LIKE IT IS

Respect for Broyles Award keeps growing

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco (left) talks with Frank Broyles Dec. 4, 2012, after winning the Frank Broyles Award in Little Rock.

In 1996, when David Bazzel approached Frank Broyles about creating the Broyles Award, to be given each year to the outstanding assistant coach in college football, Broyles had one concern.

Was there really time to do it that year?

There was.

It was a first-class dinner and presentation, and it has grown into one of the most respected awards among coaches in college football.

Now it has taken another leap.

The Broyles Award is now a part of EA Sports NCAA Football 14.

As part of the game, players can now pick a Broyles Award winner to be their offensive or defensive coordinator.

It is not Bazzel’s first encounter with EA Sports.

People who purchase the game also can choose to be Arkansas or LSU and play each other for the Golden Boot, which Bazzel also introduced in 1996.

The Golden Boot, a big, heavy, gold-plated trophy that includes the states of Arkansas and Louisiana that form a boot shape, has received a lot of publicity and enabled the Razorbacks - who were still relative newcomers to the SEC back then - to build a small rivalry with the Tigers.

The University of Arkansas has announced it will lease gazebos in The Gardens this football season.

These aren’t your run-of the-mill gazebos, either.

The permanent fixtures are brick, mortar and roofed. There is space for up to 60 people, and they come with picnic tables.

They aren’t available for the Texas A&M game because that is already sold out, but they can be rented for the South Carolina or Auburn games for $750 or for the Louisiana-Lafayette or Southern Miss games for $600.

It is a pretty good deal, but to sweeten the pot, each renter gets five parking passes on lot 56.

If there is one thing that is always a premium at Razorback football games, it is parking.

There is a lot of talk these days about Michael Dyer walking on for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Dyer had trouble at Auburn and Arkansas State before settling in at Arkansas Baptist, and he’s now ready for a third chance.

He’s said he is drug free and has given up guns.

Dyer deserves another shot. If it won’t affect recruiting, the UA might welcome him with open arms, but if it might scare off another good running back, then Coach Bret Bielema and his staff might have to think long and hard about it.

More than 1,000 media members will meet Tuesday in Hoover, Ala., for SEC Media Days, which officially signals football season is almost upon us.

No conference has more media attend than the SEC, and now College Football Live will be on hand with reports Tuesday through Thursday from 2:30 to 3 p.m.

ESPN will preview the 2013 season.

ESPN and the SEC recently partnered in developing the SEC Network, which could mean millions of dollars each season for conference members. It also will mean a ton of exposure for college football’s most prominent power because it will be SEC sports 24-7.

The Arkansas Outdoors Expo returns to the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds on July 20-21 for a third consecutive year, and there will be a real headliner for this event.

Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty will be the featured guest, and this is the only outdoor show in the country that will feature him.

Duck Dynasty is the wildly popular television show on A&E that features the Robertson family and their family owned business, Duck Commander.

The company built its reputation on making duck calls, but now it sells all sorts of hunting gear in Monroe, La.

The Outdoors Expo will feature a ton of activities and seminars. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for children older than 7.

Sports, Pages 15 on 07/11/2013