AUSTIN, Texas — Chris Beard, former head coach of Texas Men's Basketball, will now be the head coach for the University of Mississippi.
Ole Miss announced Monday that Beard will serve as head coach for the men's basketball program. Beard's appointment to Ole Miss comes three months after he was arrested for alleged domestic violence in December 2022.
Following the charges, UT suspended Beard and put Rodney Terry, former assistant coach, in charge of the Longhorns. UT fired Beard in early January. The following month, the Travis County District Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss the case against Beard.
Terry has been acting as interim head coach for the Longhorns and led them to a Big 12 Championship title over the weekend. Terry was also recently named the "Men's College Basketball National Coach of the Year" by Sporting News, making him the first coach in UT history to earn the award.
The Ole Miss announcement comes five days after reports that Beard was the university's top candidate for the head coach position.
Beard will have a public introduction on Tuesday, March 14, at 5 p.m. He will be the program's 23rd head coach in the SEC.
"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," said Keith Carter, vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics for Ole Miss.
According to Ole Miss, Beard has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including an appearance in the 2019 National Championship game and Elite Eight run the year before at Texas Tech.
At UT, Beard compiled a record of 29-13 over two years, including a 22-12 record and a second-round finish in the 2022 NCAA Tournament in his first season. Ole Miss reports that that year, all five of Beard's starters earned all-conference honors.
Currently, Ole Miss has an overall 12-21 record going into March Madness.
Read the full announcement from Ole Miss.