Bobby Petrino Fired As Arkansas Razorback Football Coach

Bobby Petrino is out at Arkansas, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long has announced.

ArkansasSports360.com has full coverage here. 

"He made the decision to mislead the public, (and it) adversely affected the university and the football program," athletic director Jeff Long said at an evening news conference, choking up at one point as he discussed telling players the news. There was a "pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me."

It was a stunning fall for Petrino. But Long made it clear that the success on the field was overshadowed by a laundry list of deceptive acts.

The 51-year-old Petrino was injured in an April 1 motorcycle accident. He was put on paid leave last week after admitting he lied about the presence of the 25-year-old employee, Jessica Dorrell, who had been riding with him.

Long said his investigation, which took less than a week, found that Petrino had even given Dorrell $20,000 at one point, though he wouldn’t disclose what it was for. He also said Petrino was fired "with cause" — meaning he will not receive a multimillion-dollar buyout — and there were no discussions about ways to keep Petrino at Arkansas. 

Arkansas was 21-5 the last two seasons under Petrino and 34-17 since he arrived in 2008.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)