Beard was arrested early on Monday, December 12, and charged with assault on a family member, according to the Austin American-Statesman. He was later released on a $10,000 bond and suspended without pay “until further notice” from the university.

An affidavit states that just after midnight, an officer who responded to a 911 call was met by a woman who said she was the fiancé of Beard, and that the couple had relationship issues for several days and were upset with each other.

When the law enforcement official asked if verbal arguments had turned physical, she said yes.

“He just snapped on me and became super violent,” the woman said.

The woman said she took Beard’s reading glasses from his head and broke them, at which Beard reportedly slapped the woman’s glasses from her face as well.

Then, the affidavit states, Beard “choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts.” The report furthermore states that Beard went behind the woman, wrapping an arm around her neck and began choking her for about five seconds, hindering her breathing.

As police investigated the scene, Beard said he had proof that he was not the attacker, but he would not share the acclaimed audio recordings with authorities, the Statesman reported.

The affidavit, however, stated these injuries to the woman:

bite mark to the right forearmabrasion to the right eyebrowabrasion to the left leg from the knee to the footcut to the left thumb with dried blood

“In an additional statement, the woman complained of scratches on her back and her right eye, a bite mark to her right arm, an abrasion and bruises to her left leg, and a cut to her left hand,” the Statesman reported.

Beard is a 1995 UT graduate who spent many years in the coaching profession, including head coaching stints at Fort Scott Community College, Seminole State College, McMurry University, Angelo State and Arkansas-Little Rock before landing the head coaching spot at Texas Tech University. He led Texas Tech to the Final Four in 2019, where the Red Raiders lost the national championship that season in overtime.

Beard arrived at the Forty Acres in Austin beginning in 2021, and his Longhorns squad is opening a new arena (Moody Center) this season. He has a contract with Texas that pays about $5 million per year, on average, per the Statesman.

There’s a clause in his contract, as is all UT-Austin coaching contracts, that says he could be terminated for any “criminal charges” brought against him.

“Any conduct (a) that the University administration reasonably determines is clearly unbecoming to a Head Coach and reflects poorly on the University, the Program, or The University of Texas System; or (b) resulting in a criminal charge being brought against Head Coach involving a felony, or any crime involving theft, dishonesty, or moral turpitude.”

Texas, which is ranked No. 7 in the country with an 8-1 record, defeated Rice, 87-81, in Austin on Monday night. Assistant coach Rodney Terry has taken the reigns of the team until further notice.