Texas Fires Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Beard

Texas has fired men’s basketball coach Chris Beard after he was arrested last month on felony assault charges resulting from a domestic violence incident with his fiancee, Randi Trew.

Beard, 49, was in the second year of a seven-year deal worth more than $5 million annually.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte issued the following statement:

The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard. 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.

The school suspended Beard without pay on Dec. 12 after he was arrested by Austin police and booked on a charge of assault on a family or household member.

Per the Austin-American Statesman, the woman told police Beard “choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts.”

The charge was a third-degree felony in Texas, with a possible punishment of two to 10 years in prison.

Beard was released Dec. 13 after posting $10,000 in cash bail.

On Dec. 23, Trew said that Beard did not strangle her and she never wanted him arrested or prosecuted.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press by her attorney, Randy Leavitt, Trew said she was “deeply saddened” by the incident and said Beard was acting in self-defense from her.

“Chris and I are deeply saddened that we have brought negative attention upon our family, friends, and the University of Texas, among others. As Chris’ fiancée and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself,” Trew said in the statement.

“Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening. Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that. I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted. We appreciate everyone’s support and prayers during this difficult time.”

Beard is 237-98 in his coaching career which has included stops at Texas Tech and Texas. He led Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game.

Texas is 12-2, 5-1 since Terry took over.

Going forward, Del Conte could opt to keep Terry long-term or target a bigger name like Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Eric Musselman (Arkansas), Chris Holtmann (Ohio State), Nate Oats (Alabama), Brad Underwood (Illinois) or Grant McCasland (North Texas).