When it comes to NIL and the wild West landscape it helped create in college athletics, football in particular, the Razorbacks will be sticking to the slow lane for now.
Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek told the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday, Sept. 15, that the program will continue to do things the right way and abide by the spirit and intent of NIL. Many schools have used the rule — and the unregulated landscape around it — to directly pay players, sometimes seven-figure amounts, with no expectations of services provided. NIL was created so players could benefit from their local celebrity and make money promoting local businesses. Under Yurachek, the Arkansas program has stressed doing NIL the right way but seemingly fallen behind many of its peers. Yurachek acknowledged as much.
With no repercussions for speeding in the third lane, programs have no incentive to honor the spirit of the rule. Yurachek didn’t name names, but even the casual college-sports fan could guess which schools are not abiding by that spirit. Arkansas is perceived as lagging in NIL because of its late start in launching an NIL collective, relative to other SEC programs; its insistence on sticking to the spirit of the rule; and a perceived apathy under current head football coach Sam Pittman. Yurachek also admitted that Arkansas was set up to compete for national championships in virtually every sport except football, the financial bell cow across college sports. This assessment is directly related to money, he confirmed to club founder and emcee David Bazzel.
Photo by DeWaine Duncan
“There are two major paths right now for athletics departments,” Yurachek said. “There’s the revenue-sharing path, and there’s legitimate NIL. Some schools have chosen a third lane — illegitimate NIL. If we could all operate in those two lanes in college athletics, we’d be in good shape.”
The days of free-wheeling could be coming to a close, however. The House v. NCAA settlement has changed the landscape. Yurachek called the 2024-25 academic year the last of its kind for college athletics. A national NIL clearinghouse, overseen by the Power 4 conferences (the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC) and administered by Deloitte, was launched this summer. All Division 1 athletes are now required to report any NIL income over $600 to the clearinghouse, which will evaluate each deal to determine that it reflects “reasonable market value” and “authentic commercial activity.” If an athlete receives X amount to promote a local business, he or she must show proof of actual “deliverables” to the business — social media posts or appearances, for example. Revenue sharing, instituted to help level the playing field, now allows D-1 programs to spend up to $20.5 million per year on “NIL.” Schools can choose whether to opt in to revenue sharing. Of Arkansas’ D-1 programs, all but UCA have done so.
Yurachek said roster caps have replaced scholarship limits in college sports and likened the current NIL landscape to an unregulated stretch of freeway.
“Right now, we have a speed limit in place for NIL, but there’s no speed limit signs on the highway and no troopers patrolling,” Yurachek said. “As an athletics director, you have to decide, are you gonna operate in this third lane you know you’re not supposed to be in, or are you gonna operate with the highest level of integrity and stay in those two lanes. That’s where the rub is in college athletics right now. That’s what we have to figure out at the University of Arkansas — how to operate in that third lane.”
NIL was one of several hot topics Yurachek addressed on Monday. From the future of Little Rock games to the transfer portal, there is plenty to keep him busy these days.
Photo by DeWaine Duncan
Yurachek said Gov. Sarah Sanders asked administrators at Arkansas and Arkansas State to consider the feasibility of an annual game between the two schools in Little Rock. The Hogs used to play SEC games in central Arkansas before the league told the UA it could no longer host conference games there, as War Memorial Stadium didn’t meet certain requirements to host a league game. Before this year’s matchup with ASU drew a full house for the first meeting between the schools, the Hogs had spent the last several years playing in Little Rock against overmatched 1-AA teams in a half-filled stadium. Yurachek said Arkansas will indeed abide by Sanders’ wish — although it is unclear whether a governor can even force such a game to happen — but given the current climate and the SEC’s addition of a ninth conference game, he did not seem optimistic for the Razorbacks’ return to Little Rock anytime soon, against anyone.
Yurachek called Arkansas games in War Memorial a “key piece of Razorback history,” but added that “it’s a new era” and that playing games there “requires some thoughtful consideration.”
Yurachek caught flak earlier this year — including criticism from former Hog linebacker Bazzel — for eliminating 15 positions within the athletics department, a move he said was all but required to meet the challenge of revenue-sharing. He said the department knew what was coming and didn’t backfill some positions when they came open and offered early retirement packages, but it was still necessary to eliminate some jobs — including that of longtime sports information director and associate AD Kevin Trainor, who had become something close to the face of the department over almost three decades. The FY24 athletics budget of $170 million was top 15 nationally but middle of the pack in the SEC, and Yurachek said $65 million of it was tied up in department salaries and benefits. A landing spot had been arranged for Trainor at the private Razorback Foundation, he added, but Trainor chose a position with the Arkansas Alumni Association instead.
