Arkansas Razorbacks - History

History

After classes were first held at the university, a contest was held on campus to select school colors. Cardinal (a shade of deep red) was selected over heliotrope, a shade of moderate purple. The first Arkansas football team was formed that same year and was known as the "Arkansas Cardinals". Sometime around the year 2000, the color black began making its way onto Razorback merchandise and eventually some team uniforms. Indeed, for some time, the Collegiate Licensing Company (responsible for all UA licensed gear) touted the university's colors as red and black instead of cardinal red and white. While this has been corrected, many manufacturers of UA related merchandise still make product according to the red and black color scheme.

In 1909 the football team finished a 7–0 season allowing only 18 points on defense and scoring 186 points on offense. College Football Hall of Fame coach Hugo Bezdek proclaimed his team played "like a wild band of razorback hogs". The name proved so popular that it was changed for the 1910 season. The tradition of calling the hogs, “Woo, Pig! Sooie” was added in the 1920s.

In 1957 Frank Broyles was hired as head football coach and served in that position for 19 years. Broyles team was awarded the 1964 National Championship by the Football Writers Association of America and the Helms Athletic Foundation. At the time, The AP and UPI awarded the designation before bowl games, and gave the award to Alabama. However, Alabama lost their bowl game to Texas, while Arkansas won their bowl game against Nebraska. The FWAA and HAF awarded their National Championship designations to Arkansas, who was the only team to go undefeated through bowl games that year. Both the University of Arkansas and the University of Alabama claim National Championships for the year 1964. However, by the standards of today and by the standards adopted by the Associated Press for the 1965 season (when they adopted awarding the award after bowl games), the University of Arkansas would be recognized as National Champions.

In 1969 Broyles team was ranked #2 and played the #1 Texas Longhorns, coached by Darrell Royal, at Fayetteville. The game, known as "The Big Shootout" is perhaps the most notable football game in Razorback history. President Richard Nixon was even in attendance. The Razorbacks led 14–0 until the 4th quarter. Texas scored 15 unanswered points and won the National Championship 15–14.

After Broyles left coaching and became Athletic Director he hired Lou Holtz to take his former position. Holtz served as head football coach from 1977 through the 1983 season. Under Holtz the Razorbacks lost a National Championship in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama and beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl ending their National Championship hopes.

The basketball team rose to prominence in the 1970s under the coaching of Eddie Sutton and with future NBA star Sidney Moncrief along with Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer, three similarly-sized Arkansas bred guards, known as "The Triplets." The team made a Final Four appearance under Sutton, finishing 3rd by defeating Notre Dame on a last second shot in the now defunct consolation game.

In the 1980s the football team was coached by Ken Hatfield and established itself as a powerful running team. The Razorbacks challenged for the SWC title each year and went to the Cotton Bowl Classic twice. Hatfield's teams established excellent regular season records, but had difficulty winning bowl games.

In 1990 Broyles led the Razorbacks out of the Southwest Conference and into the Southeastern Conference, setting off a major realignment in college football. In 1995 Arkansas won its first SEC Western Division Title in football.

In 1994 Nolan Richardson's basketball Hogs won the NCAA Tournament. Richardson's basketball teams challenged for the SEC and National Championships regularly during the 1990s, making three trips to the Final Four and two trips to the championship game while compiling a record of 389–169 (.697) in his 17 years as the head coach.

On 10 December 1997, Houston Nutt was hired as head football coach for the Razorbacks (1998 season was his first full season) to replace his predecessor, Danny Ford, who had been head coach since 1993. Highly sought after as a Little Rock Central quarterback, Nutt had been the last recruit to sign under Broyles, but transferred to Oklahoma State once he did not fit Holtz's offensive plans.

Soon after Houston Dale Nutt's timely departure, Razorback fans rejoiced as Atlanta Falcons Coach Bobby Petrino called the Hogs. Petrino quickly rebuilt the depleted Razorback football program into a top ranked nationally relevant program leading them to a BCS game in 2010 and the school's third 11 win season with a top five season ranking in the 2011 season. Petrino was subsequently fired as details of an affair with a member of his staff and Petrino's attempts to cover up this relationship surfaced. AD Jeff Long introduced John L. Smith as the interim coach for the 2012 season in late April.

Smith entered the season as the steward of a pre-season top ten squad with multiple pre-season Heisman hopefuls. He recorded the school's first loss to a Sunbelt team in the program's 100 year history as Louisiana Monroe pulled the upset in Little Rock. In only his second game he had managed the second largest drop from the AP ranking narrowly missing the number one spot held by Michigan after losing the season opener to Appalachian State just threes years before.