The Grove Report

Ole Miss Officially Hires Chris Beard as Next Basketball Coach

The Ole Miss Rebels and Chris Beard have reached an official agreement.

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OXFORD, Miss. -- Last week, the Ole Miss Rebels were reportedly 'on the verge' of hiring their new men's basketball coach, Chris Beard. Now, the hiring is official.

And on Monday, that smoke looks to have turned into a billowing fire with ESPN's Jeff Borzell and Pete Thamel reporting that Beard and the Rebels are closing in on a deal to bring the former Texas Longhorns coach to Oxford.

An official announcement from the school came on Monday morning.

Athletic director Keith Carter released a statement on the hiring on Monday.

"We are excited to welcome Coach Beard and his daughters, Avery, Ella and Margo, to the Ole Miss family," 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. 

 "At each stop in his career, Coach Beard has proven to be a program builder and a dynamic leader whose teams exhibit relentless effort. He is a tireless recruiter and develops talent to reach their greatest potential. He has coached at multiple levels of college basketball and has competed for championships at every school. Simply put, Coach Beard is a winner, and Ole Miss Basketball's best years are ahead of us under his leadership."

Following the firing of then-coach Kermit Davis in February, Carter announced a "nationwide search" for his replacement, and that search has led him to former Texas Longhorns basketball coach Chris Beard.

Beard has an outstanding overall record in his head coaching career (237-98), but he was fired from Texas after domestic violence charges were brought against the coach in December of last year. 

The charges, however, were later dropped by the Travis County district attorney.

As far as coaching stops are concerned, Beard has plenty of impressive marks to add to his resume. 

His first collegiate head coaching job came with Fort Scott Community College in Kansas beginning in 1999. He also had a stop in the JUCO ranks with Seminole State Junior College in Oklahoma.

From 2001-11, Beard served as the associate head coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and he was later head coach in Lubbock from 2016-21. He then transitioned to Austin where he was the coach of the Longhorns until earlier this year.

In the NCAA Tournament, Beard has posted a 10-4 record as a coach, and he led Texas Tech to a Final Four appearance in 2019. 

The Red Raiders would go on to lose in the national championship game to the Virginia Cavaliers. 

You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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