UNT assistant coach resigns amid accusations of relationship with Argyle High student
A University of North Texas assistant football coach who faces charges of having sex with a student while at Argyle High School resigned on Thursday from his job at the university in Denton, his attorney said.
Tate Wallis submitted his resignation just days after he was arrested by authorities. He’s accused of having an improper relationship with a student while he was working as an assistant football coach at Argyle High School during the 2018-19 school year.
Wallis’ resignation is effective immediately.
Wallis, who had been placed on administrative leave at UNT after his arrest, was hired as the quarterback coach at the college in January.
“He maintains his innocence and is preparing to defend himself against the pending criminal charges in the court system,” said Earl Dobson of Denton, Wallis’ attorney, in a prepared statement released Thursday. “Coach Wallis wants the best for his players and believes the ongoing legal battle would be a distraction to the players, coaches and University of North Texas supporters.”
UNT officials said Thursday they had received Wallis’ resignation and accepted it.
He was arrested Sept. 3 and released after posting $40,000 bond.
Wallis, who is married with two children, faces two counts of improper relationship between a student and an educator during his time as a coach at Argyle High School, according to Argyle school district police.
Wallis was the offensive coordinator for Argyle High from 2018-2019. The offenses allegedly occurred Oct. 4, 2019, and Dec. 3, 2019, according to Denton County jail records.
Argyle Independent School District Police Chief Paul Cairney has told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that there were multiple complaints.
“A student made an outcry to a teacher who alerted police,” Cairney said last week in an interview with the Star-Telegram.
Argyle school district police began an investigation in March. Wallis left the Argyle school district voluntarily in January to take the job at UNT.
Flower Mound police, officials with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services , the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton, and the Denton County District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation.
Wallis had spent seven seasons as a coach at Baylor University from 2009 until 2015, just before Bears head coach Art Briles was fired in 2016. Briles was fired after an external review found Baylor University failed to respond to reports of sexual assaults by football players.
The 2008 Tarleton State graduate also coached at Red Oak High School and North Forney High School, according to the UNT website.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 3:24 PM.
