He also achieved tremendous success at conference rival Texas Tech, going to the Elite Eight in 2018 and reaching the national championship game in 2019. He graduated from Texas and was a student manager under Tom Penders. When Beard was hired just 21 months ago, he was the clear top candidate for the Longhorns. That came Thursday, when Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte announced the school was firing Beard and that associate head coach Rodney Terry, who has been the acting head coach since Beard was suspended, will remain in charge for the rest of the season.ĮSPN's Myron Medcalf reported in mid-December that the legal process for Beard could take more than a year to reach its conclusion, but Texas has chosen to act quickly and begin the process to find its next head coach. 12 arrest on a felony family violence charge, it appeared to be the first step toward an eventual parting of ways. When Texas suspended Chris Beard without pay following his Dec. Men's College Basketball, Texas Longhorns Texas basketball coaching search: Who could replace Chris Beard for the Longhorns? In his first season, he led Texas to a first-round victory over Virginia Tech that was the Longhorns’ first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser He was 112-55 in five seasons with the Red Raiders and was named The The Associated Press coach of the year in 2019 as he guided Texas Tech to a 31-7 finish and lost in an overtime thriller to Virginia in the national championship game.Īs soon as he landed in Austin, Beard set out to rebuild a program from the ground up, changing the roster and trying to whip up new enthusiasm for the program as he engaged with students and often held comedic “fireside chats” on campus. The Longhorns (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) won their first five games under Terry before losing 116-103 to Kansas State on Tuesday.Ī Texas graduate, Beard spent 10 seasons at Texas Tech as an assistant under Bob Knight from 2001-2011, then returned there as head coach in 2016. “I am concerned that the University of Texas has made a terrible decision against the interest of the University, based on Twitter feeds and editorials - and not the facts concerning a truly innocent man.” “Chris Beard is crushed at the news he will not be coaching at the University of Texas,” Minton said after the firing was announced. 18 court hearing is scheduled, according to online records. 23 statement would change how prosecutors proceed with the felony charge. The Travis County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Beard’s case or whether Trew’s Dec. Beard unfit to serve as a head coach at our university,” Davis wrote.Īccording to the arrest affidavit, Trew initially told police that she and Beard they had been in an argument where she broke his glasses before he “just snapped on me and became super violent.” Police reported Trew said Beard slapped her glasses off her face and “choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts.” “This lack of self-awareness is yet another failure of judgement that makes Mr. The university’s vice president of legal affairs, Jim Davis, wrote in a letter to Beard’s attorney Thursday that Beard engaged in “unacceptable behavior that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university.” Whether prosecutors continue with the case does not determine whether Beard engaged in conduct unbecoming of the school, Davis wrote. The charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation family violence carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years if convicted the woman told police Beard strangled and bit her, but later denied he choked her.īeard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested, and school officials had said there was an internal investigation. 12 incident involving his fiancée.īeard had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract that included a provision he could be fired for cause if he was charged with a felony or committed other behavior unbecoming of his position or that reflected poorly on the university. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard on Thursday, telling his attorney he is “unfit” for the position while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec.
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