Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Whole Hog Sports podcast. And now here's your host, Matt Jones. Today on the show, we'll talk more Razorback football. Ethan Westerman will be in studio with me. We'll also be joined later by Jared Schromm from the Texas Rangers. Arkansas's opening weekend schedule has been set for next baseball season down in Arlington. First, a word from Kendall King.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: At Kendall King, we're proud of over four decades of design.
We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kendall King, Soapbox and Shopcart.
Together, these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas. Through our design expertise, supported by a team of talented professionals, we showcase our best. We are Kendall King. We are Soapbox. We are Shopcart. We are Design.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: It's kind of crazy how fast things change. Ethan's in studio today. The last time you were here, we were talking about Arkansas, Notre Dame, and that feels like an eternity ago. Like, like last Friday feels like, it doesn't feel like five days. So much has changed around the program. Bobby Petrino spoke on the SEC teleconference this morning. And one of the things, and I mentioned this yesterday in kind of recapping what he had to say during his Monday news conference, but there's just a calmness about him that I feel like maybe you don't get with every interim coach. And I said this yesterday, he's not your normal interim coach. I mean, like he is about talking totally overqualified to be an interim head coach. You're happy, I think if you're the Razorbacks that he's there.
But you know, you usually don't have somebody like that on your staff. I mean, this is a former, I know it didn't go well for him, but this is a former NFL head coach. He was thought so highly of by an NFL franchise that they hired him to be their coach. And I just, there's a matter of factness about him this in the media settings that he's had this week that I think should give you confidence if you're a Razorback fan, not necessarily that the team is going to win because I don't know if that's the case. That may be totally out of talent, but I think that it should give you a confidence that they are going to play maybe a little bit more competently than they have. And some of this is on Petrino and his offense and they haven't performed well in the last, what, six quarters? But I feel like on Defense, they're going to figure out some things and they're going to get that defense to be playing better than they have. How good can that be? I don't know, but I feel like almost to the point that. And this is weird because I think Tennessee could do some things to Arkansas from an offensive standpoint, but I almost wonder if we're going to look back and say that the turning point with the defense was an offensive coach and Bobby Petrido becoming the head coach, seeing some things that went wrong with them and then adjusting from there.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Yeah. And I found it interesting, you know, whenever he spoke the other day on his, you know, introductory as the interim, he was looking at it from an offensive lens that as an offense, you got to have your run first. And the defense has been giving up the run so much that their offenses have been able to kind of operate however they wish.
So I think that's going to be something to watch is just how more aggressive they are getting to the ball, especially in the run game, because you can. You could just tell from his tone in that press conference that there's some things that's been happening that simply isn't going to, you know, he's not going to let fly under his watch. As far as, you know, he said in a hunter, your check was kept on bringing up effort as well. I think that's the main thing that, like, I just would. I would love to be a fly on the wall for some of these first practices, because the first thing you have to do whenever you take over in a. In a role like that, I think, is establish you're in charge.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: Your expectations.
[00:03:53] Speaker C: Yeah. And. And establish that there's like, some things that won't fly under your watch. And I just, it. It's been interesting watching Bobby Petrino navigate the past two years and kind of. That just that offensive coordinator role where he, he's being the teacher. I mean, there's been a lot of times where you'll ask him questions about the defense and he'll like, kind of laugh and be like, you know, my job's to coach the offense. Like, I see those guys, but I don't even know all their names because that's how focused he was on the offense while he was the coordinator. And that's, I mean, the freedom. I think that Sam Pittman liked to operate in giving his coordinators, you know, their specific area to look over. But I think that now that he has the reins to be in this head coach role, I mean, everything is under his watch.
I Would just love to see how the demeanor changes between in practice, him. I mean, it's one thing for him to rip off Taylor Green's head, which he actually hasn't done a whole lot of that in the practice while we've seen. I'm sure it happens while we're out of there, but it's one thing to do that whenever that is your specific thing and you were running the offense. It's another thing to now have the, you know, the expectation to rip into anything that goes wrong in that whole practice. It'd be. It'd be interesting to watch. I do think that it'd be hard to play worse defensively than they did on Saturday.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Sometimes we think about assistant coaches and we pigeonhole them into the position that they were hired to coach and we forget that, you know, they look at things on the other side of the ball and they can notice stuff too. I got Andrew, Ben, attendees bobblehead up here over the top of me. I was thinking, you know, there was a kind of an aha moment with him during, I think in the run up to the 2015 season.
