Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long was recently named as a finalist for SportsBusiness Journal’s athletic director of the year.

Long joins Bill Bradshaw (Temple), Dave Brandon (Michigan), Mark Hollis (Michigan State) and Ian McCaw (Baylor) as finalists.

During Long’s four-plus years, the department has made a number of financial, academic and on-field improvements. Highlights include the unveiling of a $320 million facilities master plan for all sports, an extra $6.5 million raised for the department through the Razorback Seat Value Plan and three consecutive years of the department grade point average hitting 3.0 or better. Long and his staff also worked to combine the men’s and women’s athletic departments in his first year on the job.

I recently chatted with Long about the recognition, what has happened since he took over in December 2007 and where he sees the program going over the next five years.

What reaction did you have to seeing your name as a finalist?

Well, I was very surprised. It’s not something I track on or know or even aware that was happening. Certainly, I’m aware that Sports Business Journal does this on an annual basis, but certainly wasn’t tracking on it or thinking about it when the recognition came. Just in general, any time this type of recognition (happens) to me, I see it as a sign of the program’s success.

Being AD is not an individual sport so to speak. It’s a team sport. It takes a team to receive any kind of recognition like this. I can say I’m very, very proud of our team here, our administration and our coaching. I’m very proud to be part of a university team that has very exciting things going on on the Arkansas campus under the leadership of Chancellor [Dave] Gearhart and System President [Donald] Bobbitt and our board of trustees.

I know it’s cliché-ish, but it really takes a team to get this sort of recognition. I don’t see it as an individual thing, but recognition that our team is doing a good job. I’m proud of the team surrounding me here in athletics.

There has been a lot made of the head coaches Arkansas now has on campus, particularly since Mike Anderson was added in basketball and Bobby Petrino and Dave Van Horn were locked up long-term. How critical is the strength of head coaches to an athletic department’s success?

Certainly, coaches are the key to our programs. They work day-in and day-out; they work closely with our student-athletes on that end. Certainly, surrounding ourselves with great coaches is a key to what we’re all about, central to our mission. They get to work day-in and day-out with the young people in our program. That, to me, is most important, the young people.

Our coaches are great. I’m very proud of what Mike Anderson is doing, what Bobby Petrino has done, what Chris Bucknam has done in taking over for a legend. Every program has different challenges and I think the job Robert Pulliza has done in taking over the volleyball program has been a little bit more of a build and I think we’re very close in that program and making a nice jump this year. Our softball program is working hard and our coaches are doing a good job there. Again, it takes a little longer in certain sports and there are programs that have different challenges. I think Mike Larabee and his staff are doing a good job with [softball].

Certainly women’s basketball and Tom Collen, it’s been five years and Tom has gotten our program where we want it to be: in the NCAA Tournament every year.

Coaches, you know, are the key. They’re the key to our public perception of the program. They’re the visible piece to working with our student-athletes.