UTSA and Austin Claunch Mutually Part Ways After DWI Arrest and Suspension; Nick Bowman Named Interim Coach

UTSA and men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch have mutually agreed to separate, the school announced Friday.

The parting comes two weeks after Claunch was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and subsequently suspended for the start of the Roadrunners’ 2026-27 season.

Nick Bowman, an assistant who served as acting head coach during Claunch’s suspension, has been named interim head coach. UTSA’s announcement did not mention Claunch’s arrest or suspension.

“After thoughtful discussions about the future of the program, we mutually agreed that this was the right time for a transition,” UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos said in a statement.

“We thank Coach Claunch for his efforts over the last two years and wish him nothing but the best in the future. We look forward to this season with Nick Bowman at the helm,” she added.

Under Bowman, the Roadrunners have won their past two games, defeating VMI and Seattle University. UTSA lost its season opener to San Jose State.

Claunch was in his third season at UTSA, compiling a 19-45 record that includes the Roadrunners’ 2-1 start this season. Last season, UTSA finished 5-25 overall and 1-17 in the American Conference.

Claunch was arrested on suspicion of DWI on Oct. 27, according to Corpus Christi Police records cited by San Antonio’s KENS. Officers made the arrest after conducting field sobriety tests.

According to the arrest report, Claunch was found passed out inside his vehicle in a convenience store parking lot. The vehicle was running and its driver-side door was open. An employee told police that Claunch had been inside the store and appeared to be stumbling.

Before his tenure in San Antonio, Claunch was the head coach at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana. During five seasons there, the Colonels went 90-61 and won two Southland Conference regular-season titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Bowman joined Claunch’s UTSA staff for the 2024-25 season after working as the lead assistant and recruiting coordinator at the University of New Orleans—now LSU New Orleans—during the 2023-24 campaign. Before that, he was an assistant under Claunch at Nicholls State for five seasons and eventually became associate head coach.

Bowman also previously served as director of recruiting at Clemson for three seasons and as an operations assistant at Tennessee.

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