Dave Jorn, the pitching coach at Arkansas at that time, went to him and basically said, hey, there's a hole in your swing that pitchers are using to exploit your swing. And told him what that was.
And the light came on for Ben and Tinde. He has one of the great years ever by an Arkansas baseball player.
I don't know if we're going to see this with the defense, but I do sense from listening to Petrino that it's not so much about personnel. And we've talked about personnel, and I do think that there are some personnel limitations that the defense has.
I've said it. They don't have NFL players on the defense or if they have them, there's not very many. And I don't know that they're NFL ready right now. Like a Quincy Rhodes.
There's some projections out there that he might be a big NFL draft pick, but I don't think he's there right now. They're looking at what he might look like down the road.
[00:06:25] Speaker C: So.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: It seems to me, though you mentioned effort. You know, he was asked today about tinkering with the defensive schemes. And he answered. He said, I don't know if tinker is the right word. He went on to say, they've got to get their. Their players to play a better base defense. He said, get all 11 guys on the field, do their job every single play and have it all work together. He talked about assignment errors and confusion and not being in a good stance and maybe not getting lined up correctly. And so I wonder if we are, like I said at the start, I wonder if we're going to see better defensive play.
There's still going to be some limitations, but I feel like I just wonder if we're going to see better defensive play moving forward.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: Yeah. And it's like you wonder. It was kind of the message coming out of the Ole Miss game is that you might have to simplify things for this defense just as far as like pre snap movement, all that.
I wonder just fundamentally, do you have to simplify some things to where it's like, hey, you're gonna run to the ball at full speed every single time. It's. That's the things I think drive people insane right now is whenever like that, that one touchdown right before the end of the half against Notre Dame after the fumble. And it's like two plays, 45 yards and they just. He just weaves through everybody and just seemed like it was just poor effort. It seemed like. I think that's the stuff that you can expect the Bobby Petrino to come in.
Really, like you said, he's not your everyday interim coach. This is not his first rodeo, do this. And frankly, I mean if you're making staff changes and stuff like he's done, he's going into this trying to win a full time job and he's going to do whatever, whatever he thinks it'll take to improve this defense.
[00:08:05] Speaker A: He said they had a team meeting on Monday. He said he thought it went well. He said there's some hurt feelings, obviously with not just Pittman being let go, but the defensive coaches being let go too. I thought it was really interesting. He said that he talked to them about remaining marketable and he said whether that's being marketable to an NFL team, marketable to the next coaching staff at Arkansas, marketable to another team in the transfer portal after the season ends. And by the way, he was asked if anybody had entered the transfer portal. He said no one has. He tried to communicate and he felt like the players were receptive to what he had to say, that there's really no value to you going into the transfer portal right now because you go into the transfer portal and you're not able to get stuff on film to give out to the coaches. So seems like everybody's going to stay in the program as the season is allowed to finish out here. But going back to.
I just thought that was very interesting. Talking about the marketability of a player.
This is a real telltale about the era that we're in right now that you have a coach openly acknowledging that in a coach who wants the job moving forward, or at least that's been the indication, openly acknowledging that, hey, we are wanting players to stay here so that they can potentially market themselves better after the season for other programs.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. I mean, he said some guys will transfer in the portal, and these nine weeks, we'll see how they get paid going into the portal. Which it's it gave off that vibe of of course, he's a coach who he wants this job and he has no issue saying right now, like, hey, trans, you might not like me for these nine weeks, but if you want to like yourself and like what you're going to be able to, you know, show on film for another coach, then you better at least try for me for these nine weeks. And I did think it was notable that he ended kind of that quote by saying he said some guys will stay here and their futures will get better and better because of how they handled these nine weeks. So he kind of gave those three different avenues as far as NFL. I mean, because there's some of these guys you look at like a, you know, a cam ball.
I mean, Quincy Rhodes could go in the draft this year if he wanted. There's Taylor Green, like these nine weeks, there are some people like, you cannot you're stuck in your situation.
