Barrett: Razorbacks 'The Tie That Binds Us All Together'

In a state that seems divided on the future of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Chuck Barrett told the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Monday that the Hogs are "the tie that binds us together."

Barrett was the featured speaker of Monday's Touchdown Club meeting at the Embassy Suites in west Little Rock. He was hired in June to do play-by-play of Arkansas football games on the Arkansas Radio Sports Network, replacing interim announcer Mike Nail. Nail had sat in for a season after longtime announcer and KATV-TV, Channel 7, sports director Paul Eells was killed in an August 2006 car accident.

Click here or below to listen to MP3 audio of Barrett's speech.

On Monday, Barrett spoke about the passion of Razorback fans, and how unique it is to Arkansas' small population.

"This is how we mark so much of our lives," Barrett said, noting how fans match the results of past games with landmarks in their lives. "It gives us something to talk about."

Barrett also talked about the circumstances that led to the university choosing him - and not KATV news anchor Scott Inman - for the position.

"I never imagined that I would be in the position that I'm in right now," Barrett said. "I was always told that there would not be a talk show host that would be a part of the play-by-play team, would not be considered, and I never operated under the assumption that I would be."

But the university - and athletic director Frank Broyles - wanted to hire someone that would work from the inside, Barrett said.

In the past, most of the broadcasting jobs had been outsourced. Eells was employed by KATV and ARSN, not by the University of Arkansas itself. Barrett said the UA wanted to go in the direction that LSU had gone and have an official director of broadcasting at its disposal.