Pepperdine chaplain found dead...

MALIBU, Calif. -- A man who works as chaplain for the athletic department at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., has been found dead on a nearby beach.

Sheriff's and coroner's officials say the body was discovered Monday, but the cause of death remains unclear.

Pepperdine said in a statement that the man found was its athletic chaplain Maurice Hilliard.

Hilliard had worked in Pepperdine athletics since 2001, serving previously as an academic coordinator, an assistant women's basketball coach and the men's basketball director of operations before becoming a spiritual leader for student-athletes.

Hilliard was a Los Angeles native with a divinity degree from Biola University. He also wrote a book in 2010 about Christian women, titled "The Price of a Pearl."