You better just play your butt off for the last nine weeks because you're going to be NFL draft ready. You don't have another year of eligibility. But but then there are a lot of guys, I mean, anytime you have a coaching change, the portal is going to just blow up both ways. Guys going out, guys coming in and then just how he's it was strange to hear a coach openly acknowledge that, hey, I know some of y' all won't want to be here, but you, you're stuck here for nine weeks and what are you going to do with it? I'll tell you, and I say stuck here, that gives a really negative connotation. I mean, it more like from what he said, there's no benefit of going in the portal right now. It's if you're going to do that, you're just hurting yourself.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: Here I am stuck in the middle with you. That's what I thought of when you said that.
I thought it was interesting. And another interesting kind of telling soundbite. Quote, if you will, where he was talking about people who are upset and have their Feelings hurt. He basically said, I am one of them. He said, quote, I came here to coach the quarterbacks, coordinate the offense. I came here because Coach Bentman was a man that reached out to me and developed a really close friendship with me and I respect him tremendously. And I woke up and now he's no longer here. He said, I have the same feelings a lot of people in the room had. He talked about how, you know, he went into talking about his thoughts on how to handle crisis is to mourn appropriately, do something for somebody and, and then get back to what was important to you before all of this transpired.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: Was this on the radio? On teleconference this morning?
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Conference this morning?
[00:12:06] Speaker C: Yeah. I hadn't had gotten a chance to listen to that yet, but I mean, that's what I was saying a minute ago. Like his job the past few years was strictly a very specific thing and he was focused on it during practice. So this is a very much a change for him as well.
I mean, we go into like, you hear that quote, with the knowledge that he wants to be considered for the full time job. So this is an opportunity for him that clearly he's excited to get to have, considering he wants to put his foot forward to get that full time job. But it is something, I mean, it's not like his life didn't change at all with this. I mean, now it's his duty and it's under his name to try and fix this defense.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: A lot of times when you have an interim coach, going back to the original thought, I kind of just write off the rest of the season like, there's nothing good that can come from this. And sometimes you get so late into the season, like When Barry Looney Jr. Took over for Chad Morris and they played LSU, that 2019 LSU team, the first week out, I mean, sometimes there's just so much you can do, you know, I mean, that team was out of talent and trying to cover Justin Jefferson. And it was interesting.
[00:13:10] Speaker C: They actually played really hard. I think like the first quarter and a half you were like, wow, this is a different team. Yeah.
[00:13:15] Speaker A: And then they ended up losing by like 40, like everybody else did that year at LSU. But I don't know, I've got some optimism that's baked in about how the rest of this season can go. I don't know that I would go so far as to say I think they'll make a bowl game, but I think they could make it interesting. And I think somebody asked me this morning on the radio, they said, what qualifications would you look for in a head coach? And I said, some of the stuff I said on here yesterday, I think it needs to be somebody who's got head coaching experience, probably needs to be somebody who's been a coordinator at minimum in the sec. But I took it a step further and I said it's just somebody who can get the team to play with effort and be competitive.
And at the end of the day, I don't think anybody's thinking Arkansas is going to average eight wins a year. And I wouldn't want to put that number on anybody in the first place. I said. But at the end of the day, it's somebody who, whenever that team is preparing for Arkansas, they think back to what their last experience preparing for Arkansas was and their last experience playing Arkansas, and they say they. That's not a team that we have a lot of fun getting ready for.
[00:14:21] Speaker C: Yeah. And I think that.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: And I think we could maybe see that the rest of the year. I don't know, but I think I. I'm optim. I am more optimistic that we'll see that over the last seven games than I would have been if there had not been a head coaching change made.
[00:14:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree. And I think that right now you're at a point where there's so little expected from this team that. That can sometimes, I think, help. They're going into practice and stuff with the pressure relieved of any expectation, frankly, for any wins going forward, like, any win with how they've played, like, based on how things were going, I would not have sat here and picked them to win another game on their schedule. I wouldn't have felt confident doing it. I think that you're at a point right now where the expectation is completely out the window and Petrino can come in and set a new expectation for them that maybe is only in that locker room.
