Open Letter to Arkansas' Board of Trustees Regarding State of Razorback Football

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Razorback fans aren't mad, they're seething at the continued failures of the athletic department when it comes to football.

As of Tuesday, there was a photo circulating around social media of a support staff member actively supporting an opponent while on payroll at Arkansas. Of course he was supporting his alma mater, but it's completely tone deaf to the current state of Arkansas' football program.

Optics don't look good and it's only fueling the wildfire burning within the Razorbacks fanbase and they're sick and tired of not being listened to.

After more than a decade of losing, Razorback fans are beginning to question whether the people overseeing the program understand how much has been lost.

I've been a fan. In fact, my earliest memory includes my parents taking me to the stadium and being in awe looking over the old Broyles Center prior to the renovation to 72,000 seats in 2001. It was right around sunset and to that point it was the biggest building I've ever seen.

Former Arkansas Razorbacks athletic director and coach Frank Broyles is honored with members of the 1964 national championship team before a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Alabama defeated Arkansas 14-13. | Beth Hall-Imagn Images

Might as well been the size of the Empire State Building to a 9-year-old, but I couldn't believe what I saw. I remember the 2000 Cotton Bowl romp of Texas, the seven overtime bouts with Ole Miss and Kentucky, and watching Darren McFadden lead the Razorbacks to 10 straight wins, which remains the longest win streak for Arkansas in the SEC.

I remember the chills on my neck when all the fans sang "Pour Some Sugar On Me" after seeing Arkansas defeat LSU 31-23 in Little Rock to make their first BCS bowl game. The last truly great memory of Razorback football was Joe Adams skipping to the endzone during the 2012 Cotton Bowl against Kansas State.

There was so much pride from our state.

Razorback football had an overall record of 109-65 from 1998-2011 with nine seasons of eight wins, six with at least nine wins, and three years with at least 10 wins. In that span, Arkansas lost a total of 22 games by more than 20 points but were still mostly competitive in them outside of a road trip to USC in 2005 (70-17).

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino during spring practice drills in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

The excitement of the Bret Bielema hire felt like it would sustain the Razorbacks near the top of the SEC. Fans will probably fill my mentions when they read that my initial reaction to the Chad Morris hire was positive because he could recruit well enough to restock the program.

The truth is, Arkansas is finally irrelevant on the national stage with a total of 104 losses coming since 2012, 54 of those losses are by double-digits, and 37 losses of 20 or more points.

Even with the highlight of Sam Pittman's tenure going 9-4 in 2021, things went south in a hurry, and when it did, so did the fan support. Two games into the Ryan Silverfield tenure, it doesn't look like a rebound is coming anytime soon, but the warning signs were there, and even I didn't want to accept it.

And it's not his fault, but the struggles of the football program are rooted deeper than who the head coach is. The athletic department needs a deep systematic cleansing and it's not going to happen until a prideful fanbase, outside of the vocals on social media, decide to stop going to games, and buying the merchandise.

Athletics director Hunter Yurachek beams with pride himself about operating his whole department without a deficit. However, any true businessman knows that making even more money takes spending a little bit more to get there.

Going the cheap way out does no one any favors.

Earlier this year, university leadership announced the new ALL IN Fund that is designated completely to football and new coach Ryan Silverfield. Just a month before the season, it was announced that the program had raised $30 million, increasing the goal now to $50 million.

The landmark stadium naming rights contract with CommunityAmerica went into effect on June 30, 2026 but the credit union might be having second thoughts on the investment after seeing the product put on the field through two weeks.

If Arkansas recognizes that need for more cash then why is Arkansas still looking uncompetitive against a program that it had more resources than in Utah? If competing in the current state of college football matters, then a greater return on investment should matter more than what the results are showing on the field right now.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield scans the crowd of Rice-Eccles Stadium ahead of its game against the Utah Utes on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. | Hogs on SI Images

All the fans want is to see the Arkansas football program thrive again.

If it hasn't become apparent yet, they aren't willing to give money they've worked hard for to a captain of a sinking ship.

These good people want hope and a reason to buy stock into the Razorbacks and aren't even being given that.

To each member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustee, are we going to let Arkansas' rich tradition in football continue to collect dust or take a stand against what this whole thing has become.

The Razorbacks are a national laughingstock in college football. Fans are sick of it, and so are the men and women who cover them.

And if a walk-out of Razorback Stadium won't do it, then what will it take to see positive changes moving forward? We're all waiting patiently for the plan.

What is the standard? What does the University of Arkansas system believe its football program should be?

Arkansas Razorbacks fan reacts to a call during the second quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Razorback Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Because the people buying tickets, donating money, purchasing merchandise and driving from every corner of this state every Saturday in the fall deserve an answer beyond empty promises that things are going to get better.

Yurachek said it himself when he formally announced Bobby Petrino as interim coach following the Notre Dame loss last season: "Our football program is far too important to the health of our athletic program for us to take it for granted."

He's right, let's not take it for granted, but it's still looking that way.

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