Chris Beard suspended, Rodney Terry named acting head coach for contest versus Rice
In the wake of Texas head coach Chris Beard’s arrest on felony assault charges, the University of Texas announced Monday that Beard has been suspended without pay until further notice. It also announced Rodney Terry will be the acting head coach for the Longhorns’ Monday night contest versus Rice.
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“The University takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” the UT statement said. “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. Associate Head Coach Rodney Terry will serve as acting head coach for tonight’s game against Rice.”
Beard was arrested Monday morning by the Austin Police Department for assault on a family/household member that impeded breath circulation.
Beard was booked at 4:18 a.m. on Monday morning. The charge is a third degree felony.
Beard is in his second season as head coach of the Longhorns. He is 29-13 at Texas, including 7-1 this season. His combined record from his time at Texas, Texas Tech, and Little Rock is 171-73.
Terry, a 54-year-old Texan who played his college ball at St. Edward’s in Austin, is no stranger to the head coach’s seat or the Texas sidelines. From 2002-2011, he was an assistant on former head coach Rick Barnes’ staff.
In 2011, he took the Fresno State head coaching job, where he went 126-108 in seven seasons and made one NCAA Tournament appearance. Following Fresno, Terry took the head coaching job at UTEP. In three seasons, he was 37-48.
When Beard was hired at Texas, he hired Terry to act as associate head coach on his original staff. He is the only assistant from Beard’s original staff still in Austin following the 2021-22 season.
Terry also has high school coaching experience in the state of Texas, with a 64-34 record in his stops at Somerville High School and Angleton High School, the latter of which is his alma mater.
According to his official UT bio, he graduated from St. Edward’s in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a minor in physical education. He was a three-year starter and a three-time all-conference selection with the Hilltoppers. He was a team captain during his final two seasons in South Austin.
