Chris Beard, the head coach of the University of Texas men’s basketball team, was taken into custody early on Monday and charged with assault on a family member. He was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

According to a statement, University of Texas has suspended the second-year Longhorns coach without pay “until further notice.” 

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Who is Chris Beard?

Born on February 18, 1973, Beard is the head coach for the University of Texas’ men’s basketball team. Beard spent five seasons at Texas Tech, where he led the Red Raiders to the NCAA title game in 2019, before taking over for Shaka Smart in 2021. Beard has also served as head coach at Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State College, McMurry University, Angelo State, and Arkansas-Little Rock.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology from University of Texas in 1995. In 1998, he worked as a graduate assistant at Abilene Christian University, where he also earned a master’s degree in education.

Beard signed a seven-year contract with Texas in 2016, when he was hired with a $5 million compensation per year.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders made the longest NCAA Tournament runs in programme history when Beard was in charge. On their journey to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Game against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Red Raiders won a school-record 31 games in 2019. Due to this victory, Beard was named the AP National Coach of the Year in 2019.

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Beard led Texas Tech to their first-ever regular-season victory over the Mountaineers on January 3, 2017, as the Red Raiders upset then #7 West Virginia. The year after, he once more guided Texas Tech to a 72-71 victory over #2 WVU. His 2017–18 team broke a 17-game road losing run against the Jayhawks by becoming the first Texas Tech team to triumph at Kansas

Previously, in 2018, Beard was named the Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year. With a victory over the Purdue Boilermakers on March 23, 2018, Beard led Texas Tech to their first-ever appearance in the Elite Eight in the history of the programme. Texas Tech won a share of the Big 12 regular season championship on March 9, 2019, under the coaching of Beard.