And maybe they'll come out and surprise us with how they play against some people. They have the. They have the chance to be a real spoiler for some team seasons. And I know in the era of transfer portal where the, you know, like, rivalries oftentimes don't mean as almost always don't mean as much to the players as they do the fans anymore.
There are some games on that schedule, like Arkansas could spoil a season for lsu, they could spoil a season for Texas and stuff that would really get the fan base energized. And for these players, if they can buy into whatever's going on down there with. Because I'm sure right now the message is, is exactly what you're saying. Like they can go and do some things the rest of the year still.
And if they can buy into that and make these improvements, they could really put together a season that people like. At least Arkansas fans are entertained with their final games. That's how I think that we're at. People don't want to see what happened on Saturday again. They don't want to see a team just get run off the field and it be over by halftime. I think people want to at least watch their team have a chance at the end against teams that they aren't, that they're overmatched by, quite frankly on paper. And Pittman did a great job of that so often in his tenure. But that can't be how it always is, if that makes sense. Like he and I think your check said this, he got a lot of credit for those one score losses where they were, you know, going to Tuscaloosa and barely losing to Alabama, barely losing to LSU that same year.
You think this year barely losing at Ole Miss. And at some point you got to also take ownership of always being coming up short. I think for this year's team they've got to get in a, get in position to where they're that same team that almost went and beat Ole Miss, which is number four this week and the poll and they got to show that they can, they can change those fortunes a little bit and come up with a win. I think that's what people are so sick of is they just don't want to see this cycle of close losses that lead to letting go of the rope. They want to see a team that can find a way to win and even when like maybe even some games that we aren't expecting them to look.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: At More big picture, I was thinking last night, when you look at the current AP top 25, it is. There are so many instances in this where it's all about making the right hire and or making the right connection. Okay, here's where I'm going with this. Look at the AP Top 25 and I want you to think about where these teams were the last time that Arkansas made a head coaching change after the 2019 season.
I'll just throw out some teams here. Ole Miss, not very good. They fired their head coach the same year, Matt Luke, and they'd been on a real bat. Wasn't that the year, was that the year where they had the player that hiked his leg up and it cost him the egg ball? I think it was I thought it.
[00:18:04] Speaker C: Was Mississippi State player who did that.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: No, it was an Ole Miss player mocking Mississippi State for doing it.
Oh, mocking Mississippi State's mascot.
[00:18:12] Speaker C: Gotcha. Okay.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it was that year. I think that was 2019. And now look at where Ole Miss was or look at where they are. They've made the right hire in Lane Kiffin and they've made a great connection in terms of what they've been able to do with their fans. I can make an argument. I can make a very strong argument that with how influential this sounds. So weird influential influencers are. You know, you've got the Lane Kiffin, you've got the daughter and you've got the wife and you've got the son and obviously him. That. That has become maybe the place to go in the sec.
I'm not talking about if you're a football player. I'm talking about if you just want to go somewhere based on the football game day atmosphere, the feel, the vibe around the program, you're going to be hard pressed to find a place that is more popular right now than Ole Miss is. And we couldn't have said that six years ago. We wouldn't have even come close to it. But I was watching their game against LSU the other day, and I'm watching the student section and I'm watching some of the things they're doing with their game day operations and their management, and it's. It's a. It's just. It's got a vibe there that I think a lot of SEC teams are trying to chase. And again, they were in the same boat as Arkansas was six years ago. They made the ride higher and they've been rolling for about four or five years now.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: Yeah. And that Saturday's game felt to me. I know they had the win against Georgia last year that also felt big, but this, that game against LSU felt like the game to me. I was like, okay, Ole Miss has actually made it as far as, like, they've been building something and this is a legit team that now, like, they can take it to the next level, I think, this year. And I think that Lane has just built that thing and built that thing and built that thing. And yeah, it's almost like Oxford right now is.
It's getting the same vibes that we had with Boulder and Dion, just with a better. With a better product. It's as much. It's about as much drama right now going on. Actually. I don't want to. I don't want to say as much drama because there's been a lot of drama with the Colorado program, but.
But it's like there's just so much excitement around a program that's on the rise and.
