UPDATE: UNLV has hired Little Rock's Chris Beard as its next men's basketball coach.
Little Rock announced on Monday that Beard is stepping down after one season with the Trojans to accept the UNLV job.
Beard replaces Dave Rice, who was fired in January.
In his first season as a Division I coach, the 42-year-old Beard led the Trojans to a school- and Sun Belt
Conference-record 30 wins and the program's fifth NCAA Tournament bid. Little Rock upset No. 5 seed Purdue as a
12th seed in the opening round for its first NCAA Tournament win in three decades.
Beard previously worked as an assistant coach at Texas and Texas Tech before landing the job at Little Rock.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The Runnin' Rebels may have a new head coach,according to ESPN.
UNLV is set to hire Chris Beard from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. The coach met with University officials over the weekend and is close to signing a five-year deal.
Beard has been the head coach at UALR for just one season, but held an impressive 30-5 record with the Trojans.
Prior to his work at Little Rock, Beard was also the head coach at Division II schools Angelo State and McMurry. He was also an assistant coach for Texas Tech from 2001-11, and was part of the staffs at Texas and North Texas.
13 Action News reached out to UNLV. So far there has been no response.
