The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees is putting Razorbacks athletics under a broader review, with football squarely at the center of the conversation.
In a press release Friday afternoon, the board said it unanimously approved a resolution directing President Jay B. Silveria to oversee a comprehensive look at the competitiveness of the entire athletic department, “including steps to improve the resources available to the football program.” The board said trustee Ashley Caldwell proposed the measure, trustee Steve Cox seconded it, and it was adopted at the end of Thursday’s meeting.
“Like all passionate Razorback fans, the Board of Trustees is united in the goal to ensure the competitiveness of all Razorback sports and specifically to restore the rich tradition of Razorback football,” said Randy Lawson, in the release. “We expect this review to be comprehensive, and we trust President Silveria to lead this effort to identify how we can improve our position, including identifying the necessary resources and empowering key people to be successful.”
The timing is hard to miss. Arkansas football was just routed in Salt Lake City by No.
20 Utah, 43-10, in primetime last week, marking only the second game of Ryan Silverfield’s tenure. Since then, frustration has spilled across social media, with fans taking aim at athletics director Hunter Yurachek.
That anger has only grown over the course of the week. A Change.org petition calling to “remove Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek” went up three days ago and has already collected 4,494 signatures. The team’s official X account has also been hit repeatedly by hostile fan replies.
Even with success in other sports under Yurachek, football has lagged badly. Arkansas has posted a regular-season record above .500 just once during his tenure, in 2021. Overall, the Razorbacks are 36-61, including 14-52 in SEC play.
Both Cox and trustee Ed Fryar made clear how much the football program matters to the larger athletic department.
“When you look at how important football is, in terms of finances to an athletic department, I think we need to take a hard look at it,” Fryar said. “That's what this motion is all about.”
“Failure is not an option,” Cox said. “This has to succeed and I believe it will.”
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