Texas Coach Chris Beard Charged With Assaulting Family Member
Police in Austin have confirmed that Texas Longhorns coach Chris Beard has been arrested for assaulting a family member.
KVUE investigative reporter Tony Plohetski tweeted that the incident occurred early Monday morning.
ESPN reported that police had received a "hotshot" call about the incident. A hotschot call means that the incident is in progress and someone is in danger.
"He is in our custody," Kristen Dark, senior public information officer for Travis County Sheriff's Office told ESPN. "I can confirm he is the person who is in our booking process."
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Beard has been charged with a third-degree felony charge of assault on a family/household member-impede breath circulation.
The University of Texas released a statement on the matter, saying that they are continuing to gather details on the incident.
"The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process," the statement says, per ESPN.
Before his stint in Austin, he had found success at Texas Tech, where in 2019 he was Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year.
After that stellar season which culminated in a trip to the Final Four, Beard signed a 6-year extension worth $4.5 million annually. That made him the third-highest-paid coach in college basketball.
However, just two years later, Beard took the job as the 25th head coach in Longhorns history in April 2021.
It was a full-circle moment as Beard is an alumnus and he served as the team's student manager while attending.
In his first season with the team, Bear led the Longhorns to a 22-12 record. That was good enough for 4th in the Big 12, and for No. 25 in the final ranking of the season.
This season, the Beard-led Longhorns are off to a hot 7-1 start and were ranked No.2 in the latest AP poll.
OutKick will have more on Beard's arrest as additional details become available.
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