And a coach who really is embraced. And this is the thing that Hunter said it on Monday, and Hunter, your check said it on Monday. And I think that everybody feels the same way. You got to have a coach that at least like Kiffin. I mean, I'm not saying have this as big of a personality as Lane Kiffin, but embrace the Portal and embrace stuff the way you have to right now. If you don't, you're gonna get left behind. And I think, Sam, they did an all right job with, like, identifying Portal talent, but, I mean, Arkansas was never at the top of the nation. And like, portal success as far as Ole Miss is consistently bringing him top Portal classes, I think Arkansas did good with better with less on a lot of occasions where they just. It was good scouting, good evaluation, and they upgraded through the Portal. But what Ole Miss has done by just embracing kind of that. That is the. The landscape that we're in with nil, with revenue sharing, with the Portal. Lane Kiffin's made it cool in a way.
[00:21:16] Speaker A: Look at other teams. Indiana, Kurt Signetti, they're ranked number eight. Who saw Indiana becoming a team that we're talking about? What are they over the last two years, like 11 and 2? About 17 and 2, I think they are. Since he got there. It's incredible.
[00:21:29] Speaker C: And they have such a strong identity under him with the defense.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: Texas, six years ago, they were stuck with Tom Herman, and they were miserable because they knew they were a lot better than what the results on the field were. Texas Tech, that was the year after Tommy Tuberville left. They got Matt Wells. It was a horrible situation there. Obviously, they found, I guess, the oil money that's. Or the natural gas money that's turned them around. You keep going down through here. Tennessee, they were in the middle of the Jeremy Pruitt years that were terrible for them. Vanderbilt, they were toward the end of the Derek Mason tenure. That was not very good. You keep going. Missouri in 2019, they're one of the teams that made a coaching change. They got rid of Barry Odom because they felt like they were not performing up to a certain standard and you could make.
There are several other programs out there that I may not be very familiar with. Illinois, with Brett Bielema, I mean, say what you want to about them, and they got it handed to them by Indiana the other night, but he has turned that program around to at least make them relevant. They were irrelevant in the Big Ten discussion.
It's about making the right hire, putting certain pieces together. And it just. So I guess I look at Arkansas's job a little bit more optimistically than some people do. Yes, I understand there are some financial limitations. It's a small market, small state population, alumni base, all of that stuff relative to the other SEC programs. But, but it's still an SEC program.
[00:22:58] Speaker C: And I think that, you know, a lot of people took Hunter Jurczyk's comment about. It was actually a question you asked about if Sam Pittman had the, you know, the funding needed to compete and he said no. And I think that people like instantly read like how is that going to be better for the next coach? I think that it's a result of. It wasn't a hire that excited about, didn't inspire people. And I think that.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: And it has, it had not inspired people for about three years now.
[00:23:22] Speaker C: And I think that in my opinion and I, I loved working around Sam Pittman. He's a great guy. But like I think that, that, that they just let it ride on too long. You had a chance to honestly, after that four win season, I thought they.
[00:23:37] Speaker A: Were going to make a change at the end of that season.
[00:23:38] Speaker C: I think that they just, they kind of got fine with stagnant for too long and it's like I don't fall. I mean it was a good hire by Hunter in my opinion to get the program back on its feet with Sam. And I don't think people can dispute how quickly they turn things around to get Arkansas relevant again. It's just. It dragged on so long with just being kind of stagnant that now people, I feel like, have forgotten what it's like to have a hire that gets people excited.
And I think that all. If that can change your. Your viewpoint of. I mean, look at the basketball program. They hired Caliperi. I'm not saying you're going to get your football Calipari, but I think you can get somebody that at least excites the fan base again and opens up some.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: You don't think Dabo's coming?
[00:24:20] Speaker C: I don't think Dabo's coming. And even if he did, I'm not sure how much that would fire up people right now.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: I'm afraid he may be stuck in the past a little bit.
I guess like I said, I just, I'm. I think people are probably a little bit tired from the fact that the last few hires they've made over the course of their tenure did not work out. I mean, Bielema left here with a losing record, Pittman with a losing record.
Chad Morris barely won a game.
They're. They're probably a guy probably a little bit nervous about what's it going to look like. Because long term, it has not worked for the last few.
