Frank Broyles is less than five months from stepping down as athletic director at the University of Arkansas, a position he has held since 1973, but Broyles still holds strong views about the state of UA athletics. Arkansas athletics has mushroomed since Broyles was hired as head football coach in 1958 after a one-year stint at Missouri. Broyles went 144-58-5 in 19 seasons on the sideline, including winning seven Southwest Conference championships and a share of the 1964 national championship. Broyles’ work in administration has been just as impressive. He has overseen $ 235 million in facilities renovations and expansion projects over the past 34 years while Arkansas’ annual athletic department budget has grown from $ 900, 000 when he took over as AD in 1976 to $ 44 million now. Broyles, a native of Decatur, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Tech, was named by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as the most influential man affiliated with Arkansas sports in the 20 th century. Not just the University of Arkansas, but the most influential man in the state. Broyles was 74 when he received that honor. He will turn 83 on Dec. 26, five days before leaving his post after serving 50 years in the UA athletic department. He announced his decision to retire in February.

In an interview this week, Broyles reflected on his past and future, delivered some straightforward commentary about Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt’s tumultuous offseason, and predicted he would not be consulted in Chancellor John White’s search for his replacement as athletics director.

Q When you look at Houston Nutt’s record — he’s 5-4 against Alabama and Auburn, has a really good record against the West — has he done a pretty good job ?

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A Yeah.... We think we’re now to a position where we’re expected to win. We were that way in the Southwest Conference. I can’t imagine any fan from 1959 until we left the Southwest Conference, any Razorback fan, would just hope we were going to win. They expected us to win. We want to get that way [in the SEC ]. I think we are approaching it. If we’re not there, we’re right on the verge of where we’re expected to win and not just a hope or a wish.

Q In that vein, and perhaps it’s just the state of modern athletics, but to see the fan base a little bit split up over him, how does that hit you ?

A Well, you know, I haven’t seen that. I’ve read it, but I haven’t seen a fan that wasn’t supportive. Every Razorback Club meeting that I went to had record attendance. Certainly the computers give opportunity for people who have a complaint to make it known, where in the past they had to write me a letter, put a stamp on it and go mail it. And I would be the only one that would see it. Now they can put it on the Internet and 500, 000 people can see it, free. So we’re in a different world. All schools know we’re in a different world. I don’t know how to divide that up except that our ticket sales are excellent. They’re going to be right up there with any of our best years.... When you lose the last three games, well, I used to always say to our coaches, ‘They remember what you do in November.’ The three teams that beat us were in the top five. Our defense held all three of those teams to less points than our offense scored.... Unusual and very unlikely mistakes and unexpected mistakes in the kicking game were the difference in all three of those ballgames. The people who pull for the Razorbacks recognize that winning the Western Division with a 7-1 record and having a 10-game winning streak gives us, if we want to, where we expect to win. And I do. I feel like we’re where our fans are expecting us to win in the SEC, just like LSU or Tennessee or Georgia or Florida or anybody like that. Their fans expect to win, and I think we’ve reached the position where our fans expect us to win.

Q What was your view on the difficulties Houston went through in the off-season ?

A Every time I’d see him I’d say, I know how difficult it is for you and your family. No one can experience it if you haven’t been there, you know, what you’re going through. In my judgment, the diehard Razorback fan is going to support the program. I know that a lot of people supported the program even though they’d like to have changed coaches when I was coaching. They say we need a new coach but they still supported the program. I see the support of the program being as strong as ever. I kept telling him that.

Q Some people think that (Nutt ) has got a short rope, that if this isn’t a good year, a nine-win year or something...

strong>A Well, I thought he did so well and we want him so much that I extended his contract and gave him a $ 150, 000 raise. That tells you what I think. The people that I’ve talked to that are the powers at the university, and the people above me at the university, all that I’ve talked to, support Houston.

Q Does the topic of joining with the Big 12 still come up, or is it a dead issue ?

A It came up one time and it was taken to Dr. White. He would be the one that would listen to it or whatever. He has, I’m told, talked to the Southeastern Conference about our position and so forth. He hasn’t shared that with me and I haven’t wanted to know about it.

Q Is it ongoing, ? Has it come up again recently ?

A This was four or five years ago. When Terry Don [ Phillips ] was over at Oklahoma State, he was hoping they would expand and include us. But that was a very brief period. It’s been past a long time.

Q So how would you describe Arkansas’ relationship with the SEC ?

A The relationship has been outstanding. We’re a long way from our competition. That’s good in some reasons and it’s not good in other reasons. The only bad part of it is the newspapers in the eastern part of the conference, we’re kind of out of the mix in the east because the population base of the conference is in the eastern states. So there’s more newspapers over there than we have in the west. More national newspapers and big newspapers.

Q What are your thoughts about potentially moving Arkansas ’ home game against LSU from Little Rock to Fayetteville ? And there has been talk of Arkansas playing a game in Dallas. Has there been any movement on that ?

A Not at this time. I’ve told people that if I were to remain as athletic director I would not move the LSU game out of Little Rock. I just told that to the stadium commission down there. I told them the rumor was out there, and I said that is not in my plans at all. If the new athletic director would ask me, I would tell him I think that would be a mistake. That would be my opinion as of this time. The other part, there was some movement two years ago that Oklahoma and Texas might move their game to their home stadiums. If they did that, would we play Texas or play Oklahoma in Dallas, and I said we would certainly consider that. I think getting our team in the Texas sports coverage would be huge in recruiting and for our fans, too. We have so many former Arkies who live in Texas.

Q When you first got into this, did you envision going for 50 years ?

A No. I had planned to change professions when I retired from coaching. I had some job opportunities and I had been instructed by Red Blake and some of the great coaches that at 50 years old you should get out of coaching and go into a whole new profession to motivate you. When I first got out of coaching, ABC came along and gave me a chance to work. Our budget when I took over as athletic director was $ 900, 000 and it’s $ 44 million this year. So that’s been a challenge. Plus the excitement and all that goes with building something successful and to have our facilities rated by a newspaper in South Carolina as No. 1 in the conference was a great compliment to our fans and their financial support.

Q What’s the plan for this fall, a big retirement tour ?

A I’ve never been in this position before, knowing that I’m approximately four months from changing jobs. I’ve made up my mind and solemnly made up my mind that I’ve had a charmed life. The fact I was able to be in a leadership role for over 50 years in the only job I ever really sought and wanted. People have supported me enough to keep my job for a 50-year period.

Q What connection will you have with the athletic department after the new year ? Will you continue fundraising ?

A I signed a contract with the (Razorback ) Foundation for six years. So I’m moving down to the foundation and I will spend most of my time building and continuing on our relationships with our fans and our supporters, and when an opportunity presents itself, to try to reduce our debt.

Q Is there an issue with the department’s debt ?

A No. In the survey that was done about debt, we’re way at the bottom of the schools as far as debt on our new facilities. Even though our facilities were voted No. 1 in the conference, our debt is way down the list because we built them, rebuilt them I should say, at a time when things were cheaper.

Q How much input are you going to have in bringing on the guy who succeeds you ?

A I don’t think I’ll have one word. I’d be surprised if I was asked one question about it. I just don’t think the people in authority are going to ask me anything about it. I’d be surprised.

Q Would it make sense to ask a guy who’s been here for 50 years ?

A I would work that way, but the leaders in selecting and hiring people have their own way of hiring people and so forth. I don’t think that I’ll be consulted.