Texas basketball coach Chris Beard arrested on domestic assault charge

Chris Beard, coach of the No. 7-ranked University of Texas men’s basketball team, was arrested and charged with assaulting a family member early Monday, Austin police confirmed.

Officers responded to a 911 “disturbance-urgent” call at 2:07 a.m. Monday and took Beard, 49, into custody. He is accused of choking a person at a home in the Tarrytown neighborhood in West Austin, police spokesman Brandon Jones said (via the Austin Statesman) and was booked into jail at 4:18 a.m. Monday, according to Travis County sheriff’s office jail records. He faces a third-degree felony charge of assault on a family/household member by impeding breath or circulation.

Austin police told ESPN they received a “disturbance hotshot” call, which the Austin police website defines 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.”

The university issued a statement Monday morning saying it “is aware of the situation” and is “continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal situation.”

Beard, a Texas alum who replaced Shaka Smart at the school in 2021, previously spent five years at Texas Tech, leading the team to the NCAA championship game in 2019. Beard has also coached at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, Seminole State College in Florida, McMurry University and Angelo State University in Texas, and Arkansas Little Rock.

The 7-1 Longhorns, off to their best start in years, were ranked No. 2 in the country before losing to Illinois in overtime Tuesday. They are scheduled to play Rice in a 7 p.m. home game Monday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.