[00:24:58] Speaker C: Yeah. And I think that it's. You're at a place right now where I do think that whoever's coming into this job is in a better spot, though, than some of these other hires. Whereas fact. And the fact that you can change a program quicker now with the portal and stuff, it's just you can really change things in a year, honestly, a year or two.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: During that radio interview I did this morning, I was asked, do you think it's a better job now? Did Pittman leave the job better than when he found it?
And they may end up going 2 and 10 this year. We don't know how this is going to look. They went 2 and 10 the year before he found it. I just said, though, you had to be here and experience the feel of what those years were like.
And it does feel different. In those years, you didn't really feel like they had a chance in a lot of games, even going to the Notre Dame game. I mean, we're not the only ones who thought they had a chance. They were like a four and a half point underdog to a good team.
It just has a different feel. And sometimes 2 and this 2 and 10 record and that 2 and 10 record, they don't necessarily. They're not the same.
I just feel like it has a better feel now than it did the last time around.
[00:26:08] Speaker C: There's no doubt. I mean, the Chad Morris era was a disaster as far as they weren't competitive.
[00:26:13] Speaker A: And it's a low bar. It's a low bar that Pittman had to clear.
[00:26:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:16] Speaker A: But it does feel like it's a low bar.
[00:26:17] Speaker C: I felt like he cleared it with flying colors and then it just, like he said, dragged on too long as far as he could have. I hate that this is how I had to end it for him, honestly, because I think that you could have done it a little sooner and people maybe appreciate how he got him out of the mud more. But there's a lot of people now that it feels felt like a full circle with the Notre Dame loss. That was the last time they had felt Chad Morris like so.
But it is a better job now, I think so.
[00:26:41] Speaker A: So we'll see how this goes. This is Such a long, long coaching search. Usually you can get this thing over in about eight to 14 days. We're talking about two months or more. Buckle up. Yeah, that. We're going to be talking about this, Ethan. Good stuff. We'll leave the conversation there when we come back. Jared Schrom is, is going to join us from Rev Entertainment, the Texas Rangers to talk about this season opening event that Arkansas is going to be playing down at Globe Life Field. First word from Kendall King.
[00:27:09] Speaker B: At Kendall King, we're proud of over four decades of design.
We're continuing the legacy of great creative design by combining our brands of Kendall King Soapbox and Shopcart. Together these brands represent a new focus in marketing design with individual attention to specific areas.
Through our design expertise, supported by a team of talented professionals, we showcase our best. We are Kendall King. We are Soapbox. We are Shopcart. We are Design.
[00:27:35] Speaker A: Hey, welcome back. Want to tell you about our friends at Bentonville Glass. They've been serving their community since 1971. Committed, professional, versatile. If you're looking for a quality leader in northwest Arkansas or looking for skilled craftsmanship, look no further than Bentonville Glass for all your glass market needs with the highest quality products. You can come by and see them now at 507 South Main in Bentonville, all or online at bentonvilleglass.com Jared Traum is the senior vice president of Rev Entertainment. That's the company that handles events at Globe Life Field down in Arlington. Announced today Arkansas is going to play against Oklahoma State in the season opener on February 13th. They'll play TCU on Saturday. That's Valentine's Day, February 14th. Texas Tech on Sunday, February 15th and then Tarleton State from Stephenville, Texas on the 16th of February, first time that Arkansas stayed down in Arlington for a fourth game. Jared, you like having Arkansas down there. You and I have talked about this a number of times.
But getting them there in the season opener, does it have a different feel?
[00:28:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean you're, you're spot on. Anytime we can have you guys down here, we certainly love it.
Candidly, this is, this is a year in a tournament that I circled a while back. I think we've had this one scheduled for, gosh, three or four years now and one that we were always really excited for. Just obviously the matchups are tremendous and so, so yeah, anytime the Hogs are in town, we love it. But really excited to have them open weekend one next year.
[00:29:05] Speaker A: Dave Van Horn has said a number of times he said as long as you'll have him he'll come back down there because he loves the ability to have the roof. You know, I think you probably know this. They went down to Round Rock one year within the last few years. I think it was the year after you had your inaugural event. And he said, I coached five years in Nebraska and I never coached in anything that was as bad as it was that weekend. You just never know what the weather's going to be like.
You're able to offer a great indoor facility.
