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Chris Beard was promoted to associate head coach for the men's basketball program on August 4 of this year. "I'm pleased to announce that Chris Beard has been promoted to the position of associate head coach at Texas Tech. This advancement for Chris is certainly well earned and well deserved. He has done an outstanding job in our program and his promotion shows the confidence and trust I place in his abilities and his work ethic," declared Pat Knight. Chris begins his eighth season at Texas Tech University, after a wealth of coaching and recruiting experience from the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NAIA, and Junior College levels. His duties for Coach Bob Knight included recruiting and on-the-floor coaching. In Beard's nearly seven years under Coach Bob Knight, the Red Raiders won 138 games, the best seven-year stretch in school history. Texas Tech has won 21 or more games in five of the past seven seasons. The Red Raiders also advanced to post-season play five times, including four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT final four. Texas Tech finished 22-11 in the 2004-2005 season and advanced to the "Sweet 16." One of the coaching highlights in Beard's career was being on the Texas Tech bench on January 1, 2007 when the Red Raiders defeated the New Mexico Lobos (70-68), making Coach Bob Knight the NCAA's men's all-time career wins leader. During his seven seasons with the Red Raiders, Texas Tech has had six All-Big 12 Conference players: Andy Ellis, Kasib Powell, Andre Emmett, Ronald Ross, Jay Jackson, and Martin Zeno. Before joining Coach Bob Knight's staff, Chris was the head basketball coach at Seminole State College in Oklahoma during the 2000-2001 season. His SSC team posted a 25-6 record and was nationally ranked in the NJCAA poll throughout the year, finishing the season ranked #14 in the country. In the 1999-2000 season, he was the head basketball coach at Fort Scott Community College, leading the Greyhounds to their best season in over a decade with a 19-12 record and regional tournament bid in the Kansas Jayhawk Conference. In two seasons as a head coach, Chris accumulated a 44-18 record and advanced to two post-season regional tournaments. Equally impressive, eighteen of his players received four-year university scholarship offers, including nine to NCAA Division I schools. During the 1997-1999 seasons, Chris was an assistant coach at the University of North Texas under head coach Vic Trilli. UNT's 1998 and 1999 recruiting classes both received national attention. Chris was an assistant coach at Abilene Christian University in 1996-1997 under head coach Shanon Hays. As recruiting coordinator, he helped sign a recruiting class that was nationally ranked among NCAA Division II schools. ACU finished the season with a 15-12 record and advanced to the Lone Star Conference post-season tournament. In 1995-1996, Beard was a graduate assistant coach at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, under head coach Danny Kaspar. He helped lead UIW to a 20-9 season and Heart of Texas Conference Championship. Chris is a 1995 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. During his stay in Austin, he worked as a student assistant for head coach Tom Penders. Beard completed his master's degree in education from Abilene Christian University in 1998. Born in Marietta, Georgia, and raised in Irving, Texas, Chris graduated from McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas, where he played for Coach Terry Priest. Chris and his wife, Leslie, live in Lubbock with their three daughters, Avery (8 years), Ella (6 years), and Margo (1 year). |
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