Texas men’s basketball head coach Chris Beard was fired Thursday after his school suspended him without pay after being arrested on domestic violence charges.
Associate head coach Rodney Terry has been acting head coach since Beard’s suspension and will remain in charge for the rest of the season.
Longhorns athletic director Chris Del Conte released a statement Thursday afternoon announcing the decision.
“The University of Texas parted ways with Chris Beard,” he said. “This has been a difficult situation that we have been working hard on. Today, I informed Mr. Beard of our decision to terminate him with immediate effect.”
In a letter to Beard’s attorney, Perry Minton, Jim Davis, the university’s vice president for legal affairs, wrote that Beard “has behaved unacceptably in a way that makes him unfit to serve as head coach at our university.” Whether or not prosecutors proceed with the case will not determine whether Beard engaged in school-unappropriate conduct, Davis writes.
Beard was arrested on the morning of December 12 after his fiancée, Randy Trieu, told officers that he strangled, bit, and hit him from behind when the two got into an altercation. Trew issued a statement on his Dec. 23, denying telling police that Beard strangled him.
“Chris did not choke me and I told law enforcement that night,” Trieu said in a statement. “Chris said he was acting in self-defense.” I don’t deny that, I don’t think Chris intentionally tried to harm me.”
Trieu’s statement included why she called 911, and other statements in the police report, including telling police she had bites and abrasions on her face and couldn’t breathe for about five seconds. No details were mentioned.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement to ESPN’s Myron Medcalfe Thursday morning, hours before Beard was fired.
“This matter is still under investigation and our prosecutors are evaluating all evidence, including recent statements and all evidence collected by law enforcement,” the statement said. Our office takes all allegations of domestic violence seriously and is committed to addressing the unique challenges presented to each case.”
In a statement, Minton said Beard was “devastated” by the news and claimed the university proceeded with the dismissal without questioning Beard or Trew.
Minton said he was “concerned that the University of Texas has made a terrible decision against the interests of the university, based on Twitter feeds and editorials rather than facts about a truly innocent person.” We are devastated for violating our agreement with our coaches.”
Minton said the coach was innocent, pointing to Trew’s statement in a letter sent to the college early Thursday morning, with Minton pressuring the school to keep Beard.
“Coach Beard has done nothing to violate the terms of his contract with the University of Texas,” Minton wrote, adding that he hopes the charges will be dropped.
Minton’s letter said Del Conte “repeatedly informed our team that he is confident that Chris Beard has done nothing wrong and is innocent.” It also said officials in Texas told Beard to resign or fire him.
The university said it supported Del Conte’s “pausing” before dismissing Beard, which should not have been taken as a coach’s decision to act.
“Your letter this morning makes it clear that Mr. Beard does not understand the significance of the actions he knows he has taken, or the subsequent events that have compromised his ability to effectively guide our program. I’m here.
“This lack of self-awareness is another misjudgment that makes Mr. Beard unfit to serve as head coach at our university,” Davis wrote.
Beard has been Texas’ head coach since 2021 after spending five seasons with Big 12 rivals Texas Tech. In his only full season in Austin, Baird went 22-12 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Before Beard’s arrest, Texas had a 7-1 start. Terry led the Longhorns to a fifth straight win before a home loss to Kansas State on Tuesday.
Beard was on the second season of a fully guaranteed seven-year contract. His contract includes a clause that allows him to be fired for conduct including being charged with a felony.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
