Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball Coach Chris Beard Arrested on Domestic Assault Charge (UPDATE)

UPDATED 12/12, 9:35 p.m. ET: Chris Beard is officially suspended without pay.

A school statement relayed by ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello and various outlets reads, “The University takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously. Given the information available, The University has suspended Chris Beard from his position as head coach of Men’s Basketball and will withhold his pay until further notice.”

See original story below.

Chris Beard, the head coach of the University of Texas men’s basketball team, has been arrested and charged with assault on a family member, per the Austin American-Statesman.

According to Austin police spokesman Brandon Jones, the Longhorns head coach was arrested during the early hours of Monday after he allegedly choked a person at a home in West Austin. The 49-year-old Beard was booked into the Travis County office jail at 4:18 a.m. on Monday on a third-degree felony charge of assault on a family/household member.

As of this morning, Beard is still in jail with no bail amount set.

In a brief statement regarding the arrest, the University of Texas said, “The university is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”

Beard is currently in his second year as head coach at Texas after replacing Shaka Smart in 2021. He previously spent five seasons coaching at Texas Tech, and helped the Red Raiders reach the NCAA championship in 2019. Other schools he’s coached for include Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State College, McMurry University, Angelo State, and Arkansas-Little Rock.

When Beared joined the Texas Longhorns, he signed a seven-year contract with the team for $5 million a year. Per the clause in his contract, Beard could face suspension or termination pending investigation into the alleged incident.