Overview
- UTSA announced Friday that it and men’s basketball head coach Austin Claunch have mutually agreed to separate effective immediately following his late-October arrest on a driving-while-intoxicated charge.
- Police in Corpus Christi reported officers found Claunch passed out in his parked Mercedes, smelled alcohol, noted slurred speech, said he failed field sobriety tests, and obtained a warrant to draw his blood after he refused voluntary breath and blood tests.
- Claunch was booked into the Nueces County Jail and released on bond, and the criminal case and the university’s internal review are still unresolved.
- Assistant coach Nick Bowman, who led the team to a 2-1 start while Claunch was suspended, will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
- Claunch was hired in 2024 and compiled losing records over two seasons at UTSA; the university said the split was mutual and that the agreement removes the need for a buyout, leaving questions about program stability and reputation going forward.