And while the optics are bad, given that Beard has been officially on the job at UNLV only a matter of days, there is context for his interest in the Red Raiders job: He was an assistant at Texas Tech for 10 seasons under Bob Knight and Pat Knight.
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Still, UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy, who confirmed Beard’s meeting with Texas Tech officials, doesn’t want the situation to drag out, she said in a statement released Thursday night (via ESPN.com).
“This (Thursday) evening, Coach Beard met with officials from Texas Tech. … I have since met with Coach Beard, and we have agreed to have this resolved by (Friday),” Kunzer-Murphy said.
Beard, 43, came to UNLV from Arkansas-Little Rock, which he led to the NCAA tournament and a first-round upset of Purdue this year in his first season as a Division I head coach.
He agreed on March 28 to a five-year, $5.75 million deal with UNLV but it didn’t become official until last week. Should Beard leave within two years, UNLV would be owed a $1 million buyout, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Should Beard take the Texas Tech job, he could expect to double his pay.
