When news broke Thursday that Chris Beard would become the next Texas Basketball coach, many Texas fans immediately raised the expectations of the program and its outlook moving forward. Make no mistake, Beard did the same.

During a lengthy introductory press conference the newest leader of the Longhorns, appropriately wearing a burnt orange and white tie, didn’t lack passion. And he made three things distinctly clear: he arrived at Texas to win immediately; he understands and embraces the expectations that accompany his new position; he will unite the Texas Basketball family. As Beard began to speak about basketball, everything always came back to one word - winning.

“I wanted to tell you something that's kind of been with me my whole coaching career, that's really important. I saw this at a young age when I was cutting my teeth and coaching. The University of Texas winning tradition and pride will not be entrusted to the timid or weak. I [can’t] tell you how proud and excited I am. I promise you I'm a lot of things, but timid and weak are not two of those things,” said Beard. “I understand the standards and expectations of this program. I'm not running from it. I'm not scared of it. It is the reason I'm here. We are going to win at the highest level. We're going to win sooner than later.”

Credit Chris Del Conte for getting this deal done with the type of quickness and ease that isn’t typical of college head coach searches. Whatever vision Del Conte shared with his new head coach while he was trying to get him to sign on the dotted line, it’s obvious it resonated deeply with Beard...

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