After three consecutive weeks of Pro Football Hall of Famers making appearances at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek took his turn at the club’s meeting Monday at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Little Rock.
Yurachek spoke for about 30 minutes and offered direct insights on the topics he spoke about, especially with his opinions on the current state of name, image and likeness in college athletics.
“It has been terrible. It’s been awful,” Yurachek said when asked about dealing with NIL as an athletic director. “NIL the way it was intended on July 1 of 2021, that if a student athlete had a value to their name, image or likeness and there was a business product or service that wanted to use a student athlete to market their business, product or service, well (the athlete) could receive valid compensation to do that.”
Yurachek said the intention behind the approval of name, image and likeness is not what is happening in reality. He said the first year went fairly smoothly, but things have changed drastically over the last 2 years.
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“In college athletics, we are our own worst enemy,” Yurachek said. “We find the loophole to every single rule in the rule book and we found a loophole where we created these things called collectives. Collectives are donors pooling their resources together to pay student-athletes collectives under the (guise) of doing charitable work.
Yurachek said the issue with collectives is that, unlike a business that will pay fair market value, collectives are paying athletes “outrageous” amounts of money that do not equate to the so-called charitable work that is being done.
“Whether that was tweeting about a charitable organization, or signing autographs, or making public appearances, but the amounts of money that were getting paid were simply ridiculous and still are ridiculous,” Yurachek said. “Collectives aren’t paying market value, they’re just buying teams. That figure has grown to a ridiculous number and athletic directors are charged many times with going out and raising those dollars through various means.”
Yurachek said that Arkansas is not where it needs to be in order to be competitive with the top programs in the SEC. He cited the University of Mississippi as an example, claiming that Ole Miss has about 5,000 members in its football collective, while Arkansas has just 1,000 members at this point.
Outside of his comments on the NIL, Yurachek also cleared the air regarding the high-profile hires of offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino with the football program and Coach John Calipari with the men’s basketball team.
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“First and foremost, the Bobby Petrino hire, that is Sam Pittman’s hire,” he said. “I do not hire assistant coaches for any of our sports programs. I helped Sam facilitate that. People are going to speculate that I made (Pittman) hire him and that Bobby is going to be our next head coach, but that’s not at all the case and I credit Sam for not being intimidated by that.”
He added, “(With) Coach Cal, that was my hire. We are serious about being successful in all of our sports and hiring somebody like Coach Cal and making that investment was surely a sign of that.”
Yurachek expressed optimism for both the men’s basketball team and the football team the rest of this season. Arkansas is 2-1 on the year following its 37-27 home win over Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday. The Razorbacks’ SEC slate starts this Saturday when they travel to face the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“Things change a little bit when you go and start playing in the SEC,” Yurachek said. “If you’ve looked at the polls lately, there’s six SEC teams in the top 10 and nine in the top 25. Going on the road in Stillwater (Okla.) and playing a team like Oklahoma State early in the season (has prepared) us for (conference play).
“I think you will see that our team that played at Oklahoma State will be the one who shows up on Saturday down at Auburn and I think you can expect a great game from the Razorbacks.”
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the transfer portal reshaping rosters overnight and elite freshmen arriving every summer, projecting the next college basketball season has become an exercise in controlled chaos.
Still, a handful of programs have positioned themselves early as national title contenders through roster continuity, program consistency and coaching stability.
Arkansas will once again be in the mix, but its true preseason forecast will come once the portal is mostly wrapped up. Coach John Calipari knows what type of player he needs to add for his team to advance past the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and probably won’t sleep a whole lot until he signs at least one major contributor in the paint.
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No. 1 seed Michigan had a stellar run in its second season under coach Dusty May, who competes for a national championship against No. 2 seed UConn Monday night. He goes up against two-time championship coach Dan Hurley, who is looking to join elite company by winning his third trophy with the Huskies.
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Which teams are best equipped already for next season? Here’s an early look at who can make a run in 2026-27.
1. Michigan
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UConn Huskies forward Jaylin Stewart (3) possesses the ball against Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) in the first half during the national championship of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The Wolverines absolutely make sense regardless of if they win a national title Monday night. May added a commitment from 5-star guard Brandon McCoy Saturday who projects to be a lead guard at the next level.
