Texas Longhorns Fire Coach Chris Beard
The Texas Longhorns have parted ways with men's basketball coach, Chris Beard, Athletic Director Chris Del Conte announced on Thursday.
Beard was in the midst of his second season with the Longhorns and was arrested last month on felony assault charges resulting from a domestic violence incident with his fiance.
The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard. This has been a difficult situation that we’ve been diligently working through. Today I informed Mr. Beard of our decision to terminate him effective immediately.
We thank Coach Rodney Terry for his exemplary leadership both on and off the court at a time when our team needed it most. We are grateful he will remain the acting head coach for the remainder of the season.
We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns.
Beard's legal situation is still in flux, with the coach still under investigation from the Travis County Sheriff's Office, despite his finané releasing a statement withdrawing her claims.
The sheriff's office released an update of its own on the situation on Wednesday.
“The matter is still under review, and our prosecutors are evaluating all of the evidence, including recent statements and all evidence collected by law enforcement,” the statement said. "Our office takes all allegations of domestic violence seriously; in each case, we are committed to working through the unique challenges presented.”
Whether police decide to proceed with the charges or not, school officials were well within their rights to terminate Beard as head coach with no financial ramifications.
Beard was suspended indefinitely with pay following the incident, with assistant Rodney Terry replacing Beard in his absence as interim coach.
The Longhorns have now Terry as the acting coach for the remainder of the season.
Beard, 49, was in his second season as the head coach of the Longhorns and had led Texas to a 29-13 record.
Before his suspension, Beard had the Longhorns sitting at 7-1 overall and ranked as the No. 6 team in the country.
Beard first became a head coach at McMurry University in 2012 and has also had stops at Angelo State, Arkansas Little Rock, and Texas Tech, compiling a 237–98 overall record.
Beard is also 10-4 in NCAA tournaments and helped Texas Tech reach a final four and national title game in 2019.
Texas is set to hit the floor on Saturday in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, now officially without the cloud of Beard hanging over the program.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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