Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

This football season marks the 21st for the Razorbacks as members of the SEC. Having completed two decades in the league it seemed worth reflecting on how far the program has come. Which victories over the last 20 years were the sweetest? Were there losses that hurt more than others? What coaching decisions still have folks scratching their heads? ArkansasSports360.com assembled a panel aimed at answering these questions. We have our list and we'd love to hear yours.

No. 6 on our moments you love to remember ...

Razorback Stadium Renovation
When it happened: 2000-2001
Who we remember: Frank Broyles, Houston Nutt, Cedric Cobbs, Phil Fulmer, Don Reynolds and the Reynolds Foundation, Harold Horton
Why we remember: Arkansas lagged behind most of the SEC in home stadium facilities when the Razorbacks entered the league for football in 1992. Razorback Stadium last was enlarged in 1985, with an additional 10,000 seats bringing capacity to 55,000. Worse than the capacity, however, was the overall facility’s appearance, compared with the likes of Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn or Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

It’s safe to say Houston Nutt’s early success in Fayetteville helped make stadium expansion possible.

Along with expansion came a massive video board that, at the time, was the largest in the country (12 years later, Arkansas is renovating the video board to catch back up to the competition).

Making the expansion financially feasible was the large number of new skyboxes and indoor seating, particularly in the new south end zone addition. Then, it became the job of Harold Horton longtime aide to Athletic Director Frank Broyles, to convince fans that sitting in the end zone could actually be enjoyable, especially with a video replay board on the opposite end.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation made the final piece possible with a $25 million contribution.

The stadium, with 17,000 additional seats and enclosed on the south end, was ready for rededication in early 2001 with Tennessee as the opponent and ESPN in town.

A huge storm system made its way into Northwest Arkansas about the time the teams took the field for warm-ups, the first inkling that this wouldn’t be a typical night. Lightning delayed the start by several minutes. The storms finally moved on by the second quarter but, by then, so had many of the fans in the new east side upper deck.

Arkansas moved the football behind the running of Cedric Cobbs, but the Hogs couldn’t crack the end zone and lost 13-3. Also losing out in the stadium expansion was Little Rock when Broyles took all but two annual games from War Memorial Stadium.

Rennovating the stadium was a major step in the right direction for the program, which now boasts some of the league's best facilities.

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