University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long spoke to the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday, hailing the progress of the football program, urging fans to buy tickets to the next Little Rock game and offering assurance that his focus is on the Razorbacks despite his role as chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Speaking at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock two days after the Razorbacks beat Texas Tech 49-28 in Lubbock, Texas, Long said the win is another indication of a program that's on the rise under second-year head coach Bret Bielema.
"How 'bout those hogs, huh?" Long asked to applause during his remarks. "... We got out of there with a convincing win and you know one that our program needed and one that coach Bielema's working very hard to achieve. You're now seeing Razorback football under Bret Bielema. You're seeing the first test of how he likes to play the game and how he likes to win the game."
Long commended the team's play on the field, but also talked about its progress academically, noting the team GPA under Bielema has gone from about 2.4 to nearly 2.8.
"I can't tell you the job Bret Bielema and his staff has done to build our program," Long said. "... You will be proud of the student athletes in our football program and throughout Razorback athletics for what they do on and off the field. That is my commitment to you."
Long commended the successful launch of the SEC Network, saying it will bring "tremendous" benefits and exposure to the university, and appealed to fans in central Arkansas to buy tickets for the Razorbacks' Oct. 18 game against the University of Georgia at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. He called Georgia an "outstanding football team."
"We will need that homefield advantage," Long said, noting that a significant number of tickets remain.
During his prepared remarks and in comments afterward to reporters, Long said his primary focus is on Razorback athletics even though he was named last year the first chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee.
"I want to make sure our Razorback fans know: There's nothing more important to me than my job as vice chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Arkansas," he said. "Razorback Athletics will never take second place to a role as a chairman on this college football [committee]. Believe me, I do that on my spare time. I do it on my family's time actually. I watch a lot of football when I normally would be spending time with my family."
For more on this story, see Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.