Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

It has taken Coach Bobby Petrino only three seasons to get Arkansas in position for a BCS bowl berth. Petrino is now 23-14 with the Razorbacks, including a 10-2 record overall and 6-2 mark in the SEC this season.

Naturally, feelings are mounting that Petrino should be rewarded with an extended contract and raise. Petrino is in the third year of a deal that runs through Dec. 31, 2014. He makes $2.85 million annually, though a portion is earned in deferred compensation and his contract is loaded with relatively easy-to-hit academic and athletic achievement bonuses.

So are the school and Petrino working on a new deal? Athletic Director Jeff Long declined to talk specifics with ArkansasSports360.com about Petrino’s contract, but offered general praise of the coach he hired after pursuing several other options in Dec. 2007.

“We are proud of the tremendous job Bobby Petrino has done as the head football coach at the University of Arkansas,” Long told me. “We look forward to continued success in the years to come with Coach Petrino leading the Razorback football program.”

It remains to be seen what “years to come” means. Don’t be surprised if both sides soon agree to a commitment beyond the original deal, which put Petrino among the top-paid coaches in college football at the time it was signed. Floating around out there is the idea of a seven-year extension, a hefty buyout on both sides and a raise.

Certainly that would show a commitment from both sides. Petrino is aware of his reputation as a job-hopper and agreed in his original contract to a no-compete clause that would make him unavailable within the SEC West. Honestly, though, the label is unfair. The guy has had exactly two college head coaching gigs in a career that has spanned nearly three decades.

Reaching a deal and making it public would be good for Arkansas and Petrino in the near future. Other jobs are starting to come open in college football and, while none of the current openings seem like the sort Petrino would leave Fayetteville for, you can bet some big-time jobs will open at some point. Why not avoid the inevitable linking of Petrino with job openings? And if he gets linked to other big-time jobs, doesn't that increase the price of keeping him here?

To be fair, Arkansas has shown its commitment in other ways. Don’t forget money is being raised and the Board of Trustees has approved a new 80,000-square foot football operations facility. That project, which we’ll explore in more detail in the Dec. 6 issues of Arkansas Business, could be completed as early as January 2013, which would begin the final year of Petrino’s initial deal with Arkansas.

Committing to the massive project — estimated to cost $24-35 million — is a step in the right direction. Long was right to make a public announcement of the facility, giving fans, donors and outsiders a glimpse of how committed the school is to Petrino.

Petrino has been on record numerous times saying he enjoys Northwest Arkansas. He has proven he can win big at Arkansas in a relatively short period of time.

All that’s left is both sides agreeing to winning big with each other over the long haul.