After a record year in Springfield, Missouri State head football coach Ryan Beard will be the next head coach at Coastal Carolina, sources confirmed to KY3 Thursday night.
Beard called a team meeting on Thursday evening after practice to inform his players he was leaving, according to sources close to KY3.
Beard led Missouri State to a 7-5 mark in the Bears’ first season as an FBS school and the program’s first-ever bowl bid in the XBox Bowl next week. According to a source, Beard would not coach the Bears in the bowl game, but his assistants would lead Missouri State in the game until making their own decisions about the future.
Beard took over as head coach of the Bears for the 2023 season, leading them to a 4-7 mark and a strong finish. He followed that up in 2024 with an 8-4 record, a fourth-place finish in the Missouri Valley conference, and a No. 23 national FCS ranking with 12 all-conference standouts and three All-Americans.
Missouri State takes on Arkansas State in its bowl game next week in Frisco, Texas. There’s no word yet on whether Beard will coach the Bears in the game.
Missouri State canceled a scheduled press conference with Beard on Thursday afternoon.
