Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national title, will be immortalized with a statue outside Bud Walton Arena, the school said Wednesday.

Richardson was on the court at halftime of No. 20 Arkansas’ 105-85 win over Texas in the team’s regular-season home finale Wednesday night when athletic director Hunter Yurachek surprised him and told him the school had commissioned a statue to commemorate his achievements.

Per the school’s announcement, work on the statue is set to begin soon.

“Coach Richardson’s impact on the game of basketball and our state is immeasurable,” Yurachek said in a statement. “He represented Arkansas with a toughness and intense work ethic that endeared him to our fans while changing the lives of numerous athletes, coaches and staff under his direction. His ’40 minutes of Hell’ changed college basketball and led to the 1994 national championship that changed Arkansas and our university forever. Coach Richardson will stand tall outside the arena for the rest of time.”

BUILD THE STATUE. LIVING LEGEND. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/2nJPh1d6zo

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 5, 2026

Richardson coined the phrase “40 Minutes of Hell” in reference to the ferocious, full-court defense his Arkansas teams played during his tenure (1985-2002). Between Arkansas and his first Division I job at Tulsa, Richardson amassed 508 wins (389 with the Razorbacks), reached the Final Four three times and secured Arkansas’ only national title.

Richardson also was a member of the Texas Western (now UTEP) teams that preceded the school’s victory over Kentucky in 1966, when five Black players started an NCAA championship game for the first time and won. That game paved the way for Black players to compete at schools that had previously rejected them.

Richardson, one of six SEC coaches to win a national title since 1990, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

After Wednesday’s game, current Arkansas coach John Calipari joked that he’s contractually obligated to clean the statue once it’s finished.

“Which I will do in a pleasant way because I love it,” he said. “He’s been so good to me since I’ve been here.”

Richardson and Arkansas were not on good terms when they divorced in 2002. But the two sides have repaired the relationship over the years. The university renamed the floor at Bud Walton Arena “Nolan Richardson Court” in 2019. Richardson praised Calipari’s hiring in 2024 after he left Kentucky, and he has been around the program since Calipari’s arrival.

“He should have been had a statue, I think,” said Trevon Brazile, who finished with 28 points on his senior night Wednesday. “They won the national championship.”

Added Darius Acuff Jr., who finished with 28 points and 13 assists against the Longhorns: “It’s great to see that for sure. Coach Richardson is a big part of our team. He’s been to a couple of our practices, so it’s always good to see [him]. He’s a legend.”

Wally Hall

[email protected]

Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.