Beard Steps Down as Little Rock Head Coach

LITTLE ROCK – Chris Beard has stepped down as the Little Rock men's basketball head coach and has agreed in principle to accept the same position at UNLV. The search for Little Rock's next head coach will begin immediately.
 
"We are appreciative of Coach Beard and his team's incredible list of accomplishments this season," Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said. "While Chris spent just one season in Little Rock, our program is better for his service to the University. We wish Coach Beard nothing but the best at Nevada-Las Vegas."
 
Beard leaves Little Rock after leading the Trojans to their most successful season in program history. Little Rock finished the year with a 30-5 overall record while winning Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships and earning the league's automatic bid to the program's fifth NCAA Tournament.
 
"I congratulate Coach Chris Beard on what he has done in very short order for the Little Rock men's basketball program," said Chancellor Joel Anderson. "I thank him for giving us a terrific year. I wish Coach Beard the very best and know he will be highly successful."
 
Little Rock's 30 wins established new program and Sun Belt Conference records. The Trojans began the season with 10 straight wins – the best start to a season in Sun Belt Conference history – to match a program record for consecutive victories.
 
"This past season demonstrated the tremendous potential of Little Rock Trojan basketball," Conque said. "Our program is poised to compete for another championship in 2016-17, and I anticipate an enormous amount of interest in our head coaching position. We have a great University and the city of Little Rock is a great community – both will help us attract another talented coach that can build on the current successes of Trojan basketball. I will conduct a search and will move quickly but diligently for a new head coach."
 
The 12^th-seeded Trojans topped No. 5 seed Purdue – who finished the season ranked 12/10 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Polls, respectively – in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the program's second tournament win, and first in three decades.
 
"The Little Rock athletic program's momentum continues," Anderson said. "Our basketball program has never been in a stronger position, and Athletic Director Chasse Conque is already hard at work to find an outstanding new coach."
 
Little Rock finished the regular season with the best record in the nation (27-4), while its 12 road wins were second-most nationally. The Trojans' 14-0 record at the Jack Stephens Center gave the program its first undefeated home campaign since the 1981-82 season.
 
Beard's 30 wins tie him for sixth-most on the list of first-year Division I head coaches. He was named the Sun Belt Conference and NABC District 24 Coach of the Year.