Is it at the point that, I mean, I'm sure there's contracts involved, but do you even bother to ask if they want to keep coming back or is it just understood that they're going to?
[00:29:45] Speaker D: Well, yeah, we're very fortunate in our partnership with Arkansas and, And all the universities for that matter. But, yeah, the fact that they love coming down here, I mean, as you guys know as well as I do, the fans travel really well and there's obviously a strong alumni base here in dfw.
So, yeah, I mean, as long as, to your point, as long as they want to come down to Arlington, we want you guys here.
But yeah, to your point, on the roof, like, for us. And I know, gosh, going back to my playing days, that the season started, gosh, in early February at that point, which was. Which was a nightmare.
But even in that first year when we opened the stadium here, we had that ice storm come through and there were some challenges getting all the teams here. But, yeah, once you're here, it's 72 degrees and sunny and it's a great environment. And so, yeah, certainly helpful for the teams here that, you know, they guarantee the games are going to happen and it's a huge win for them.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: You put Arkansas, TCU on a Saturday night. I can't help but notice you guys have done that a few times and I think the biggest attendance you've ever had was actually an Arkansas TCU game two or three years ago in excess of 20,000 people were there.
Is that purposeful that. I mean, you've got TCU nearby, obviously you've got Arkansas. Is it purposeful to put them on Saturday like that?
[00:31:03] Speaker D: Yeah, we do like the matchup. And listen, we like all the matchups to start the weekend in 26.
But yeah, you're. You're right. We had. Gosh, I think it was just over 22, 000. Yeah. And that was. That was a couple years ago for the TC Arkansas matchup. And so we're excited to run that back.
But yeah, I think anytime the, the Hogs are playing and especially with these opponents, tcu, Oklahoma State, and of course Texas Tech, I think, I think we'll have some, some big crowds.
[00:31:31] Speaker A: You got a lot of these type of early season events that have popped up in the last five, six, seven years. Houston has always had a real popular one, and I would say for a long time it was the most popular. I think what you guys have done, not only with this season opening weekend, but you've expanded it into the second and the third weekend of the season too, has really, I think, made yours probably the strongest and the most appealing one that there is. Why do you think it's clicked so well?
[00:32:00] Speaker D: Yeah, well, I appreciate you saying that. We listen, we put a lot of resources behind it and we want to make sure that the teams enjoy their experience here, the fans enjoy their experience here.
And candidly, like, as we had conversations over the years, there was a lot of, of teams that, that wanted to be here, that had prior commitments, and so it, it organically kind of led us to a weekend two and a weekend three. And we've just kind of. Of gone with that and continued to book those weekends moving forward. And so we're, we're just blessed to be in a good spot with these guys, have great relationships with them, and the fact that they want to come back is, is obviously a huge win.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: 29 games you've got over the first 17 days of the season. You got 20 different teams coming in there, lots of big names. I mean, Tennessee's there, ucla, they may be the preseason number one this year. Arkansas, Vanderbilt, A and M. You just. It's kind of like a who's. Who are you.
Are you able to schedule out further in advance now? Like, is the demand higher?
[00:33:01] Speaker D: Yeah.
So for us, I mean, candidly, like, we're, we're talking 20, 30, 2031. At this point. We're starting to kind of piece the jugs, the jigsaw puzzle together, if you will. There's. There's obviously a lot of moving pieces, but as you kind of navigate the conversations with the universities and I candidly, Mitch, Mitch Garlett's on our team has kind of taken on that responsibility and done a great job.
But, you know, you might have an ideal partner in mind for, for a certain year and for whatever reason, it might not work out. And so that usually leads us to either another weekend that year or a future tournament. And so it's just having dialogue and constant communication with everybo as they kind of navigate their schedules for people who.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: Haven'T been there how would you explain this weekend?
[00:33:49] Speaker D: Gosh, I would say if you've ever been to a bowl game, it's similar to that. Like, we try and make it more of a festival feel to celebrate college baseball. It's, it's, you know, obviously most people are there to root for their, you know, specific team and who they're a fan of, but we also have a ton of fans that are just there for. For college baseball and then just everything that goes on in the district, you know, with Texas, with the hotels and with all the infrastructure that's gone up around Globe Life Field, it's really just like a celebratory weekend for college baseball. And to kick off the season, it's become kind of a staple here in Arlington that everybody gets pretty fired up about. So it's been a lot of fun.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: There's always talk about broadcast and Flow sports. You guys mentioned last year that you had started the Rangers RSN network.
