Chris Beard, the college basketball coach who was arrested in December on charges of felony domestic violence, has been relieved of his duties by the University of Texas for cause. Beard has previously been suspended without pay.
“The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard,” Chris Del Conte, the school’s athletic director, said in a statement on Thursday afternoon. “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.
According to the arrest report on the night in question, Beard’s fiancée alleged that “he choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts.” The full arrest report can be read here.
Here is the official arrest report for Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard (I removed the victim’s name) pic.twitter.com/kROHOvJfxQ
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) December 12, 2022
Beard, who attended the University of Texas, became the head coach in Austin in April of 2021 following a five-year stint as the head coach at Texas Tech. During his only year at the helm of the Longhorns, the team accrued a 22-12 record and made it to the NCAA Tournament, before getting eliminated in the second round. Since being suspended without pay, Rodney Terry has served as the program’s coach in an interim role, and will continue in that position for the remainder of the campaign.