Texas Tech Basketball: Evaluating Chris Beard’s contract extension
The Texas Tech Red Raiders did the only logical thing after such a strong season – they locked up Chris Beard for the foreseeable future.
There was no chance that the Texas Tech Red Raiders were concluding this season without an extension in place for head coach Chris Beard. Not after the season Texas Tech has had.
Doubted by many entering the year, the Red Raiders proved formidable all season long, remaining in the thick of the Big 12 race until the final games of conference play. Texas Tech went 23-8 during the regular season, including 11-7 in the Big 12.
In just his second season in Lubbock, Beard led the team to one of their all-time great seasons. He’s rightfully receiving buzz for National Coach of the Year; he already earned Co-Coach of the Year in the Big 12 (with Kansas’ Bill Self).
Additionally, there’s no sign of slowing down, with a strong recruiting class on their way to Lubbock.
So did the terms of Beard’s extension make sense? He’s already 41-22 in two seasons at Texas Tech, so he must be doing something right. Plus, he’s only 45 years old, so there’s plenty of room for growth and legacy building.
According to the school, the contract is worth just north of $19 million for the next six seasons, averaging out to about $3.16 million annually. A report by USA Today shows that his annual salary (should it be dispersed evenly) would more than double with this extension. It would also move him from outside the top 50 best paid coaches to just outside the top ten.
Declaring Beard a top ten coach in the nation might be presumptuous at this point; there’s no evidence to suggest he’s better than Gregg Marshall or Tony Bennett, although he may be one day.
The Red Raiders needed to ensure their coach would want to stick around for the long-term, though. This extension virtually guarantees Texas Tech and Chris Beard will be together for the long haul.