March 31, 2025

OLE MISS’ CHRIS BEARD RECIPIENT OF 2025 JIM PHELAN AWARD
The top head coach in division I college basketball

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard is the recipient of the 2025 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award, which is presented annually to the top head coach in division I college basketball.

Beard led Ole Miss to a 24-12 record and its’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. It was just the 10th time in 115 years that the Rebels earned a spot in the Big Dance. With wins over North Carolina and Iowa State, Ole Miss advanced to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history.

“Chris Beard is a program builder,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of CollegeInsider.com. “Wherever he goes, he wins and his players love playing for him. An incredible work ethic, attention to detail and a humble approach have helped to make him one of the best coaches in college basketball. There are a lot of great people in the profession, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better guy than Chris Beard.”

Ole Miss played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, with the cumulative opposition's win percentage of 64.8 ranks as the fifth highest in the nation, behind only Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, and Purdue. The Rebels have faced 13 ranked opponents this season and six top five teams, both of which are the most in a single season in school history.

On January 14, Ole Miss took down No. 4 Alabama on the road for their first-ever road win over an AP top five team, and second win over the fourth ranked AP team ever. Ole Miss followed that up later in the season, defending their home court on senior day with a win over No. 4 Tennessee on March 5. This marked the first time in program history that an Ole Miss team earned two top five wins in the same season.

The Rebels hit the record book for numerous team stats on the season, setting all-time bests in made threes, assist-turnover ratio, and turnovers per game, while ranking second for most steals.

Beard is now one of seven active coaches to take four schools to NCAA Tournament, along with Steve Alford, Rick Barnes, John Calipari, Fran McCaffery, Rick Pitino, and Kelvin Sampson.

The Jim Phelan Award is named in honor of a legendary bow-tied coach who spent his entire head coaching career at Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Phelan graduated from La Salle University in 1951 and played one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors. After a brief professional career, Phelan went to Mount St. Mary’s as an assistant in 1953. One year later he began his historical career as a head coach.

He led the Mountaineers to 16 Division II NCAA tournaments. Five times they advanced to the Final Four and he led them to the DII National Championship in 1962.

When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he had amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season.

In 2008 he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Phelan passed away on June 15, 2021, at the age of 92 at his home in Emmitsburg, MD.

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