FAYETTEVILLE — History has a way of repeating itself.
On Nov. 9, 2017, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees did not take any action in regard to then-UA athletic director Jeff Long, who was under scrutiny amidst Arkansas’ struggles on the gridiron. Two days later, Arkansas traveled to Baton Rouge and was trounced by No. 17 LSU in a 33-10 loss.
On Thursday, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees did not take action in regard to UA athletic director Hunter Yurachek, who is under scrutiny amidst Arkansas’ struggles on the gridiron. On Saturday, the Razorbacks traveled to College Station and were trounced by Texas A&M in a 34-7 loss.
It was not Hunter Yurachek who threw a demoralizing interception on the first possession of Saturday’s game, nor was it Yurachek who allowed 12 players to be on the field during a Texas A&M field goal attempt.
But it was Yurachek who told the state of Arkansas in December that the Razorbacks would have more financial resources at their disposal, which turned out to not be the case.
It was Yurachek who retained Sam Pittman even after a 4-8 2023 season and a disappointing 7-6 campaign in 2024. When Pittman was finally fired after Arkansas’ 2-3 start to 2025, Yurachek had to look for his successor during a coaching cycle littered with prestigious programs such as Auburn, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech, among others, also searching for new hires.
At some point, the buck has to stop with Yurachek, who while doing a few good things during his tenure as AD, has failed to ensure that Arkansas’ football program has remained competitive.
Arkansas is 38-63 on the gridiron during Yurachek’s tenure and a paltry 14-54 in SEC play. A fourth 2-10 season in the last nine years and a fourth winless season in SEC play in the last nine years is on the table if Arkansas doesn’t find some quick, miraculous solutions to its litany of problems.
Razorback basketball, softball, baseball and track, among other programs, have flourished during Yurachek’s reign. He brought in the likes of Eric Musselman and John Calipari to lead Arkansas’ men’s basketball program and ensured that head baseball coach Dave Van Horn will remain at UA for years to come.
But Arkansas is a football state in a football conference in a region of the country that lives and breathes football. And the mediocrity — if the poor product Arkansas has put on the field over the last nine years even rises to the level of being called mediocre — of Razorback football shouldn’t be accepted by fans, alumni and donors.
The buck has to stop somewhere.
Long was fired on Nov. 15, 2017, six days after the BOT took no action. If history set a precedent, that would make Yurachek’s final day as the AD at Arkansas Thursday, Oct. 7.
There’s certainly no guarantee about Yurachek’s future one way or the other. But Arkansas’ lack of results on the gridiron isn’t good enough any way you slice it, and change from the top down will have to be had if Arkansas is to return to its former glory.
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