After being told a football recruit had talked about how exciting his basketball team was to watch these days, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman flashed a big smile and pumped his fist on Sunday.
It came after a Zoom press conference question about whether his team’s run to the Elite Eight could be quantified in terms of recruiting and exposure.
"I don't think you can quantify it,” Musselman said. “It takes on a life of its own. When you make the tournament, it's got a little bit of life. When you advance, it's got more life and so on and so forth.
“I love hearing that. It's awesome that a football recruit would say that about our basketball team. I know that with our recruits, the success of our baseball team and the success of Coach (Mike) Neighbors and the women's (basketball) team and our track teams, both men and women, those are some of the things we talk about all the time."
Musselman, whose Razorbacks (25-6) face Baylor (25-2) Monday at 8:57 p.m. Central, gave the Fayetteville campus a new moniker.
"When you come to Arkansas, it's a campus of champions,” Musselman said. “When you go into that Jones Center and walk by a track athlete, that track athlete has probably won a national championship. When you walk into the Jones Center to eat or study, and you walk by a baseball player, that baseball player, there's a great chance is a future first-round draft pick or part of a team that's ranked No. 1 in the nation.
“I think we all feed off each other the more success we have as a department. But I certainly love to hear that (from) a football player."