It is probably fair to say that Jeff Long has almost as big of a challenge facing him as Bobby Petrino.

Long, the vice chancellor and director of athletics, has the unenviable chore of replacing a legend.

Frank Broyles ruled the Arkansas Razorbacks as head coach and later athletic director for 50 years.

When he was finally convinced it was time to step down, he left a legacy of incredible facilities and a solid financial base, the Razorback Foundation, where he now works as a fundraiser / speaker.

It is never easy to replace a legend, and doing so when the football and basketball teams are both entering the infancy stages of rebuilding could make it even more difficult.

After Saturday’s loss to Alabama, there were probably a million places Long would have rather been Monday than addressing the Little Rock Touchdown Club.

But he was there and very confident about the direction of the UA athletic department.

Long laughed at Rex Nelson’s weekend summary, made some jokes with and about David Bazzel, and then proceeded to make something of a mission statement.

His No. 1 priority is to improve graduation rates.

He now has a better grasp of why Arkansas doesn’t, and probably won’t, play Arkansas State.

He understands the passion of the fans from all over the state.

Facilities need to be updated and he needs to raise the bar on donations because of the need for a face-lift that would include getting all the athletic department employees under one roof.

When Long merged the men’s and women’s departments, he became responsible for all 19 sports.

Long also left no doubt he believes in Petrino.

“If I have to tell my football coach who to hire or how to run his team, I don’t have the right football coach,” he said. “And I have the right coach.” He went on to say it might not be seen this year, or even next, but Petrino will make the program good enough to win the Western Division and play for the SEC championship on a regular basis.

The ovation for that statement was almost as loud as when he said: “To be honest, when I first came, I thought all the games should be played on campus, but I’ve come to know the passion in this area. This is a small state, and we need the entire state.

“ You can’t get to where we need to be with one area of the state.” Which is a bit different than the thinking seemed to have been the past 10 years, but he is right. The state is small, not wealthy, and the Razorbacks have always been known as the flagship team.

Extending the two-game contract in War Memorial Stadium was a win-win for everyone (but with the high demand for tickets, it would be nice if the West end zone was double-decked to go along with the new luxury suites and press box ).

Overall, Monday, Long was entertaining and informative.

No one will ever accuse him of being a Broyles clone or copy.

He’s brought new ideas and innovations with him and as a vice chancellor is a member of the executive committee that assists with the administration of the university.

During his 50 years on campus, Broyles pretty much became a Georgia Razorback.

Long is still learning to be an Ohio Hog.

Long claimed he has had no resistance from anyone since taking control of the athletic department, but that hasn’t stopped some from whispering about the fact that the one page about the Razorback Foundation is no longer part of the media guide.

So basically Broyles’ only mention in the Arkansas media guide is as a former coach and athletic director, but nothing else. Not even a word on the nationally known Broyles Award.

That didn’t sit well with some, but Long probably did not edit the media guide. He’s kind of busy installing a new way of doing things.