Texas Coach Chris Beard Arrested on Felony Charge

Longhorn leader with numerous ties to Arkansas reportedly attacked family member

allHOGS Staff | Dec 12, 2022

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FRISCO, Texas – If the Arkansas Razorbacks are going to get a second crack at the Texas Longhorns this year in the NCAA tournament, it might be without the involvement of head coach Chris Beard.

Sports Illustrated reported earlier that morning that Beard has been arrested in Travis County on a third degree felony charge for apparently choking a family member.

The police report indicates "assault on a family/household member" by way of "impeding breath circulation."

The arrest came at 4:18 a.m.

Beard is being held at the Travis County jail. At this time, no bail has been set.

Beard led Arkansas-Little Rock to a 30-5 record in his lone season with the Trojans before going moving on to Texas Tech.

There he led the Red Raiders to the national championship game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

COVID kept Beard from trying to lead Texas Tech back to the finals the following season. When the NCAA Tournament resumed in 2021, his Red Raiders were upset by an upstart Arkansas Razorback team, 68-66, in the second round.

That loss brought an end to Beard's time when he made the controversial move to the rival Texas Longhorns. His first trip to Lubbock was a brutal one as fans were relentless in their verbal abuse.

Hints that Beard has Texas on the right track came in a special exhibition game blowout over Arkansas to open the Moody Center as the Longhorns' new basketball arena.

Texas had risen to No. 2 in the country before losing to No. 17 Illinois in overtime in the Jimmy V Classic.

Duncanville's Ron Holland, ESPN's No. 10 recruit from Duncanville, Texas, signed with Texas over Arkansas just a few weeks ago.

Should Beard be fired as a result of the outcome of his charges, it will be interesting to see whether the latest recruiting class that also includes No. 25 recruit A.J. Johnson of California will actually make it to campus in Austin.