Finally.
Hall of Famer and former Arkansas men’s basketball coach Nolan Richardson will be immortalized with a statue outside of Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas announced Wednesday night at halftime of the Hogs’ SEC tussle with Texas.
The legendary coach was surprised with the news – on the court that bears his name – during halftime when Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek made the announcement. The statue is in the process of being commissioned, with work scheduled to start soon. Richardson’s likeness will be featured on the west side of Bud Walton Arena once the statue is completed.
“Coach Richardson’s impact on the game of basketball and our state is immeasurable,” Yurachek said. “He represented Arkansas with a toughness and intense work ethic that endeared him to our fans while changing the lives of numerous athletes, coaches and staff under his direction. His “40 minutes of hell” changed college basketball and led to the 1994 national championship that changed Arkansas and our university forever. Coach Richardson will stand tall outside the arena for the rest of time.”
Richardson led the Razorbacks to an overall record of 389-169, setting a school record for wins and a .697 winning percentage. He led Arkansas to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including six Sweet 16s (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996), four Elite Eights (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995), three Final Fours (1990, 1994, 1995), a national runner-up finish in 1995 and the 1994 NCAA Championship, the first in school history.
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He coached Arkansas to five conference titles, including three in the Southwest Conference (1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91), along with SWC tournament championships in the same seasons; two Southeastern Conference championships (1991-92, 1993-94), an SEC West Division title (1994-95) and three trips to the SEC tournament championship including an SEC tournament title in 2000.
In Richardson’s 22 combined years as a head coach at the collegiate level — at Western Texas Junior College, the University of Tulsa and the University of Arkansas — he compiled a record of 508-206 (.711) and became the only head coach in college basketball history to win a National Junior College Championship, NIT Championship and NCAA Championship.
Richardson was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1996 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. He was honored with a banner in Bud Walton Arena in 2015. In 2019, the court inside the arena was officially named the Nolan Richardson Court in his honor.
Fittingly, the Hogs routed Texas — with which Richardson’s Hogs had many epic battles — Wednesday night to secure a double-bye in next week’s SEC tournament in Nashville.
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