Coach Chris Beard offers impassioned message to fans as Rebels’ new era in men’s basketball begins
OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss basketball team is nine days away from its opening night in Oxford against Alabama State. While the Rebels notched just three SEC wins in 2022, that was then. This is now. Ole Miss fans should be optimistic about all of the changes that have been made in the program — most importantly the hiring of new head coach Chris Beard. As most fans know, Beard was the National Coach of the Year in 2019 and has also earned conference coach of the year four times throughout his career.
Regardless of the program’s struggles as of late, it’s obvious Coach Beard firmly believes with the resources available and the changes that have been made, this Ole Miss team has as much potential as any team he has coached in the past. Coach Beard met with media earlier this week to talk about the program, what he has seen from his team up to this point, and what it will take to reach the next level.
“Do you have talent? We do….We’ve got good players. The next step is can we get a culture that doesn’t beat itself? When times are tough, can we respond. When times are good, can we stay humble and keep it going? And then you have to have a little fortune. You have to get a little lucky along the way in terms of guys getting banged up and being available to play as the season goes on. Then, lastly, I think you have to execute and I think to me that’s just discipline. We know how to set a flare screen around here, we know how to read the defense, we know how to do it. Why don’t we do it every single time? The answer is discipline. That’s a big part of what we are trying to accomplish with our guys.”
Chris Beard on what it takes to win
Instituting a culture of winning is one of the key components of turning around any program. ”We have all sorts of objectives this first year,” Coach Beard explained. “At the top of that list is to win every game, but there are other things that are important to building a program and a fanbase,” Beard continued.
He discussed how much of a difference having a large crowd can make when it comes to home-court advantage. During his last full season as head coach of the Texas Longhorns (2021-2022), he finished 16-3. After making an abundance of upgrades on the Ole Miss roster and bringing in a top-notch staff, Beard has one more request, specifically for Rebel Nation.
“This is one of the premier fanbases in all of college athletics. It’s not just my opinion and not up here giving coach speak. I’ve been to an Ole Miss football game, been to a volleyball game, a baseball game in the spring, I’m aware of what Coach Yo has built here. It’s here, it’s undeniable. In men’s basketball, we’re going to do our part, and we’re going to ask our fanbase (to help). We really need your help,” Beard said.
Beard reported that “priority” and “VIP seating” have already sold out for the coming season, and that he looks for all season tickets to soon be sold out as at this writing, 94% of season tickets had been sold.
Beard made a point to tell the fanbase that while he understands it might be unreasonable to expect fans to make it to every game, he wants them to make a concerted effort to fill their seats if they can’t attend.
“What I don’t think is too much to ask, and what we’ll ask continually throughout the year with a consistent message is for our season ticket holders, on the nights they can’t come, to take that extra time and effort to make sure someone sits in your seat, whether it’s someone you go to church with or a family member, somehow, some way make sure your tickets are used for that game…To me, the objective isn’t to come to every single game, even though we have special people that make that commitment. I think the agenda is for people to care enough to make sure that someone sits in their seats that night, all the way down to the point where if they’re season ticket holders and if there’s a game you can’t come to, just call the office, swing the tickets by, give them to me, I’ll personally make sure somebody sits in those seats.”
Coach Beard
Beard’s enthusiasm is obvious. “I think we’re going to be a fun team to watch,” he said. “We’re going to try and win every game. From time to time when we run out of time, I think the fans will still be pleased with what they saw. I’m excited to coach this first Ole Miss team.”
The SJB Pavilion will present multiple new gameday atmosphere enhancements for 2023-24, including a new ribbon board light show and added subwoofers for an improved audio experience. Club Red, the student section on the west side of the SJB Pavilion, will now be illuminated with red lighting as well. The shot clock is now updated to show time down to 1/10th of a second when there is less than a minute of game time remaining or less than 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Ole Miss has also introduced the All-in-1 season ticket and parking pass—a single download link per seat added to your digital wallet that is good for the entire season.
Coach Beard also took time to explain that in order for students to get priority seating in the Tad Pad for Ole Miss’ Throwback Game on November 17, they will be required to attend two out of the first three games. The Rebels’ head coach elaborated saying that ticket monitoring devices will be installed to keep track of the students who attend.
“I believe it will be a great night in Oxford, not just the basketball game, but to honor that arena and everybody that contributed to that arena,” Beard said of the Throwback Game.
Next Up
Ole Miss hosts a preseason exhibition matchup against Tusculum with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. on October 30. The season officially begins on November 6 versus Alabama State with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
