Chris Beard opens up on emotions of losing Bob Knight

If there was no Bob Knight, there would be no Chris Beard. On Thursday, Beard reflected on his relationship with the legendary college basketball coach, who died on Wednesday at 83 years old.

“Besides my father, no one’s had more impact on my life than Bob Knight,” Beard said. “I met him in 2000, so basically, for half of my adult life, I’ve been a Bob Knight guy, and I’m proud of that… [Pat and Bob Knight] took a chance on me as a junior college coach in 2000.

“They not only gave me an opportunity but empowered me and gave me the confidence to know that I can coach and win at this level. He means the world.”

Beard served as an assistant under Knight at Texas Tech from 2001-08. In his limited time in Lubbock, Texas, Knight posted a 138-82 record, including five seasons of 20-plus wins. Knight boosted Tech to a 23-9 record in his first season and led his 2004-05 team to a 22-11 record and the NCAA Sweet 16.

When Beard took the head coaching position at Texas Tech in 2016, he pointed to his time under Knight as a key reason he accepted the job. Beard led the Red Raiders to even more success than Knight.

Chris Beard follows in Bob Knight’s footsteps

In five seasons at the helm of the program, Beard led Texas Tech to a 112-55 record. In 2019, Beard and Co. advanced to the national championship after reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in program history the year before.

While Beard is no longer at Texas Tech, he hasn’t forgotten the lessons Knight taught him in Lubbock.

“His commitment to academics is instilled in college basketball,” Beard said. “No one really talks about that anymore with the [NIL], the pressure for coaches and players to win, and the microscope of social media. But it’s college athletics. It’s still about college and getting guys degrees. Coach had basically a 100 percent or 98.9 [graduation rate], which is unparalleled over a 40-plus year career at three different institutions – Army, Indiana, and Texas Tech. 

“Simply stated, if you played for coach, you were going to graduate. That just changes lives, and it’s not talked about enough – his commitment to the college side of NCAA Basketball.”

Beard hopes to carry Knight’s academic pride with him to his new home. On March 13, Ole Miss hired Beard to be the program’s 23rd head coach. Beard simply hopes he can continue to live up to Knight’s legacy.

“I’m so proud to be associated with Coach Knight,” Beard said. “I hope in some way he enjoys watching our teams play here at Ole Miss. We’ll honor him in every way we can.”