Paul Finebaum Fires Back at SEC AD For Having 'One of the Worst Programs'

ESPN announcer Paul Finebaum before the SEC Championship game. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The SEC just had its Spring meetings, and there were some interesting things said during that time.

One of those comments was by Arkansas Razorbacks vice chancellor and director of athletics Hunter Yurachek. He elected to call out ESPN on social media for a scheduling issue.

The issue stems from the Razorbacks schedule. Arkansas is scheduled to play at Utah at 10:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 12. Then at home against Georgia at noon ET on Sept. 19. Yurachek wrote in the statement that the schedule is “a genuine welfare issue for the young men who represent our program.” He said it provides a competitive disadvantage.

“The assigned schedule will cost our student-athletes nearly a full day of rest and recovery that they would otherwise have available to them,” Yurachek wrote.

“This is not simply a competitive disadvantage; it is a genuine welfare issue for the young men who represent our program and contribute greatly to the bottom line of our television partners.”

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield during his introductory press conference with vice chancellor and director of athletics Hunter Yurachek. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

ESPN's Paul Finebaum took issue with those comments on "The Paul Finebaum Show." He said while he agrees that the schedule isn't good for them, he needs to have his focus elsewhere.

"He would have been an interesting guest (Wednesday) after he loaded up on the SEC about the scheduling," Finebaum said.

"Never seen him turn down an ESPN check, but he certainly had a lot to say. I'd be more concerned about my football program right now than I would be criticizing ESPN... It's not a good schedule, I agree. But he's had one of the worst programs in the SEC in the last couple of years."

The thing is, Yurachek does have his focus on bettering the program. He made a coaching change, going from Sam Pittman to Ryan Silverfield. Only time will tell if that will make them better, but in his mind, it is a move that needed to be done and one that should upgrade the program.

Also, having an issue with the schedule due to a competitive disadvantage is another way to show that he does care about fixing the program. If he didn't care about the program, he wouldn't care about the scheduling.

So, Finebaum is wrong to believe that this is Yurachek, not focused on making the necessary improvements.

However, Finebaum is correct in stating that Arkansas is one of the worst programs in the SEC. Not including the newest members of the SEC in Oklahoma and Texas, Arkansas has the fewest wins in the SEC since 2012, with 69.

The Razorbacks were once a proud football program, but have since fallen on hard times in the conference. It's up to Yurachek and Silverfield to figure things out and get them back on track.