Texas gives interim coach Rodney Terry raise to $1.2M

By Jim Vertuno
AP Sports Writer

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials have more than doubled interim coach Rodney Terry’s salary to $1.2 million this season as he leads the No. 5 Longhorns after the midseason firing of former coach Chris Beard.

Terry took over the team as acting head coach when Beard was initially suspended following his arrest on a felony domestic violence charge on allegations he choked, hit and bit his fiancée.

Terry was given the interim head coach title when Beard was fired on Jan. 5. Texas (19-4, 8-3) sits in first place in the Big 12, which the Longhorns haven’t won since 2008.

Terry’s previous salary was $500,000. When the raise took effect was not immediately clear. It was first reported Thursday by the Austin American-Statesman.

“He’s doing the duties of a head coach and we chose to adjust his salary as he leads our program the rest of the year,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said Thursday.

Terry has recently increased his off-court duties, stepping into previously-contracted slots for the head coach on weekly television and radio programs.

Del Conte declined comment on the search to fill the job permanently, but has praised Terry’s results with the Longhorns (19-4, 8-3) after Beard’s suspension and firing.

Beard, who school officials said was “unfit” to continue leading the program, has put his Austin house up for sale for nearly $5 million. Online court records show a hearing in his case scheduled for March 1.

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