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2/20/2017 |
Member News |
A Long Term Plan | A Razorback Update from Jeff Long |
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When it comes to just about any endeavor in life, goals are helpful in defining and measuring success. Whether it is grades in a classroom or victories on the fields and courts of athletic competition, the final score often reveals not only the immediate feedback of the challenge itself, but provides a gauge on the effectiveness of the process. Within Razorback Athletics, our goals are defined first by our mission - to develop student-athletes to their fullest potential through intercollegiate athletics. While seemingly a simple concept, the implementation of a program that effectively provides an environment in which young men and women can succeed in all aspects of their student-athlete experience is much more complex. Balancing the rigorous demands of one of the nation’s fastest growing institutions of higher education with the everyday challenges of competing and winning in the nation’s best athletics conference is often a daunting task. How do we judge our success? How do we gauge our progress with other programs we compete against day in and day out? While there is not a single metric that can define the full breadth and depth of our program, we do look to our peer SEC institutions as a useful comparison related to our progress in a variety of categories. I’m pleased to report that based on a pair of recently released progress reports, the University of Arkansas stands alone atop the SEC both academically and athletically. Just last week, the SEC announced its 2016 Fall Academic Honor Roll. The University of Arkansas led all league schools with 91 Razorbacks representing five fall sports. For the second-straight year, Arkansas posted the most football student-athletes of any SEC school on the fall honor roll. Arkansas’ league-leading 39 is second only to its 2015 total of 40, which was the most by an SEC football program since Coach Bielema arrived at Arkansas in 2013. Arkansas now owns the top two fall academic honor roll performances by any SEC football program since 2013. In addition, women's cross country also is atop the SEC placing the most student-athletes on the fall honor roll when compared to other women's cross country programs. The Razorback women’s cross country program had 19 student-athletes on the list. Arkansas featured 18 student-athletes from soccer on the academic honor roll while eight members of the volleyball team and seven members of the men’s cross country team earned recognition. Throughout my more than 35 years in intercollegiate athletics, I’ve heard the notion that academics and athletics success cannot co-exist on a college campus. I’ve never believed that to be true and our coaches, staff and most importantly our more than 460 Razorback student-athletes are proving that academic and athletic success are not mutually exclusive. Just last month, the University of Arkansas distinguished itself among SEC schools in the final fall standings of the Learfield Sports Directors Cup. The Directors’ Cup is an all-sports competition that ranks programs based on its overall athletics success since the awards inception in 1993-94. Our goal is always to rank among the SEC leaders and finish in the Top 25 nationally. After all results were compiled from the fall sport seasons, Arkansas led the SEC and ranked No. 18 in the nation. It was only the sixth time in program history, including the second time since the SEC expanded to 14 teams, Arkansas has led the conference after the fall standings. So whether it is the academic honor roll, the Directors’ Cup or even the extraordinary personal and career development opportunities available for Razorback student-athletes, we believe Razorback Athletics is providing a student-athlete experience that serves as a model for other programs across the country. The path to achieving the goals for our program requires a team effort. We couldn’t have done it without you and the support of all those who are making an investment in the lives of our young men and women. Even with our success, we know we are far from finished. We have programs that have not reached the level of success in athletic competition or academic success that we know they are capable of achieving. We will “Never Yield” in our pursuit of excellence athletically, academically and preparing our Student-Athletes for the rest of their lives. The foundation is strong, the framework is in place and with your continued support, we will reach even greater levels of success; rest assured we are committed to doing so. Trailblazers Series As we celebrate the academics and athletics success of our current student-athletes, we are also taking an opportunity to acknowledge some of the young men and women who helped pave the way for generations of Razorbacks to come. Throughout the history of the University of Arkansas, there have been some extraordinary individuals that helped shaped our great institution and the world around us. As part of celebrating Black History Month on ArkansasRazorbacks.com, Razorback Athletics will recognize the contributions of former African-American student-athletes who were trailblazers in their respective sports. We have gained inspiration from their courageous acts of leadership and continue to benefit from the contributions they have made to the legacy of the University of Arkansas. This marks the ninth year Razorback Athletics has celebrated Black History Month with a special series on ArkansasRazorbacks.com. The series will relive the contributions of these special individuals through interviews and short vignettes recapping their experiences. I invite you to visit our website to learn more about these extraordinary individuals. Friendly Reminder Chances are you have recently heard from the Razorback Foundation about renewing your pledge for the 2017 Annual Fund. The Annual Fund is at the very heart of the support we are able to provide to our more than 460 student-athletes. The deadline is quickly approaching. To retain seat locations in all venues, your pledge must be received by Friday, March 31. I want to encourage you to go online and explore the Razorback Foundation’s new online pledge system DonorNet that makes this annual process more efficient and easier to follow. You can make pledges, pay donations and set up payment plans all through this new site. If you would rather use another method, you may also call (877) 436-0013, visit the Razorback Foundation in-person or complete the 2017 Letter of Intent and return it via mail, fax or email. In addition, please be sure to renew your football season tickets for 2017 through the Razorback Ticket Office. Many of you have already taken advantage of some exclusive benefits for those season ticket holders who renew early. Watch for more exciting promotions in the coming weeks. In closing, I want to thank you for your continued investment in Razorback Athletics. Your support is not just the lifeblood of what we do, it is making a major impact in the lives of our student-athletes. I’m excited about the successes that are to come. We simply can’t do it without you! Go Hogs! Jeff Long Vice Chancellor Director of Athletics
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