Texas coach Chris Beard arrested on assault charge

Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard, 49 was arrested early Monday morning after allegedly strangling a person at a home. Beard was booked at 4:18 a.m. CT with the Travis County Sheriff's Office seeking a felony third-degree assault charge, according to police records.

Police responded to a "disturbance hot shot" call at 12:15 a.m., according to an Austin Police Department spokesperson, defined as "incidents which are in progress and are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety (i.e. shootings, stabbings, rapes, riots). These calls are dispatched immediately."

Beard is in police custody. The No. 2 Longhorns are scheduled to face Rice on Monday evening. 

"The university is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard," a Texas spokesperson said in a statement. "We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process."

Texas poached Beard from Big 12 rival Texas Tech in 2021. With the Red Raiders, and during his short stint with Little Rock, Beard rocketed himself into the upper echelon of the coaching ranks as one of the sport's rising stars. Beard went 30-5 in one season at Little Rock, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, before spending five seasons at Texas Tech where he went 112-55 and competed for the national championship in 2019.

A former Longhorns team manager under Tom Penders, Beard has gotten off to a fast start at his alma mater. Texas reached the NCAA Tournament and won 22 games in his first season. Texas is 7-1 to start the 2022-23 campaign, having reached as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25.