OXFORD – Ole Miss men’s basketball coach Chris Beard – who just led the program to its second-ever Sweet 16 – is staying with the Rebels amid reported interest by Texas A&M and will receive a contract extension, a source confirmed with the Daily Journal Wednesday. Rivals’ Chase Parham, On3, ESPN and Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman first reported the news, among others.
Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter posted a photo of he and Beard on Twitter/X with the caption “Why stop now?”
Beard recently completed his second season leading Ole Miss and has won 44 games in two years at the helm. He led the Rebels to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019 and 10th in program history. Sixth-seeded Ole Miss won games against North Carolina and Iowa State before falling to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 last weekend.
Beard has led four different programs to the Division I NCAA Tournament and took Texas Tech to the national title game in 2019. The Irving, Texas, native has been a head coach at four different colleges in Texas – McMurry, Angelo State, Texas Tech and Texas.
The Texas A&M job came open this week following Buzz Williams’ departure for Maryland. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Beard “engaged in significant discussions with Texas A&M, but he ultimately decided to stay at Ole Miss.”
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