A group text was received at 12:27 a.m.
It wasn't personal, but one of those options a phone service provides when you change phone numbers. That's what it was announcing.
It wasn't the first ever received. Coaches do change numbers from time to time.
This one was from Chris Beard, and it had to be a relief for the former UALR head basketball coach.
His phone blew up in Denver, and it took more than a week to quiet down. Then it blew up again.
The first time was after he and the Trojans beat Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, although looking back one can only wonder if some of those calls he received had a 702 area code.
That's the prefix for Las Vegas.
The group text that went out showed his new 806, which is Lubbock, Texas, of course. And the new number was not sent to anyone in the 702 area code.
Beard's unlikely rocket ride to a Power 5 conference school took a week to get through Vegas, but Tubby Smith leaving Texas Tech for Memphis opened the door for Beard, which was a dream come true for a guy who spent 10 years as a Red Raiders assistant.
It also puts him 991 miles closer to his three daughters. Although that was reason enough, he probably escaped a situation that was a bit sticky in Vegas.
Stacey Augmon wanted the Runnin' Rebels head coaching job. Augmon played on the 1990 UNLV national championship team, played 15 NBA seasons and had been an assistant coach for the Rebels.
Some of his former college teammates wanted him to have the job. They took out a full-page ad in the Las Vegas Review-Journal supporting Augmon.
Beard blew away all competition when he interviewed, and he wisely decided not to keep Augmon on staff.
Then Smith left the Red Raiders, and Beard was soon on his way back to the state where he grew up.
What a ride it has been for Beard.
A little more than a year ago, he was coaching Division II Angelo State and making $80,000 per year. UALR offered him $230,000 to be its head coach, and that turned out to be a bargain. The Trojans were prepared to pay Beard $400,000 a year after winning one game in the NCAA Tournament, and that kind of makes you wonder how Joe Foley -- who has a history of NCAA Tournament appearances and victories with the Lady Trojans basketball team -- might feel.
Instead, Beard accepted the UNLV job and a raise to more than $900,000 per year. One week after his contract was approved, he was named the Texas Tech head coach at a salary yet to be announced.
Texas Tech will pay $1 million to UNLV to buy out Beard's contract, just as Tech will receive $900,000 from Memphis for its hire of Smith. UNLV hired Marvin Menzies at $700,000 per year. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that UNLV still owes UALR $200,000 for Beard's initial buyout.
UNLV Athletic Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy was upset that Beard left, calling it an unprecedented move, but she should have kissed Beard. Because he stayed for a week, Kunzer-Murphy is basically getting Menzies' first year of coaching for free. New Mexico State is not owed a buyout after Menzies' departure.
Beard's drive to a 30-5 season saw record crowds in the Jack Stephens Center by the end of the season.
Some say he caught lightning in a bottle. Seems more like he created lightning in a bottle after bringing in 10 new players and blending them seamlessly with a handful of returning lettermen.
One thing is certain: Beard wasn't returning to UALR. He was in demand, and when the dust finally settled, he was a little more than a two-hour drive from the three most important things in his life -- his daughters.
Sports on 04/20/2016