It was late, somewhere around 2:00 a.m. in the Tarrytown neighborhood of Austin, when the flashing lights of police cruisers pulled up to the home of one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball. That night, December 12, 2022, changed everything for Randi Trew and Chris Beard. It wasn't just a domestic dispute. It was the beginning of a messy, public unraveling of a relationship and a career that seemed, until that moment, to be on an unstoppable upward trajectory.
If you’ve followed the story, you know the broad strokes. Beard was the golden boy of Texas basketball, the alum who came home to restore the Longhorns to glory. Randi Trew was his fiancée, a respected volleyball coach in her own right. Then came the 911 call, the arrest for a third-degree felony, and the eventual firing that shocked the sports world. But the middle part—the part where the charges were dropped and the story changed—is where things get complicated. Honestly, it’s a case study in how the public eye and the legal system collide.
The Night Everything Broke
The initial police report was harrowing. According to the arrest affidavit, Trew told officers that Beard had strangled her, bitten her, and thrown her off a bed. Police noted visible marks: a bite mark on her arm, a cut on her thumb, and abrasions on her face. For three weeks, Chris Beard sat in a sort of professional purgatory while the University of Texas did its own digging.
Then, on January 5, 2023, Texas pulled the trigger. They fired him. They didn't wait for a trial. To them, the "unfit to lead" label was already stuck. But while the university was closing the door, the legal case was taking a sharp turn in the opposite direction.
The Statement That Changed the Narrative
On December 23, just before Christmas, Randi Trew released a statement through her attorney that basically flipped the script. She didn't just walk back the "strangulation" claim; she denied it happened at all.
Trew admitted that she was the one who initiated the "physical struggle" by breaking Beard’s reading glasses out of frustration. She explicitly stated, "Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening." She also mentioned that Beard told police he was acting in self-defense, a claim she said she did not refute. It was a stunning reversal. Suddenly, the "victim" was the primary advocate for the "aggressor."
Why the Charges Against Chris Beard Were Dropped
Fast forward to February 15, 2023. Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that his office was moving to dismiss the case. This wasn't because Beard was "proven innocent" in a courtroom, but because the DA's office felt they couldn't prove the felony beyond a reasonable doubt.
They cited several reasons:
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- Trew’s refusal to participate: Without the primary witness’s testimony, a domestic violence case is nearly impossible to win.
- The recanted statement: Trew’s public denial of the strangulation allegations made her initial statements to police inadmissible or at least highly questionable to a jury.
- Review of evidence: After looking at all the physical evidence and the evolving story, the DA’s office determined the "felony offense cannot be proven."
It was a legal win for Beard, but the damage to his reputation in Austin was permanent. You can't just un-ring that bell. Texas had already moved on to Rodney Terry, and Beard was suddenly a coach without a team, despite his record.
Where Are Randi Trew and Chris Beard Now?
If you're wondering if they stayed together, the answer is a bit murky. While Trew remained his "biggest supporter" during the legal fallout, the public mentions of their relationship have largely gone quiet. Beard moved on to Oxford, Mississippi, to take the head coaching job at Ole Miss in March 2023. It was a hire that sparked a lot of debate. Some fans were thrilled to get a top-tier coach; others were disgusted by the baggage.
Randi Trew has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since the dismissal. A former volleyball player at Texas Tech and a successful coach at Frenship High School, her professional life was inevitably touched by the scandal. In the coaching world, reputations are everything. Whether the two are still a couple in 2026 remains a private matter, as they've both scrubbed much of their shared history from public social media profiles.
The Return to Austin
As we sit here in 2026, the story is coming full circle. Chris Beard’s Ole Miss Rebels are scheduled to face the Texas Longhorns in Austin on February 7, 2026. This isn't just another game. It’s the first time Beard will step foot back in the Moody Center—the building he helped open—since he was led away in handcuffs.
The atmosphere is expected to be electric, and not necessarily in a good way. Texas fans are divided. Some remember the wins; others can't forget the headlines involving Randi Trew and Chris Beard.
What This Story Teaches Us About Modern Sports
This saga is a mess. There’s no other way to put it. It highlights the tension between "innocent until proven guilty" and the moral standards universities hold their leaders to. Texas decided that even if the charges didn't stick, the existence of the incident was enough to terminate him for cause.
Ole Miss took the opposite view. They looked at the dismissed charges, talked to the parties involved, and decided Beard deserved a second chance. He’s been successful there, too. In 2025, he led the Rebels to a Sweet 16 and snagged the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award. He even stayed put at Ole Miss despite rumors of a move to Texas A&M, landing a massive raise and a top-five NIL budget in the SEC.
Actionable Insights and Takeaways
If you’re following this case or similar high-profile sports scandals, here is how to navigate the information:
- Look at the Court Filings, Not Just Headlines: The initial news report and the final legal outcome are often two different stories. The "affidavit" is just one side of the story; the "dismissal" is the legal conclusion.
- Understand "For Cause" Firing: A coach can be fired for "conduct unbecoming" or bringing "negative attention" to a school, even if they aren't convicted of a crime. This is why Beard lost the Texas job despite the charges being dropped.
- Watch the Return Game: If you want to see the cultural impact of this event, watch the Ole Miss vs. Texas game in February 2026. The crowd reaction will tell you exactly how the public has processed the Randi Trew and Chris Beard incident.
The legal case is closed. The charges are gone. But in the world of college sports, the court of public opinion never really adjourns.
To stay updated on the upcoming matchup and the latest roster changes for the Rebels and Longhorns, you should check the official SEC schedule and follow local Austin sports journalists who have tracked the relationship between these two programs since the 2022 incident.