Chris Beard Named AP's Coach of the Year After Texas Tech's Final Four Run

Chris Beard, who led Texas Tech to its first Final Four appearance in school history, was named the Associated Press' NCAA Division I men's basketball head coach of the year Thursday.

Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey, who has guided the Lady Bears to a 35-1 record and its first Final Four showing since the team won the 2011-12 championship, was named the AP's women's hoops head coach of the year.

Beard has coached the Red Raiders for three years and led them to an Elite Eight run this season.

Texas Tech made the Sweet 16 just five times and never advanced to the Elite Eight prior to this year. 

TTU won the Big 12 regular-season title and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Red Raiders (30-6) are the only Final Four team remaining that has won all four of its games by more than one possession.

The 46-year-old Beard led Arkansas-Little Rock for one season prior to landing in Lubbock. The Trojans went 30-5 and upset No. 5 seed Purdue in the first round of the NCAA tournament in his lone season.

Beard is a deserving winner given Texas Tech's success relative to its past history. He received 20 votes, edging out Kelvin Sampson of Houston, who had 13:

Like Beard, Mulkey is the clear choice for the AP's female honor as well. The Lady Bears' lone loss was a five-point defeat at then-No. 11 Stanford. Otherwise, Baylor has beaten seven Top 25 teams, including then-No. 1 UConn.

All 35 of Baylor's wins have been by six or more points. Thirty-two of those victories were by double digits.

Mulkey, who is a two-time NCAA champion as a coach and a two-time AIAW/NCAA champion as a player, was also named the WBCA National Coach of the Year.

She has a lifetime 574-99 record, which includes just seven losses in Big 12 regular-season play since the 2010-11 season.

Baylor will meet Oregon on Friday in the Final Four. The Texas Tech men will face Michigan State on Saturday.