By UTSA and men’s basketball coach Austin Claunch have mutually agreed to part ways, the school announced on Friday.
Claunch stepping down occurs two weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and subsequently suspended for the beginning 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. No mention of Claunch’s arrest or suspension was made in UTSA’s announcement.
"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.
Email from AD Lisa Campos to supporters of @UTSAMBBpic.twitter.com/bpwRogOgw4
— JJ Perez (@theJJPerez) November 13, 2026
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 going into his third season at UTSA, compiling a record of 19-45. (That includes the Roadrunners’ 2-1 record this season.) Last season, the Roadrunners finished 5-25 overall and 1-17 in the American Conference.
The coach was arrested on suspicion of DWI on Oct. 27, according to Corpus Christi Police records, San Antonio’s KENS reported. Officers made the arrest after conducting field sobriety tests.
Claunch was found passed out inside his vehicle in a convenience store parking lot, according to the arrest report. The vehicle was running and its driver-side door was open. An employee told police that the coach has been inside the store and appeared to be stumbling.
Prior to his stint in San Antonio, Claunch was the head coach at Nicholls State in Thibodeau, Louisiana. During his five seasons, the Colonels went 90-61 and won two Southland Conference regular-season titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Bowman joined Claunch’s staff at UTSA 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, eventually become associate head coach.
Previously, Bowman was also the director of recruiting at Clemson for three seasons and an operations assistant at Tennessee.
