AUSTIN, Texas — Chris Beard, who coached Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game and was hired away by Texas with expectations he’d elevate his alma mater to the same elite level, was arrested early Monday on a felony family violence charge after a woman told police he strangled and bit her.
The school suspended Beard without pay “until further notice” and said assistant Rodney Terry would coach the No. 7 Longhorns against Rice on Monday night.
Beard was arrested by Austin police and booked at the Travis County jail at 4:18 a.m. on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded. The charge is a third-degree felony in Texas, with a possible punishment of 2 to 10 years in prison.
According to the arrest affidavit first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, the woman told police she is his fiance and they have been in a relationship for six years. She said they had been in an argument where she broke his glasses before he “just snapped on me and became super violent.”
According to the affidavit, the woman told police “he choked me, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around and going nuts.”
She told police Beard choked her from behind with his arm around her neck and she couldn’t breathe for about five seconds. Police say she had a bite mark on her right arm and an abrasion to her right temple among other visible injuries.
When questioned by police, Beard said he had audio recordings of the incident that would show he was not the primary aggressor. But he refused to share them with officers, police said.
Beard went before a magistrate judge for his bond hearing, wearing jailhouse black-and-grey stripes and his hands cuffed in front at his waist. Beard was told he could communicate with the woman but not in a threatening manner, was ordered to stay 200 yards away from the residence where police were called and was told he is barred from possessing a firearm.
Beard nodded his head and answered “yes, sir” several times when addressing the judge. Jail records show Beard posted $10,000 bond. He didn’t answer questions when he left the jail with his attorney Perry Minton.
Minton declined comment but earlier told the American-Statesman the coach is innocent.
“He should never have been arrested,” Minton told the newspaper. “The complainant wants him released immediately and all charges dismissed. It is truly inconceivable.”
It wasn’t immediately known if the woman has an attorney. She was identified in the affidavit, but The Associated Press does not typically identify alleged victims of extreme violence without their consent.
“The university takes matters of interpersonal violence involving members of its community seriously,” the school said in announcing Beard’s suspension. It did not commit to Terry as the acting coach beyond Monday night. Terry was a head coach at UTEP (2018-21) and Fresno State (2011-18).
Beard is in his second season of a seven-year guaranteed contract that pays him more than $5 million per year. Before that, he was 112-55 in five seasons with the Red Raiders. He was named The Associated Press coach of the year in 2019 as he guided Texas Tech to a 31-7 finish and lost in an overtime thriller to Virginia in the national championship game.
His departure for Texas – a deal reached after a meeting with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte that included a McDonald’s breakfast an hour’s drive north of Lubbock – left Texas Tech officials frustrated.
Beard said it was a difficult move, but he could not turn down a chance to coach at his alma mater, where he was a student assistant three decades ago. Earlier this year, he led Texas to a first-round victory over Virginia Tech that was the Longhorns’ first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.
Beard’s contract includes a provision under which he can be fired for cause for conduct the administration reasonably determines reflects poorly on the coach, program, school or university system. That includes being charged with a felony. University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife did not return a message seeking comment.
POLL: Purdue picked up wins over West Virginia, No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 12 Duke in consecutive weeks to win the Phil Knight Legacy tournament earlier in the season.
Wins over Hofstra and Nebraska last week, combined with a loss by Houston, were enough to move the Boilermakers to No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
Purdue moved up three spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released on Monday, receiving 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Virginia received 19 first-place votes to move up a spot, No. 3 Connecticut received 15 and No. 6 Tennessee also got one.
Alabama and Houston rounded out the top five.
Purdue (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten) has made a steady climb after being unranked in the preseason, moving up to No. 5 by winning the Legacy tourney in Oregon. The Boilermakers were No. 4 last week, then blew out Hofstra and scratched out a 65-62 overtime win over Nebraska despite poor shooting and a quiet scoring afternoon by 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey.
No. 18 Mississippi had the biggest jump in the poll, moving up five spots after beating Minnesota.
No. 19 Auburn had the biggest drop, losing eight spots following an 82-73 loss to Memphis. No. 20 Maryland dropped with consecutive losses to No. 22 Wisconsin and No. 6 Tennessee.
No. 7 Texas lost a chance to move up to No. 1 after its overtime loss to Illinois, dropping five spots instead.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
POLL: Kansas has cracked The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time in nearly 10 years after a huge win while South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team.
The 22nd-ranked Jayhawks routed then 12th-ranked Arizona by 27 points on the road to break into the AP Top 25.
The top five teams remained the same with the Gamecocks followed by Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame in voting by a 28-member national media panel.
Virginia Tech was sixth and will host the Fighting Irish on Sunday. Fellow ACC schools North Carolina and N.C. State were seventh and eighth.
UConn, which is beset with injuries, fell three places to ninth after losing at Maryland on Sunday. The Terrapins climbed five spots to 15th. UCLA moved up three spots to 10th.
FOOTBALL
N.C. STATE: North Carolina State has hired Robert Anae as offensive coordinator after the departure of Tim Beck to become head coach at Coastal Carolina.
The school announced the arrival of Anae along with the hiring of Garett Tujague as offensive line coach.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: Coach Mike Leach was hospitalized in critical condition, the day after what the university called “a personal health issue” at his home in Starkville forced him to be airlifted to a medical facility in Jackson.
Leach was admitted Sunday to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, about 125 miles from the Mississippi State campus.
UMMC spokesman Marc Rolph said Monday in a text message to AP that Leach was listed in critical condition. The 61-year-old Leach was initially treated at Oktibbeha County Hospital in Starkville, the university said.
“Mike’s family is with him and appreciates the overwhelming expressions of love and support for the coach, but also requests that their family’s privacy be respected at this time,” the school said Monday.
Leach is in his third season at Mississippi State, with a 19-17 record. He acknowledged have a bout with pneumonia late in the season that was causing a persistent cough, but it was unclear whether his recent illness was related to his hospitalization.
MEN’S SOCCER
SYRACUSE 7, INDIANA 6: Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy stopped two shots in an eight-round shootout and Amferny Sinclair scored the winner as No. 3 seed Syracuse beat 13th-seeded Indiana in a shootout to win the NCAA College Cup championship for the first time in program history.
It was the longest penalty shootout in the history of the College Cup.
Indiana tied it at 2-all in the 80th minute before the title game went to overtime for the sixth time in nine years. After two scoreless 10-minute overtime sessions, each goalkeeper had a diving save in the second round before the next 10 players scored.
Syracuse (19-2-4) was playing in its first men’s soccer title match after setting a program record in the semifinals with its 18th win. The Orange became just the second team in ACC history to win its division, conference tournament and national championship in a single season – joining North Carolina in 2011.
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