Schovanec Talks Coach Beard’s Departure, Coach Adams, and More Tech Athletics

Wednesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, The President of Texas Tech University Dr. Lawrence Schovanec joined Dave and Matt to talk about Tech's plans for COVID-19 safety in the fall, online classes, the basketball program, what happened with Chris Beard, the new Coach Adams, and more.

Schovanec started the discussion by saying that, in regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they still plan to return to in person classes in the fall. The President had talked more extensively last time he was on the show, but he reassures people that the plan is still in place. He went on to say that there are currently no active cases among students, according to their dashboard, and so while they want to be sensitive to those who have concerns, that they still want things to get back to normal by the fall. Tech will not require vaccinations, but he encourages all students and faculty to get theirs anyway.

The President was also asked if he is pleased with how Tech's basketball program is going right now with the new coach Mark Adams. Schovanec exclaimed that he absolutely is, saying, "it's been tremendous," going on to say, "we couldn't be more excited about having coach Adams." Schovanec continued that he has talked with Kirby Hocutt about Adams, and that he is sure that he is a top notch guy who can get some top notch recruits.

Dr. Schovanec was also asked what had happened with Coach Beard. The President said that he knew there would be speculation, seeing as Beard's contract was expiring soon. He explained that he and Hocutt made it very clear that they wanted Beard to stay as a coach, and had a meeting with the coach where they asked him what they could do to keep him around, but that Beard wasn't really interested in hearing proposals. Schovanec speculates that perhaps he thought he could recruit better somewhere else. But either way, Texas Tech is not focusing on what has happened in the past, and instead looking to the future.

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Lawrence Schovanec in the audio above.

KFYO Mornings with Dave King & Matt Martin airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.