was 47-15 (.758) at Angelo State before he took over at Little Rock.
“In Chris Beard, we have selected a head coach who understands exactly what it takes to transform a program,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “His coaching philosophy has been heavily shaped by legends such as Bobby Knight and Bill Self. He is committed to the academic, athletic and social development of his student-athletes, and he believes in toughness and effort.
“As we looked at a number of outstanding coaches who expressed interest in this position, it became increasingly clear that one of the key factors for success is previous experience as a college basketball head coach. In this environment, with the expectations and pressures that come with being head coach of the Runnin’ Rebels, previous experience leading a NCAA program is a critical factor.”
At Angelo State he was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) South Central Region and Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year after leading the program to a record-setting 28 wins in 2014-15. His team was a perfect 17-0 that season and finished the year ranked No. 19 in the country. He also led the program to its first NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance. He inherited the program after it had suffered three straight losing seasons, including 7-19 in 2012-13.
Prior to Angelo State, Beard was the head coach at McMurry University and for the ABA’s South Carolina Warriors. McMurry went 19-10 under Beard in its first season as a Division II member in 2012-13. With Beard as its head coach in 2011-12, South Carolina won the Mid Atlantic Championship, advanced to the ABA finals and posted a 31-2 mark as a first-year franchise.
At Texas Tech, he was named associate head coach in 2008 following Pat Knight’s appointment as head coach. During his 10 years in Lubbock, the Red Raiders won 188 games — the best 10-year stretch in program history — while earning four NCAA Tournament bids and three NIT appearances. Beard’s tenure at Texas Tech was highlighted by the Red Raiders’ 2005 Sweet 16 run.
Before joining Knight’s staff at Texas Tech, Beard also had head coaching experience at Seminole State College and Fort Scott Community College. At Seminole State during the 2000-01 season, Beard led the program to a 25-6 record and a No. 14 national ranking. In one season at Fort Scott, he helped the program to 19 wins and a NJCAA Regional.
Beard boasts three additional years of assistant coaching experience. Prior to two seasons (1997-99) at North Texas, he spent one season as an assistant at Abilene Christian. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word.
Born in Marietta, Ga., and raised in Irving, Texas, Beard received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Texas in 1995. He has three daughters, Avery, Ella and Margo.
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