Texas head coach Chris Beard was arrested early Monday morning in a domestic incident, according to Travis County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office records.
The 49-year-old Beard was booked at 4:18 a.m. local time by the Austin Police Department. A department spokesperson confirmed Monday the arrest took place a few hours earlier at a home in Tarrytown, a historic neighborhood west of downtown Austin.
“The University is aware of the situation regarding Chris Beard. We are continuing to gather information and monitoring the legal process,” Texas said in a statement Monday.
According to the sheriff’s office website, which crashed early Monday, Beard was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of “assault on a family/household member — impede breath circulation.” He was still in custody at the Travis County Jail as of mid-morning, awaiting his appearance before a judge.
Granting bail is not a requirement in arrests made involving immediate “threat to life” circumstances in Texas, which is the description applied to the emergency dispatch on Monday. If convicted, Beard could face 10 years in prison.
The jail record lists Beard, who is in his second season as Texas head coach, as the subject for a call dispatch recorded at 2:07 a.m. to 911 for an urgent disturbance.
Beard spent five seasons at Texas Tech before taking over the Longhorns program. He led the Red Raiders to the national championship game in 2019, where they lost to Virginia, 85-77 in overtime.
Texas hired him in July 2021 and signed him to a seven-year, $35 million contract. He has a 29-13 record with the program.
The Longhorns (7-1) lost for the first time this season last week in New York when No. 17 Illinois pulled off an upset in overtime.
Texas entered Monday ranked No. 2 in last week’s top 25 poll, the highest position for the program since 2010.
The Longhorns are scheduled to host Rice (6-2) on Monday night.
–Field Level Media
