Garland Washington "Jeff" Beard (August 4, 1910 – November 10, 1995[citation needed]) was the athletic director at Auburn University from 1951 to 1972.

He hired Ralph Jordan as the Auburn Tigers football coach and expanded the seating capacity at Cliff Hare Stadium from 20,000 to 63,000, and oversaw the construction of Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum.

[2] In 1928, he enrolled at Auburn and became captain of the track team and Southern Conference champion in the discus throw.

[4] In the three years prior to his promotion, the Auburn Tigers football team had compiled a 3–22–3, including a winless 0–10 season in 1950.

Beard's first major decision as athletic director was the hiring of Ralph Jordan as head coach of the football team.