re: Why is Arkansas still in the SEC?

That would of been an awesome fit if Arky could of joined the old Big 8.

If Arkansas joined the big 8? Oklahoma, Oklahoma state, Nebraska, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State. The campuses wouldn't be as pretty but the games would be within driving distance and the rivalries would be more heated.

However it was inevitable that the SWC and the big 8 were going to merge unless members knew that joining a conference with Texas was a bad idea.

Sounds like Arkansas lives in your head rent free.

It was a great feeling for us to be the ones who destroyed the SWC after all those years of being treated like a red headed stepchild.

I don't give a crap if folks want us here or not,we ain't leaving.

Us leaving was the beginning of the end.

Yes and it was the decline for Arkansas began as well. Ken Hatfield left and Arkansas went from a conference champion to a bottom dweller.

Arkansas recruiting was hit hard because it relied so much on Texas. They went from 14-16 players on the roster to only a handful each year. The reason as Arkansas no longer played any Texas teams as it was a huge mistake. They no longer had a presence and recruits couldn't watch them on tv unless they went to the games.

Danny Ford recruited Texas harder and it showed with nutts first two years. But they never could be a major force as other schools took advantage of the blunder.

As bad as Chad was, the only positive was that he took Texas more seriously and signed more Texas recruits than other previous coaches. When he was fired, some assistants were kept because of Texas recruiting.

I'd rather be successful recruiting Lousiana,Mississippi,Georgia and Alabama players,etc.

Texas players today are not the players of the past because of the chad type offenses and the emphasis on offense.

I'd like to get some of those big northern offensive linemen as well.

We knew coming in it was going to be tough,but it was well worth it.

Heck,look at our bowl record,win big in a weak league and get whipped in bowls.That's no fun either.

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Why is Arkansas still in the SEC?

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because they were voted in and nobody has ever involuntarily been tossed out?

I am just guessing, who knows, maybe Suwanee got kicked out?

After all the various cheating scandals of one sort or another where tossing from the conference wasn't even considered you think somebody sucking for a decade in one sport should do it?

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Why hate on Arkansas? They’re top-10 in baseball, good in basketball. They win a national championship in track nearly every year. They were great in football not too long ago and had a player finish second in the Heisman in 07 and 08. Just be happy they are currently giving us a rare breather in the difficult SECW.

Arkansas has a SEC feel to them And the state boarders TN, LA, and MS. I liked it better when we added for fit instead of tv ratings.

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I dont think many understand that it was Arkansas that started re-alignment. And when they joined the SEC, they were coming off back-to-back SWC Titles and Cotton Bowls. Also started last decade with back-to-back double-digit win seasons as well. And, shut LSU the frick out with one of our worst ever coaches, what, 5 years ago?

We'll be back. We have one of the best staffs in the conference (country) now.

The state of Texas produces in the range of 200 division 1 players each year. They are on the level of Florida, Georgia and California. Each year some of these states take turns drafting the most players in the NFL. The best teams in Arkansas history have came from Arkansas and Texas.

They have a large alumni base in the Dallas metro. It would be recruiting suicide if you ignore the state that has your largest alumni base. Arkansas never had and never will get the best players from Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Those states are not traditional recruiting foot prints. Arkansas can good players from those states but they are not going to spend time and money, hundreds of miles away when they had better success recruiting in the border states.

I would recruit these states from first to last. Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi. The rest I would spend the least a Mount of time unless said recruit was being serious and wanted to visit.