Yurachek said he expects to secure new naming rights for Razorback Stadium in the next year to 18 months, which should add tens of millions in revenue. A 2023 valuation study found that the UA could get anywhere from $3.5 million to $4 million annually over 10 to 15 years for corporate naming rights, possibly more from a private entity like the nonprofit Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, which previously owned the rights. Given the current environment, Yurachek said he is focusing on a corporate sponsorship.
Photo by DeWaine Duncan
Other nuggets from Yurachek’s appearance before the club, his seventh consecutive:
- Yurachek regretted that his appearance came on the heels of a devastating loss in Oxford, Mississippi, Saturday night. The Hogs were driving for a go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes to play when a first-down catch led to fighting for extra yards inside the Rebel 15, and in typical Arkansas gut-wrenching fashion, a fumble was recovered by Ole Miss. “We had it in the palm of our hand and had a great opportunity to win,” he said. Yurachek said the Razorback offense is operating “off the charts” but acknowledged that, on defense, “we’ve got some work to do.”
- On the overall success of his department, Yurachek had plenty about which to brag. Arkansas won three SEC titles in the 2024-25 academic year, and over the past eight years, Razorback squads have brought home 39 conference championships across 12 sports. In a dig at a certain “rival” to the north, Yurachek noted that Missouri has won no SEC titles in any sport over that same span. Plus, Arkansas set composite attendance and revenue records last year, fueled by record attendance for the gymnastics and soccer programs, and of the 104 student-athletes who exhausted eligibility, 102 left Fayetteville with at least one degree.
- Yurachek said the transfer portal was partially fixed with the implementation of a one-time 10-day window in January, but added that the number of transfers allowed needs to be regulated. He endorsed Razorback men’s basketball coach John Calipari’s idea of allowing players one free transfer. Beyond that, a transfer would require a redshirt year, as it used to.
- Arkansas remains one of just 15 self-sustaining programs of 136 in the FBS subdivision of D-1. The athletics department receives no money from the school, state or student athletics fees.
- Arkansas finished 11th in the Director’s Cup standings, which gauges overall athletics success across all sports, men’s and women’s — good for just fifth, though, in the SEC.
- The Bud Walton Arena reseating plan was not popular among some longstanding season ticket holders, but Yurachek said the plan will bring in an additional $10.8 million annually in revenue.
- The program’s popular 50-50 raffle — which Bazzel credited to his Buzz 103.7 colleague RJ Hawk — generated $500,000 in revenue last year.
- Yurachek said he plans to seek out more big events at campus venues. In recent years, the UA has hosted a Garth Brooks concert at Razorback Stadium and a Banana Ball at Baum-Walker Stadium. “We’re trying to find another major concert for Razorback Stadium,” he said, adding that he is close to securing an international soccer match at the venue the year the World Cup is played in the U.S.
- Yurachek previously served as AD at the University of Houston. When he left for Arkansas in December 2017, the UH athletics budget was between $50 million and $60 million, most of it subsidized by the school and state. When he arrived in Fayetteville, he inherited a budget of $125 million. This year’s budget sits at $181 million.
- Yurachek is not a retired jersey or statue man, but moving forward, the Hogs will honor former great Darren McFadden with a special patch worn by the player who wears D-Mac’s No. 5. In recent months, much of the fan base has expressed a desire for a D-Mac statue to be erected outside Razorback Stadium. Statues currently exist on campus of Hall-of-Fame coaches Frank Broyles and Nolan Richardson. Yurachek said no retired numbers are coming to Razorback basketball, which officially has never retired a number, but teased that tributes to former Hog greats may be coming to Bud Walton Arena. The men’s basketball team has two jerseys hanging in the BWA rafters: those of Sidney Moncrief and Corliss Williamson. There currently are no nods to former Hog greats inside Razorback Stadium.
- Little Rock car magnate Frank Fletcher is one of the program’s biggest boosters. Bazzel asked Yurachek if he’d rather have 10, 20 or even 30 “Frank Fletchers” or have all Hog fans contribute a little. Yurachek’s succinct answer was, simply, “Yes.”
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Photo Credit: DeWaine Duncan
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