Chris Beard hired by Texas Tech after short stay at UNLV Posted Apr 17, 2016 The Chris Beard era at UNLV did not last long. Nineteen days after the former Arkansas-Little Rock coach accepted the gig, he left Friday for Texas Tech — a job that opened in the interim when Tubby Smith went to Memphis. Beard had been an assistant at Texas Tech for a decade from 2001-11. (USA Today)