By Mark Carter, Sarah DeClerk and Mary LeSieur. Photos by Ryan Parker. Feature photo above: Ray Lewis, left, with David Bazzel
Every Monday during football season, like clockwork, Arkansas football enthusiasts flood the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Little Rock, eager and energized to soak up stories, insight and wisdom from some of the biggest names in the game.
Starting in 2004 with a charter of only 17 members, the Little Rock commodity has grown into one of the biggest touchdown clubs in the nation, now having more than 500 participants and members.
“We had a writer down in Louisiana who called us the Oprah of touchdown clubs in America because we were getting all these great emotional interviews, and they were going nationwide,” David Bazzel, co-founder and emcee, said in 2023.
Over the past 21 years, the Little Rock Touchdown Club has welcomed an impressive roster of football legends. The club has hosted 21 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees and 29 members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The guest list has included players and coaches who together represent 60 Super Bowl and NFL Championships, 11 Super Bowl MVPs and 11 Heisman Trophy winners.
Collectively, the speakers have earned 134 NFL All-Pro selections, 205 Pro Bowl appearances and 70 All-American honors.
Bazzel also noted that the coaches who have spoken at the club have amassed a staggering 10,805 career wins, 47 college national championships, 368 bowl game victories and 210 conference titles.
“I wanted it to be the best,” Bazzel told Arkansas Money & Politics in 2023. “I want to be the best there is in whatever I do, if it’s creating an award or hosting a radio show.
“I never thought, though, that within a couple of decades, this would be one of the best, if not the best, touchdown clubs in America.”
The Little Rock Touchdown Club has welcomed big names like the Manning brothers, Brett Favre, David Pollack, Ray Lewis, Terry Bradshaw and Jon Gruden.
NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre
Bazzel attributed his success to the very boisterous and loyal Arkansas community, the same community that shows its steadfast support every year.
“One of the keys to our success is all of you,” Bazzel told the crowd at the 2025 lineup announcement. “I’m just telling you, all the members, all the sponsors, all the volunteers — all these high-profile guys and ladies, they feel it. They feel there’s something special about this group. I’m just telling you, they do. That’s why you’ve got to bring the energy every week. It makes a big difference.” AY Media Group is a media sponsor for the Touchdown Club. The presenting sponsor is Simmons Bank.
Bazzel with George Makris, Jr., CEO of LRTDC sponsor Simmons Bank (Photo by Sarah DeClerk)
“I can tell you from a Simmons Bank perspective, we have been a very small part of the success of the Touchdown Club,” said George Makris Jr., chairman and CEO at Simmons Bank, who credited Bazzel with the club’s success. “It has been our absolute pleasure to have this opportunity, and we look forward to being a supporter for years to come.”
Additional sponsors include Stephens, Wright Lindsey Jennings, Oaklawn Hot Springs, Sissy’s Log Cabin and The Hatcher Agency in Little Rock, among others.
Chris White, executive vice president and chief community banking officer at Simmons Bank, said the Little Rock Touchdown Club was one of the best touchdown clubs in the region, if not the country.
“I think of a few words when I think of this club. I think of discipline. I think of commitment, and I think of passion,” he said. “A lot of those things that David has instilled in this club are the same things that we take pride in at Simmons Bank.”
This year’s schedule will feature an impressive lineup of former coaches and players, and for the first time ever, ticket sales are already open for the first two meetings. The club will tee up its 21st slate of state and national speakers when the 2025 fall schedule kicks off Aug. 18.
From left, coaching legends Barry Switzer (Oklahoma), Ken Hatfield (Arkansas) and Fred Marshall (Arkansas)
As is club tradition, the head Hog will lead things off. Sam Pittman, entering his sixth year as head football coach for the Razorbacks, will be the speaker for the first meeting.
