Like It Is

Differences at football media day noticed

Hunter Yurachek, athletics director at the University of Arkansas, speaks Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, during a press conference to introduce Chad Morris as the university's newly hired football coach at the Fowler Family Baseball and Track Indoor Training Center in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- It was noticeable.

When the media assembled for lunch in Barnhill Arena recently for football media day there was a sense of something thought to be long gone.

Professional friendliness.

Among the media, as a whole, we get along very well, and while we compete, we also appreciate each other's hard work. Yet, there was a sense that if we asked for something from someone at the University of Arkansas the answer wouldn't be an automatic no.

The interview with Chad Morris was going to be in the UA Razorbacks football meeting room -- a large, comfortable place with nice chairs and plenty of space.

Previous years, we were crammed into a dark corner of the foyer of the Fred W. Smith Football Center and some usually ended up sitting on the floor because the chairs were taken early.

This is not meant to vilify former Athletic Director Jeff Long. He did some good things at the UA, and he was a great dad and husband, but that was at home.

On campus he would laugh and hug athletes and coaches, but he seemed to avoid the core of the Razorback Nation like they were the media.

Mostly, the people who worked for him always seemed stressed. Like they were afraid to smile or be seen comfortable dealing with blue-collar folks or the media.

Most in the media felt that Long believed nothing was too good for the media and so he gave them nothing.

Maybe he was a little of an introvert, but he was definitely an empire builder, and he wanted to fill the shoes and outshine the man who made the Razorbacks a household, self-surviving, thriving athletic program, Frank Broyles.

Long had vision, and not long after he came to Arkansas he told the Razorback Foundation folks not to worry about raising money for expansion, just keep on doing what they were doing.

That lasted about a month.

When Long was fired int November there didn't seem to be much sadness, but everyone seemed genuinely glad, if not surprised, he landed on his feet at Kansas.

And while he's in the land of Oz the land of the Hogs is embracing its fans and all things Razorback.

While the intent is not to compare Long to his replacement Hunter Yurachek anymore than Long was compared to Broyles, there is a huge and obvious difference.

During the media lunch Yurachek showed up just to see if everyone had everything they needed. He asked how vacations went and made the type of small talk most of us are accustomed to.

Maybe it has nothing to do with one AD being born Ohio and the newest one born in Virginia, but there is a distinctive difference in the way they approach people, especially your regular, everyday hard-working guy who saves his money to buy tickets and a vacation is a bowl game.

Yurachek has been on the job more than seven months and not one person has expressed a negative feeling to yours truly.

That Saturday he was laughing and smiling. His wife found the right home. They are moved in and she absolutely loves the area. The guys from the sports information department who were working were as relaxed when he was there as before he arrived.

Yurachek said the expansion to Reynolds Razorback Stadium was going full speed and that the focus was on the seats and the suites. Things like offices had been put on the back burner. In others words, the fans are more important to him than his new office.

Yurachek treated all the media with the same open regard, regardless of address or form of media.

There was a noticeable difference that Saturday, a nice one.

Sports on 08/14/2018