How does that work moving forward? Have you made a determination on how the broadcast is going to work? Does the Ranger network potentially come more into play?
[00:34:50] Speaker D: Yeah, I'd say we're really close to having our solution. I'd say probably in the next couple of weeks.
Flow has been and was a tremendous partner and we're still partners with them in surprise on our tournament there that starts next year.
I don't know exactly where it's going to land, but we should have clarity here in the next couple of weeks.
[00:35:12] Speaker A: Greg Sankey was at this event last year. You probably know where I'm going with this. The Big 12 tournaments left. I know that there's been a lot of speculation about maybe SEC going to Arlington. If Hoover is not a long term situation, if you had the opportunity to get another conference tournament, would you take it?
[00:35:30] Speaker D: Yeah, of course. Yeah. Listen, my job is to make sure that this stadium is full and having those conversations is part of my job. But I know that they love, love Hoover and love their relationship there. And it sounds like it's an incredible tournament. I've never been, but I would love to check it out because I hear it's great.
But yeah, listen, and we love our partnership with the Big 12. We have enjoyed our time getting to know Greg and the SEC as well and all the other conferences. So short answer is yes, we're obviously having conversations with, with. With all the conferences about a number of different sporting events.
[00:36:10] Speaker A: And so, yeah, tell people about tickets for this because those have come or those have gone on sale, I think today, Right?
[00:36:17] Speaker D: They did, yeah.
[00:36:18] Speaker C: For.
[00:36:18] Speaker D: For general admission so we've been on sale with our home plate reserve now for a while, which I actually think weekend one is sold out. No surprise there.
And so GA tickets are on sale at globlifefield.com for all three weekends as well as our midweek games, which, as you mentioned, now includes the Monday game with Arkansas, which we're excited about.
And so all those tickets are still available. Again, the home plates reserve seats, it sounds like are officially sold out, but plenty of GA to go around.
[00:36:51] Speaker A: How did that fourth game come about getting the Razorbacks to stay for the extra day?
[00:36:55] Speaker D: You know, we've talked about it for the last couple years.
In 26, there was just the right opportunity to do it. And so we worked with. With Clay and. And scheduled it, gosh, a little bit later.
I'd say it was probably a few months back.
And so we'll see how it goes. But I know it's. It's important, like you said, to get those games in when there's a roof. And so they saw an opportunity, as did.
As did we, and just made it happen. So we're excited about it.
[00:37:26] Speaker A: You get it where you don't have SEC teams playing SEC teams there, but has there ever been a case where in one of these first few weeks you have had a conference versus conference matchup? Is that ever a sticking point in trying to get teams to come?
[00:37:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was. Last year we had Texas and Ole Miss, and we were fortunate that they didn't play each other during their conference season.
And again, that was because obviously, with Texas making the change to the SEC that was initially scheduled when they were still a Big 12 team, so we were fortunate that they didn't play each other in season.
But, yeah, that was the only time that I can remember having a conference matchup.
[00:38:05] Speaker A: It's a great event, Jared. You guys have done a great job with it. It's. I've already got my hotel booked. I've had it booked for about two months now.
It's something I look forward to coming down there every year and covering it, and it's always great talking to you. And this is a really cool field this year. I mean, again, it's kind of like a who's who of teams.
[00:38:22] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, no doubt. We're really excited about. Gosh, all three weekends. And as I mentioned, we launched two more properties outside of Arlington that we're excited about. And so. But yeah, this. This opening weekend is, again, something that we've been talking about for a long time. So we're excited for it to get here, Jared.
[00:38:39] Speaker A: It's always great. Hope you have a great day, and we'll see you in February.
[00:38:43] Speaker D: Awesome. Thanks, Matt.
[00:38:44] Speaker A: All right, Jared Schrom from Rev Entertainment. Appreciate him being with us, and we appreciate you being with us here today on our show. Hope that we see you here again tomorrow or at our website, wholehogsports. Com. Have a great day, everybody.
