With the news surfacing on Thursday that Texas hired Chris Beard to be its new head basketball coach, many were wondering why he would leave Texas Tech.
He seemed to have a good thing going in Lubbock. His squads made the NCAA Tournament three times in five seasons (the 2020 postseason was cancelled due to COVID-19) and one of those seasons ended in the national championship. Beard was making Tech a national powerhouse, or at the very least it felt as if the program was on that route.
At the same time, Texas had spent six seasons with Shaka Smart and never made it out of the first round of the tournament. In fact, the Longhorns haven’t won a tournament game since the 2013-14 season.
The rumors connecting Beard to Texas initially felt as if people were merely trying to speak it into existence, but it turns out the Red Raiders got fooled in April. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte once again pulled off a home run hire.
Here are five potential factors that played a role in Beard leaving Texas Tech for Texas.