Texas releases statement following Chris Beard's arrest

According to records from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Texas men’s basketball coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning at 4:18 a.m. in Austin for “Assault on a family/household member.” He also apparently was preventing the victim from breathing. Beard was booked with a third degree felony.

Later on Monday, Texas Athletics issued a statement regarding the situation around Chris Beard. Here was that:

“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process.”

Beard, 49 years old, is in his second season as the head coach of the Texas men’s program. He took the job in the summer of 2021 after a successful few years with Texas Tech. After an up-and-down year in 2021-22, which featured an NCAA Tournament appearance, Beard got a number of returners back and landed a recruiting haul with a few five-stars. The result? A team that’s 7-1 and ranked inside the top-5 of the AP Poll.

One would have to assume there will be fallout from this ordeal, with Beard likely receiving some punishment in between a small suspension and an outright firing. Of course, details of the situation are going to matter when it comes to disciplining Beard, so it could be some time before this issue is resolved and Texas is able to make a decision on its head coach.

The Longhorns are scheduled to play Rice at 8 pm ET in the Erwin Events Center in Austin, Texas.