Texas fires Chris Beard
Texas fired Chris Beard on Thursday following his December 12th arrest for assault on a family/household member that impeded breath circulation, a third-degree felony charge. Per documents released by the University of Texas, Beard was fired with cause.
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“The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “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 was indefinitely suspended without pay by the university in the wake of the arrest. Associate head coach Rodney Terry has served as interim head coach during Beard’s suspension and will continue as interim head coach. The Longhorns were 5-1 during Beard’s suspension.
Beard was 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. As a head coach, at Fresno State and UTEP, he had a 163-156 record with one appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
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.
Beard’s fiancée, the complainant and alleged victim of the assault, released a statement on December 23. It read that Beard did not strangle her on December 12, when Beard was arrested on felony charges for assault on a family/household member that impeded breath circulation. It also said Beard did not strangle her, and that she did not refute his claim of acting in self-defense.
This is a developing story and will be update. Stay up to date with all things Texas sports and the latest in Longhorn athletics discussion on the Inside Texas Members Only message board.
This story was updated at 1:49 p.m. to note he was fired for cause.
