Chris Beard's tenure as Texas' Basketball Head Coach is over. On January 5, 2023, Texas has decided to fire Chris Beard while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from the Dec. 12, 2022 incident involving his fiancée. Briefly recalling from Dec. 12, 2022, Beard got into an argument with his fiancée and was arrested and charged with assault on a member of a family or household by impeding breath circulation, a third-degree felony. After the arrest, Texas indefinitely suspended Beard without pay and began an internal investigation.
Texas AD Chris Del Conte released the following statement regarding the decision:
"The University of Texas has parted ways with Chris Beard," he said. "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."
Jim Davis, Texas' vice president of legal affairs, wrote in a letter to Beard's attorney, Perry Minton, that Beard engaged in "unacceptable behavior that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university.'' Whether prosecutors continue with the case does not determine whether Beard engaged in conduct unbecoming of the school, Davis wrote.
Beard's first head coaching job was at McMurry, then coached in Division II at Angelo State. He finally made the jump to Division I when he became the head coach at Little Rock for the 2015-16 season. There, his team upset Purdue in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament before losing to Iowa State in the second round. Little Rock finished the 2015-16 season as the Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament champions with a 17-3 record in Sun Belt play, and 30-5 overall.
After one season at Little Rock, Beard became the head coach at Texas Tech. He was familiar with Lubbock, TX, as he previously was there as an associate head coach under Bob Knight from 2001-08 and Bob's son, Pat Knight from 2008-11. While as head coach at Texas Tech, he took the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He took Texas Tech to their first Elite Eight appearance in the 2017-18 season, but lost to Villanova in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The 2017-18 team finished 11-7 in Big 12 play, and 27-10 overall. His successful season at Texas Tech came in the 2018-19 season. There, he took the Red Raiders to their first Final Four appearance, but lost in an overtime thriller to Virginia in the 2019 National Championship Game. The 2018-19 team shared the Big 12 regular season title with Kansas State and finished 14-4 in Big 12 play, and 31-7 overall. Texas Tech would then go 9-9 in Big 12 play, and 18-13 overall in the 2019-20 season (where the NCAA Tournament was cancelled), then 9-8 in Big 12 play, and 18-11 overall with a second round appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament in the 2020-21 season under Chris Beard.
Texas hired Beard away from Texas Tech on April 1, 2021, six days after Shaka Smart left to become the head coach at Marquette. During Beard's first season as the head coach in Texas basketball, he has taken his team to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. They were able to beat Virginia Tech for their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2014, before losing to Purdue in the second round. Texas finished the 2021-22 season 10-8 in the Big 12, and 22-12 overall.
Prior to the incident, Beard went 7-1 as he coached in his second season at Texas. Since Beard's arrest and suspension, Rodney Terry served as the interim head coach for Texas. Terry would serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the 2022-23 season now that Beard has been fired. So far, he has gone 5-1 overall, and 1-1 in Big 12 play since Beard was suspended. The most recent loss came against Kansas State, where 219 points were scored between the two teams (with Kansas State winning in Austin 116-103), the third most points scored between two teams in Big 12 basketball history.
Beard was fired with five years remaining on his current seven-year contract with Texas. His contract includes a provision under which he can be fired for cause for conduct that includes being charged with a felony.
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