Why the Razorbacks, and the State, Continue to Underperform

Arkansas Razorback Football is in terrible shape, and with a few exceptional years it has been for a very long time. Even our good years were purchased at a deferred cost- Bobby Petrino was an Offensive Genius, in more than one sense of the word. I think I know why we have under-performed for so long. It's the same reason our state has under-performed even though we have abundant natural resources, a hard-working population and a central location. It's the leadership. When a unit, any unit, consistently under-performs for a long period of time even though those running the unit have ample authority, then it is almost always because of some deficiency in the leadership.

In the case of the University of Arkansas Football program, I think the big boosters care more about having a coach that hob-knobs with them than finding a strong leader. Ken Hatfield was the biggest winner in Razorback Football History. He was also an Arkansas boy who was not interested in leaving for a higher-paying program. He was a man of impeccable integrity. It was hard to know where to fault him. But he would not go drinking with the big boosters.

Hatfield says he was not offered an extended contract for the position of Head Football Coach. They could have made him the field house janitor under the contract they offered him. I believe him. We have a media in this state which protects people in "the club" so there was no real coverage of this issue. So Hatfield left and most of us never quite understood why. If we are serious about changing course, it starts with doing the right thing, which would mean the university apologizing to Ken Hatfield, but I don't think they want to fix things that badly. Not badly enough to take a hard look in the mirror.

If they want a coach that will suck up to the big boosters, then they can't have the kind of alpha dog who doesn't need to suck up to the boosters to get a job because he can get hired on his ability alone. If they want suck-up yes-men then they are going to get the product on the field that we have had- but at least coach shows up at our events! This is a recipe to only attract coaches who are weak in ability, or character, or both. We've had more than our share of those types over the years. If you do get one who is good at the job, he will come with other baggage like Petrino. Petrino still had to suck up even though he knew how to coach winning football because of the character issues.

It is no co-incidence that we excel in the sports that the big boosters and the ruling class of our state don't care much about. Without their meddling, we do great. There is an inverse relationship to the success of a University of Arkansas Athletic Sport's program and the degree of involvement our ruling class has in that sports program!

So they should start by apologizing to Ken Hatfield. Will that "lift the curse"? I don't know if it is mystical like that. I am not saying it will change God's mind about Razorback football. But it will change the minds of the people running the place. Repentance can do that. It can change us. And it would send the right message. Right now, I think a lot of the top names would avoid us because at those levels word gets around. The new coach needs to know, in a very public way, that they can focus their efforts on improving the product on the field. We have to put the coaches we hire in a position to win. That's the only way a winning coach will accept the position.