SAN ANGELO – Chris Beard has resigned as the head men's basketball coach at Angelo State University following leading the Rams to their winningest season in program history to accept the same position at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
 
Beard led the Rams to a 47-15 record and to the program's first NCAA Division II Sweet 16 along with amassing a 28-2 record at the Junell Center during his two seasons. Beard was named the 2015 NABC South Central and Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year after leading ASU to its winningest season in program history which included reaching the conference and regional championship games.
 
"Coach Beard has done an outstanding job of putting Ram basketball back on the map," said ASU Director of Athletics Sean Johnson. "He has done all the things we ask head coaches to do and his student-athletes achieve at the highest levels.  Coach Beard has set the standard for Ram basketball and we are very excited for him and his new opportunity and we know he will continue to be successful."
 
Inheriting a program that had not recorded a winning record in three seasons, Beard led the Rams to a 19-9 record in the 2013-14 season and guided the program to its first postseason win since 2001. ASU started the season with a 10-0 record for the first time in program history under his direction, was nationally ranked for the first time since 2009, won 12 more games than the previous season and saw a player earn a regional award for the first time since 2010.

Beard built on the first-year success by going 28-6 with a 17-0 record at home during his second season and finished with a No. 19 national ranking. ASU led the nation by outscoring opponents by an average of 20.3 points per game this season and finished third in the nation with a 52.8 field-goal percentage and were fifth in total assists (588) and with its 39.3 defensive field-goal percentage. The Rams also rank among the national elite with a 1,299 total rebounds which was the eighth most, a 1.46 assists-to-turnover ratio which is the 12th best and they were 14th in the country with a 17.3 assists per game. ASU finished the season averaging 84.1 points per game which was the 16th most points per game in the nation and the most in the region and conference. Along with team success, Chris Jones and Demario Mayfield earned NABC and Daktronics South Central honors to go along with being named to the Lone Star Conference first-team and Marsell Holden was an LSC honorable mention selection after leading the conference in 3-pointers. Additionally, Thomas Brandsma earned LSC All-Academic honors for his work on the court and in the classroom as a finance major.

The Rams established multiple program records this season, including recording the most wins in a season (28), reaching a No. 4-national ranking, winning 16 straight games, scoring 2,860 points, owning a 52.8 field-goal percentage and winning four postseason games. ASU reached the finals of the regional tournament for the first time in program history under Beard after eliminating Texas A&M-Commerce with an 85-79 quarterfinal win and then a 66-49 victory over Midwestern State in the semifinal. ASU was one win away from advancing to the program's first Elite Eight, but fell 66-64 to Tarleton State in the regional finals on the Texans' home court in Stephenville.
 
Beard was introduced as the Trojans head coach during a Wednesday morning press conference.