I’ll hang up and listen…
He won’t come here. He was sick when he left FL. tOSU was his dream job, so he had to try. Rebuilding AR is not in his interest right now. Maybe 2-3 years down the road, if he decides he misses coaching, but not now. And I’m not sure he’s interested in rebuilding a program.
Lincoln Riley for 10
Do you just want to spend all our donors money? Riley is a good coach, but $10 mil per, that’s Saban and Jimbo money
I don’t care the amount of money, Lincoln Riley only takes Jerry’s money to coach the Cowboys.
Urban is only going to USC if anywhere.
Arkansas is a hard job and Mark Richt said that at the touchdown club. That is what is in the minds of coaches out there. Has it improved yet, however it is still in the SEC.
Now, up til Hatfield we were SWC. I do find it ironic that when Arkansas matched up against Ole Miss, Auburn, tennesse or Alabama in bowl games we almost always lost. There has always been a talent gap.
You want to help the U of A, well help fix the Little Rock and Pine Bluff schools. Tons of athletes never even walk onto the football field. When high school ball in Arkansas is good, Arkansas is good. We need central arkansas athletes.
I agree about the Central Arkansas athletes, but there is an issue. I graduated in the early 90’s, I’m from the Central Arkansas area (Benton), but even my SR year in HS, people that were athletic enough to go to college were looking away from AR. True statement.
I was absolutely shocked Wallace committed. I still have family at Bryant, they know both him and KK Robinson. I didn’t expect to get either based off conversations they supposedly had with both. A lot of kids in that area aren’t Hog fans. They’ll ask why are you cheering for such losers.
Don’t agree that UofA is a difficult school to coach & difficult to recruit.
We have great facilities, strong fan base, play SEC which is desirable for recruits, & proximity to DFW & North Texas where there is a strong UofA following & large # of top recruits who would come to Arkansas if the program offers them the opportunity to play NFL.
If we were still Big 12 & there was still limited access to NWA as was the case 25 yrs. ago, I would agree that UofA was not a desirable job & opportunity for recruits.
The lack of Arkansas money will never adequately fund high school football programs to enable Arkansas athletes with the right opportunities - so UofA needs to look elsewhere.
I believe Texas athletes will come to Arkansas. Yes, you better get some help in-state. And, as far as Central Arkansas, that’s a massive fix. I don’t know that I fully understand how to do it. I don’t see the money in the districts of LIttle Rock or Pine Bluff to fully fund high school football. It would be an admirable project, but not sure that anyone there has the answer on how to do it or it would have been done. It’s not just a problem there, but any other major city that has funding issues in the inner city.
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I saw an interesting article about the decline of football participation over the last decade. But, one thing I found exceedingly compelling was the number of High School football players in each State.
https://osf.io/preprints/sportrxiv/t5qsd/
From the Table on page 13 (listing 2008 & 2018 numbers):
(rounding is mine)
Arkansas = ~10,000 - 12,000
Georgia = ~32,000 - 33,000
Florida = ~40,000 - 42,000
Texas = ~160,000 - 165,000
I knew the TX numbers would be higher… but good grief this was shocking!
Clay,
My biggest concern for UofA is that alumni & donor money (for athletics, academics, building expansion, grants, etc) will dry up without some immediate turnaround in athletics, especially football with it being the cash cow. UofA needs to grow enrollment with quality students (from AR, TX …) to sustain its strong academic status & tuition/grant funding. The recent drop in enrollment is concerning & will spiral downward into a UofA financial crisis if not reversed.
In leaving Houston in the late 70s to attend UofA, found the whole state of AR rallied around the Razorbacks - no longer true perhaps due to internet, tv, & sports downturn. My son is a Sr. at UofA from Plano TX HS where 300+ top grads went to UofA when it was the “school of choice”, due to strong academics, proximity, & success in sports. Very few of my son’s classmates at UofA now attend the games & TX HS grads are looking elsewhere which will impact our TX recruiting. This past Saturday game did not help.
Not banking on Arkansas providing in-state help for athletics anytime soon. Same is true of Little Rock which is floundering while comparable cities Austin & Nashville are thriving & growing. Arkansas needs outside $ & creative ideas.
No job opening so no.
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