re: Will Arkansas ever be relevant in any sport besides track?

I started this thread just for you Lat

Happy birthday kid.

Happy Birthday dude

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A nice bday present, thank you

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So you can finally vote. Congrats.

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do you fear that instead of being the third best team in the West that you will now always be the fourth best?

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They may not even be 4th in the near future considering Ole Miss and MSU are both solid teams, and Auburn will be back.

Looking at their current recruiting class, the near future is dim.

I would consider 3 straight bowl games, 9 wins season, 7 wins, and 8 wins solid. Not great, but also not bad either. Definitely good enough to place anywhere from 3rd to 5th in the West depending on other teams performances.

Our near future looks better than Arkansas'.

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CtotheVrzrbck

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So no comment on my proof?

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I can go to PG-13 movies by myself

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My guess is 25

First of all, I do not consider The University of Arkansas or its sports programs to be irrelevent, ever, but my criteria for relevancy doesn't include, exclusively, being in contention for a national championship every year, in every sport. Although that would be nice, it is highly improbable, especially for a school and state the size of U of A & Arkansas, which have to compete with the best recruiting schools in the country and the best & most talented high school athletes, in all sports, who usually go on to play for said universities. That being said, we usually end up doing pretty well, overall, despite these major factors; it just might take a little longer than some others to get the shite together.

Arkansas' track program speaks for itself, as you pointed out, but U of A baseball doesn't exactly suck (presently ranked #1 in the preseason USA Today Sports Coaches' Poll), and although the basketball team does at this moment, it did as well the first couple of years under Coach Nolan Richardson (NCAA Hall of Fame Coach and only coach ever to win all three collegiate tournaments), who by his third season took us to the NCAA tourney, and went back 13 of the next 15 seasons with three Final Four appearances, beating Duke in 1994 for the National Championship, and the following year getting us back to the finals. He also led the Hogs to three SWC Championships, three SWC Tournament Championships, two SEC Championships, four SEC West Championships, and an SEC Tournament Championship. Coach Mike Anderson, a 17-year assistant of Richardson's at Arkansas, is just in his second season as head coach. Give him a minute.

With all of Arkansas' basketball success under Coach Richardson, Coach Eddie Sutton, another NCAA Hall of Fame basketball coach for U of A, sometimes seems to get overshadowed. During Coach Sutton's reign, Arkansas went to the NCAA tournament 9 out of his 11 seasons, with a Final Four, an Elite Eight, and two Sweet Sixteen appearances. We also won four SWC Championships and three SWC Tournaments. His overall record of 260-75 & conference record of 139-35 while with the Hogs isn't too bad. I realize we were not in the SEC at the time Sutton was our coach, but since we're discussing Arkansas' relevancy, I thought it warranted a mention.

As for the Razorbacks' football program, it seems that people tend to forget about our successes, or underestimate us, as soon as we stumble a bit, which is something that is going to happen to all teams at some point, no matter how much they consider themselves to be invincible.

Since you mentioned Arkansas' NCAA Football National Championship in 1964, I'll go from that point forward and mention some additional Razorback football successes, for relevance.

- Frank Broyles (1958-1976)- overall record: 144-58-5; one National Championship; seven SWC Championships; 10 bowl appearances.

- Lou Holtz (1977-1983)- overall record: 60-21-2; one SWC Championship; six consecutive bowl appearances, including a 31-6 win in the Orange Bowl over #2 Oklahoma, who was on its way to a National Championship if successful in defeating Arkansas. They were not.

- Ken Hatfield (1984-1989)- overall record: 55-17-1; two SWC Championships; six bowl appearances.

- Danny Ford (1993-1997)- overall record: 26-30-1; Although Ford had a losing record at U of A, he lead the Hogs to a 1995 SEC West title, their first in the SEC.

- Houston Nutt (1998-2007)- overall record: 75-46; twice SEC West Co-Champions & once outright SEC West Champion; eight bowl appearances out of his ten seasons. 1998 football News National Coach of the Year. Darrin McFadden, Arkansas running back, was nominated for back-to-back Heisman Trophies (2006 & 2007), finishing second in the voting both years.

- Bobby Petrino (2008-2011)- overall record: 34-17; three bowl appearances out of his four seasons, including one BCS bowl, the Sugar Bowl. Finished the 2011 season with an 11-2 record and a #5 national ranking.


I certainly am not playing down the shitstorm involving Coach Petrino & AD Long nor the subsequent shitshow that was this past season under Smith, but shite happens, and you have to pick up the pieces and move forward as best as you can, which is what the U of A is attempting to do with the hiring of Coach Bielema. We'll just have to wait & see.

So, with some background given pertaining to the University of Arkansas' relevance, I'll answer, more specifically, your questions posed.

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Will Arkansas ever be relevant in any sport besides track?

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We have been pretty relevant in many sports for quite sometime.

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What are your realistic expectations for this season?

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It will be a typical building and rebuilding season for Coach Bielema and Razorback football. I am not one of those fans with unrealistic expectations touting all sorts ludicrous visions of glory the first, or even second seasons. I do; however, have every confidence that given a chance, Coach Bielema will be successful at the U of A. His style of offense, with emphasis on a dominant OL and great running backs, is one that wins football games. What I stated earlier concerning Coach Anderson applies to Coach Bielema, as well. Give him a minute.

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With the emergence of aTm in the SEC West, do you fear that instead of being the third best team in the West that you will now always be the fourth best?

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Arkansas has a lot of history and tradition with Texas A&M from the days of the SWC. I believe the vast majority of Razorbacks, including myself, are very excited that A&M has joined us, and that we get to play them again, annually. A&M is a great school with much football tradition and pride, as is U of A, and it was always an exciting experience going up against them before. I don't expect it to be much different, now.

As for your statement about Arkansas' fear of always being third or fourth in the West, right now, Arkansas is concerned with its own program, as it should be. Making the transition to a new head coach with new philosophies and concentrating on that and becoming the best team we can be are the priorities at the moment. Wherever the chips fall in the standings is where they fall. Like I said, I'm not one with ridiculous expectations of winning the West the first season under any new head coach, but I do believe Arkansas will be a viable contender in the near future, and I know that we thrive when we are underestimated. It makes jumping up and biting someone in the arse, unexpectedly, that much more fun, and winning that much sweeter.