Sam Pittman
The Hogs are coming off a 7-6 season that culminated in a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech, but Pittman finds himself on the hot seat after following a nine-win campaign in 2021 with two six-win regular seasons and a 4-8 mark in 2023. His overall record at Arkansas is 30-31, but Pittman took the Arkansas job when the program was at the lowest point in its history, coming off consecutive 2-10 and SEC winless campaigns under Chad Morris.
His reward for taking a job that reports said no one wanted at the time was COVID-19 and a contracted, 10-game, all-SEC schedule. Pittman immediately instilled pride back into the program, and although the Hogs finished 3-7 that year, they earned an invitation to the Texas Bowl to play TCU. The Horned Frogs, however, backed out of the bowl at the last minute — Arkansas’ equipment managers were loading the team buses to leave for Texas when the call came that TCU was opting out because more players had tested positive for COVID-19.
With former head Hog Bobby Petrino back for his second season as offensive coordinator, as is starting quarterback Taylen Green, the Hogs look to field a potent offense in 2025.
On the heels of Pittman’s appearance comes former Razorback Jimmy Johnson, longtime broadcaster for Fox’ in-studio NFL coverage and Super Bowl-winning coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson will speak to the club Aug. 26.
With Jerry Jones, Johnson was a member of the 1964 national championship squad in Fayetteville. The Port Arthur, Texas, native coached college ball at Oklahoma State before taking over at Miami and propelling the Hurricanes to the 1987 national title.
Johnson interviewed for the Arkansas job after Lou Holtz left in 1983, but Frank Broyles preferred another of his former players, Ken Hatfield, which led to a rift between Johnson and Broyles. Many believe that is why Johnson distanced himself from his alma mater.
In 1989, Jones, the new owner of the Cowboys, hired Johnson to coach the team. Johnson became just the second coach in team history, replacing the legendary Tom Landry. Despite going 1-15 his first season in Dallas, Johnson led the Cowboys on a run that included two Super Bowl titles during the 1990s.
Johnson left the Cowboys after four seasons after Jones told reporters that any coach could have coached Dallas to a Super Bowl title. Johnson returned to the NFL in 1996 after a stint as a broadcaster with Fox Sports. He coached the Dolphins for three mediocre campaigns before rejoining Fox as a studio analyst.
NFL hall-of-famer Lawrence Taylor, considered one of the greatest linebackers and defenders to ever play the game, will be the club’s guest Sept. 2. Taylor played college ball at North Carolina and for the NFL’s New York Giants. He led the Giants to two Super Bowls and was named the league’s most valuable player in 1986. He was a three-time NFL defensive player of the year and was named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary all-time team, among numerous other accomplishments and accolades.
Darren McFadden
Razorback legend Darren McFadden, whose No. 5 will be featured on a special jersey patch worn by the Hogs this season, is next up on Sept. 8. McFadden is considered one of the greatest Razorback athletes of all time. He was a two-time consensus all-American, a two-time runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, a two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the best running back in the country and a two-time Jim Brown Trophy award winner. He won the Walter Camp Award in 2007.
Injuries derailed a promising pro career, but “D-Mac” — as all of Arkansas knows him — played in the NFL for eight seasons with the Raiders and Cowboys.
Hunter Yurachek
Following D-Mac’s appearance, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek will speak Sept. 15, followed by Heisman winner and former Raider Tim Brown Sept. 22; Craig James, one half of the famed SMU Pony Express who played pro ball for New England, Sept. 29; Butch Jones, head coach at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Oct. 6; Nathan Brown, head coach at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Oct. 13; Kelli Finglass, director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Oct. 21; Holly Rowe, the award-winning sideline reporter for ESPN, Oct. 27; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Nov. 4; former Hog greats Madre Hill and Anthony Lucas (the latter currently coaching Pulaski Academy in Little Rock) Nov. 10; former Texas and North Carolina coach Mack Brown Nov. 17; and Mark May, former broadcaster and offensive linemen for the Washington Commanders, Nov. 24.
