Just Do It, Razorback Style

University of Arkansas Announcement:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. The University of Arkansas department of intercollegiate athletics and NIKE Inc. have agreed to terms on a five-year all sports agreement that will provide Razorback Athletics with footwear and apparel for all 19 sports.

Nike will become the exclusive provider for Razorbacks Athletics beginning on July 1, 2010. Arkansas’ current apparel agreement expires on June 30, 2010.

"We are excited about our new partnership with Nike," Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. "Nike is the most coveted brand in collegiate athletics and has a tremendous reach in the United States and worldwide. We are proud that Nike has selected the University of Arkansas to be included in the limited number of schools whose agreement encompasses all sports. Our more than 460 student-athletes in 19 sports will be provided a wide range of apparel and other products to train and compete in the Southeastern Conference and nationally. We are appreciative of the commitment Nike has made to Razorback Athletics."

NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Since 1999, Nike has owned the top spot in the Collegiate Licensing Company’s (CLC) collegiate apparel royalties rankings.

Razorback vs. South Carolina Highlights

Arkansas Going Bowling?

The Razorbacks inched closer to becoming bowl eligible over the weekend after flattening South Carolina in Fayetteville. Arkansas defeated Spurrier's Gamecocks 33-16 in dominating fashion with big play making from several hog players.

With the win hog fans are speculating what bowl the Razorbacks will make. While not bowl eligible yet, the next two games are favorable with Troy in Fayetteville and Mississippi State in Little Rock. The final game of the year is against LSU in Baton Rouge the Saturday night after Thanksgiving. With three wins in a row, the Razorbacks would finish the season 8-4 and a likely birth in the Cotton Bowl, which will be played at Jerry World.

None of the games are guarantees though, so the players have to keep laying it all out on the field to get there. After missing a bowl game in Petrino's first year, fans, players, and coaches are itching to get back into that tradition.

Football Facility Upgrades Coming Soon

The University of Arkansas is soliciting designs for upgrades for athletic department facilities, including an improved football operations building. The University is hoping to spend between $10 - 20 million on the football facilities. The primary focus on the football facilities will be in the north endzone (Broyles Complex) where they are looking for a new locker room, athletic training space, players' lounge, meeting rooms, and coaches offices.

These improvements are needed for Arkansas to compete with top tier schools nationally when recruiting.

NEEDS

Gameday - Eastern Michigan

Gameday - Old Mrs.

Up Next: Ole Miss

The Razorbacks are on their way to Oxford, MS to take on Houston Dale Nutt and his squad. The Rebels came out hot out of the gates this year as a top ten team, but they quickly fell out of the rankings following losses to South Carolina and Alabama. Both Ole Miss and Arkansas are now hovering just outside the top 25. A win for either team is critical for rankings, SEC west standings, and bowl opportunities.

With a win for the Razorbacks, they would be ready to take on the lighter half of their schedule with a breeze at their backs. The first half was probably the toughest schedule in the country, but they came out shining despite the three losses to Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Arkansas will still be without Joe Adams, and Michael Smith's status is still up in the air. Fortunately for Arkansas, there is adequate depth at these positions as evidenced by last week's game against Florida.

This is undoubtedly a game of revenge for the Razorbacks after losing to the old head coach in Fayetteville 21-23. Many hog fans will remember the final minutes of the game and the questionable offensive pass interference call against London Crawford after he caught a pass in field goal range. This call secured the game for the Rebels and left Razorback players and fans with a sour taste in their mouths.

SEC Reprimands Arkansas’ Petrino

— The Associated Press
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino has been reprimanded by the SEC after publicly criticizing officials who worked his team’s 23-20 loss to Florida on Saturday.
The league announced its action Thursday night, a day after saying the officiating crew from the game would be suspended. The officials came under scrutiny after a personal foul call on Arkansas’ Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.
Petrino has been critical of the officials, although the league didn’t specify which comments drew the reprimand.

My Personal Opinion...

Petrino did the right thing by publicly calling out the SEC officiating. It was terrible, and the SEC might not have admitted such if Coach Petrino remained silent. We are over it now and ready to move on to taking out some anger on Old Mist.

SEC Officials Suspended...

WIth good cause...

Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference has suspended officials from last weekend's Arkansas-Florida game after the crew was involved in its second controversial call of the year.

Referee Marc Curles' crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.


Fish: Shouldering The Blame
Marc Curles, who blew the call in the Arkansas-Florida game, owns up to the boo-boo, writes Mike Fish. Story

The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn't have been called.

"A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Wednesday. "I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken."

SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom said this is the first time the league has publicly suspended a football crew like this.

The SEC says the crew will be removed from its next scheduled assignment Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14.

The league said the crew's bowl assignments could also be impacted.

"The entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program," Slive said. "Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation."

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement: "We took the appropriate steps to address any issues we had with the league regarding this matter earlier in the week. Our focus as a football team has been and remains on this weekend's game against Ole Miss."

President Clinton Weighs In

Last night former president Bill Clinton went Hog wild when asked about the Razorbacks 23-20 loss to No. 1 Florida on Saturday.

“Did you see that the SEC apologized for the one penalty that helped Florida in that one drive?” Clinton said. “And that was only a 10-yarder. There were three other 15-yard penalties that helped (Florida) during that last drive.”

Clinton called himself a “big fan” of Arkansas and a supporter of coach Bobby Petrino.

“They’re getting better. They’re going to be a really good program.”

The SEC notified Arkansas officials that they blew a call against Razorbacks defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard on a first down play with Florida on the Arkansas 21.

TV Don't Lie

Florida 23 Arkansas 20

The Razorbacks outplayed the Gators on Saturday, but the SEC referees gave Florida the win. The officiating was a disgrace with several bad calls and no-calls - like the one in the photo - that really cost the hogs the game. I guess the SEC is that determined to have a team compete for the Sears trophy. I'm disgusted as I am sure most hog fans are. All I can say is that next year we should be good enough to beat our opponents and the refs.