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Rick Byrd
Richard F. Byrd (born April 30, 1953) is a retired American college basketball coach who served as the head coach of the Belmont Bruins men's basketball team from 1986-2019. On February 16, 2017, with the Bruins win over Eastern Kentucky, Byrd marked his 750th career win, 658 with Belmont. He retired after the 2018–19 season with 805 wins, which ranks twelfth all-time among NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches.
Byrd grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he would sit alongside his father, Ben Byrd, and watch him write articles on the Tennessee men's basketball games as a kid. He then went to play basketball at a Florida junior college for a year, but decided to come back home to Knoxville and attend the University of Tennessee, where he was asked to join the junior varsity team for the Volunteers his senior year. The next year, in order to start his coaching career, he became the student assistant to the varsity squad. The very next year Byrd also attempted to become a graduate assistant for the Vols.
Byrd then went to nearby Division III school Maryville as an assistant coach. After Maryville, Byrd moved to Tennessee Tech as an assistant for a few seasons, before becoming head coach at NAIA Lincoln Memorial where he stayed for three seasons and finished with a 69–28 overall record.
In 1986, Byrd was hired by Belmont as head coach.
At the time of his retirement, Byrd was one of five active NCAA coaches to have 500 wins at one school. Byrd was also one of 11 active coaches to have more than 600 career wins. Byrd won his 700th game as a head coach on January 17, 2015, when Belmont defeated Austin Peay 89–83. Byrd was first among all active NCAA Division I men’s basketball head coaches (min. 10 years at school) when ranked by percentage of schools’ all-time wins, at his retirement having accounted for over 59 percent of the total victories in Belmont history. Only three Division I men's head coaches in the nation had been at their respective institutions longer than Byrd's 30 years of service at Belmont.
He led Belmont to eight NCAA Tournaments in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019. Under Byrd's guidance, the Bruins won 239 games and posted a remarkable 179–43 (.806) record in conference games over his last ten years. Byrd, from 2011 to 2014, led the Bruins to be one of only six NCAA Division I men's basketball programs to win 26 or more games per season, joining the select company of Duke, Florida, Syracuse, VCU, and Wichita State.
On April 1, 2019, Byrd announced his retirement from Belmont after 33 years at the helm of the program.
Byrd has coached many players that have gone on to have very successful careers after their Belmont careers, including J.J. Mann, the Ohio Valley Conference's Player of the Year, a first-team Academic All-American and the winningest player in Belmont history. He now plays for the German professional team Phoenix Hagen.
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Rick Byrd
Richard F. Byrd (born April 30, 1953) is a retired American college basketball coach who served as the head coach of the Belmont Bruins men's basketball team from 1986-2019. On February 16, 2017, with the Bruins win over Eastern Kentucky, Byrd marked his 750th career win, 658 with Belmont. He retired after the 2018–19 season with 805 wins, which ranks twelfth all-time among NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches.
Byrd grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he would sit alongside his father, Ben Byrd, and watch him write articles on the Tennessee men's basketball games as a kid. He then went to play basketball at a Florida junior college for a year, but decided to come back home to Knoxville and attend the University of Tennessee, where he was asked to join the junior varsity team for the Volunteers his senior year. The next year, in order to start his coaching career, he became the student assistant to the varsity squad. The very next year Byrd also attempted to become a graduate assistant for the Vols.
Byrd then went to nearby Division III school Maryville as an assistant coach. After Maryville, Byrd moved to Tennessee Tech as an assistant for a few seasons, before becoming head coach at NAIA Lincoln Memorial where he stayed for three seasons and finished with a 69–28 overall record.
In 1986, Byrd was hired by Belmont as head coach.
At the time of his retirement, Byrd was one of five active NCAA coaches to have 500 wins at one school. Byrd was also one of 11 active coaches to have more than 600 career wins. Byrd won his 700th game as a head coach on January 17, 2015, when Belmont defeated Austin Peay 89–83. Byrd was first among all active NCAA Division I men’s basketball head coaches (min. 10 years at school) when ranked by percentage of schools’ all-time wins, at his retirement having accounted for over 59 percent of the total victories in Belmont history. Only three Division I men's head coaches in the nation had been at their respective institutions longer than Byrd's 30 years of service at Belmont.
He led Belmont to eight NCAA Tournaments in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019. Under Byrd's guidance, the Bruins won 239 games and posted a remarkable 179–43 (.806) record in conference games over his last ten years. Byrd, from 2011 to 2014, led the Bruins to be one of only six NCAA Division I men's basketball programs to win 26 or more games per season, joining the select company of Duke, Florida, Syracuse, VCU, and Wichita State.
On April 1, 2019, Byrd announced his retirement from Belmont after 33 years at the helm of the program.
Byrd has coached many players that have gone on to have very successful careers after their Belmont careers, including J.J. Mann, the Ohio Valley Conference's Player of the Year, a first-team Academic All-American and the winningest player in Belmont history. He now plays for the German professional team Phoenix Hagen.