FAYETTEVILLE — Bobby Petrino will appear on ESPN for the first time as coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks in a taped interview today at 2: 30 p. m. Central.

Petrino’s appearance on College Football Live with Brent Musburger is scheduled to be taped a couple of hours before the telecast.

Arkansas fans have been critical of ESPN in recent months. Last fall, some Razorbacks fans had the perception that it showed a preference for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow over former Razorback Darren McFadden in the Heisman Trophy race.

Then there was the criticism voiced by several ESPN analysts regarding Petrino’s abrupt move from the Atlanta Falcons to Arkansas last December with three games remaining in the Falcons’ season.

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Petrino had declined invitations to appear on other ESPN shows.

“He wants to move on, we want to move on, and this is a first step toward doing that,” said Kevin Trainor, UA associate athletic director for media relations and communications. “He’s excited about being here, and he wants to talk about Arkansas. We felt like the timing was right for this.”

The power of ESPN and its status as a broadcast partner with the SEC were other considerations.

“ESPN is a large player in college athletics, and we felt it was important to communicate the message of Arkansas football,” Trainor said.

Petrino is likely to field questions about his coaching history and his decision to leave the Falcons from Musburger and again Friday during his stint at SEC Football Media Days in Hoover, Ala.