Key big man Yaxel Lendeborg will be a huge loss after being a critical piece to Michigan’s championship game run. Power forward Morez Johnson should return after averaging over 13 points and seven rebounds per game.
Another likely returnee is Trey McKenney, who played well as a freshman averaging 11 points and 44% shooting in the month of March.
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1B. UConn
UConn Huskies guard Solo Ball (1) reacts after a made three point basket against the Michigan Wolverines during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Whether Hurley’s bid for a third title falls short, his brilliant coaching in the NCAA Tournament is worth keeping the Huskies near the top of all college basketball rankings.
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Veterans such as Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed are seeing their eligibility expire while freshman Braylon Mullins could opt to enter the NBA Draft.
Veteran guard Silas Demary has been a nice addition from Georgia out of the portal this season and will likely return as the Huskies’ starting point guard.
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3. Duke
The Blue Devils are set to lose the Boozer twins, but have signed capable replacements in true freshmen Cameron Williams and Deron Rippey, Jr.
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Coach Jon Scheyer’s group will continue to run the ACC until anyone else decides to be up for the challenge. If he can find a way to keep Patrick Ngongba around for next season as his key big man, then there’s no reason to count out Duke as national title favorites once again.
Duke Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer speaks with the media during a press conference ahead of the east regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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4. Michigan State
No one will ever doubt coach Tom Izzo’s ability to assemble a championship contender and he did just that with Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears and company this season.
With a top high school recruiting class and a couple of key portal additions on the perimeter, the Spartans will be Big Ten title contenders and earn a Top 4 NCAA Tournament seed.
5. Illinois
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Coach Brad Underwood has made the Fightin’ Illini a raging success and nearly led his team to the promised land this season.
He discovered freshman wing Keaton Wagler before anyone else, and became a household name and potential lottery pick after arriving to school as aTop 150 prospect.
Lightning might not strike twice next year, but he’ll probably have another solid team built for a deep NCAA Tournament run. Sharpshooter Andrej Stojakovic and forward David Mirkovic are both expected to return after playing key roles in Illinois’ first Final Four run in two decades.
6. Arizona
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The Wildcats were no match for Michigan in the Final Four and are likely going to lose key freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries to the NBA Draft. Keeping veteran big man Mo Krivas and key wing Ivan Kharchenkov in the rotation is key.
Adding McDonald’s All-American MVP Caleb Holt won’t hurt either as the next great freshman for the Wildcats.
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7. Arkansas
Coach John Calipari knows his biggest assignment will be adding a big man or two to round out his rotation. He has a three 5-star freshmen in Jordan Smith, Jr. (No. 2 ranked prospect, JJ Andrews and Abdou Toure coming in with potential key returnee Billy Richmond to potentially lockdown the perimeter.
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Jordan Smith Jr during the McDonalds All American Boys Game at Desert Diamond Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Arkansas fans are hungry to see their team get back to the Final Four and have been inching closer each of the previous five seasons.
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8. Purdue
The Boilermakers are set to lose All-American guard Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn which will be hard to come back from for any team.
However, Matt Painter continues to reload with guys who often fly under the radar or lesser known on the recruiting trail out of high school. His next team may not be as talented, or veteran laden but should be fixtures in the Big Ten no matter what the offseason brings.
9. St. John’s
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Arkansas guard Boogie Fland (2) and forward Billy Richmond III (24) fight for a rebound against St. John’s guard Aaron Scott (0) during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
The Red Storm will find it tough to replace versatile big man Zury Ejifor, but if anyone can do so it’s hall of fame coach Rick Pitino. His team has been close to breaking into national title contention over the previous two seasons.
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Pitino’s combination of Ian Jackson, Dylan Darling and Ruben Prey can give St. John’s a boost next season.
10. Alabama
Nate Oats has the Crimson Tide at a level never before seen in Tuscaloosa with at least a Sweet 16 or better finish in each of the previous four seasons.
Star guard Labaron Philon is probably headed to the league as a mid-first round prospect which leaves a gaping hole in Alabama’s rotation for next season.
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Top 20 freshman guard Qadyden Samuels is potentially a solid replacement with a complete offensive skillset as a three-level scorer. If his length translates well to college, he can be an exceptional perimeter defender.
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Oats will need to find a way to keep key big men such as Amari Allen and Aiden Sherrell around or pick up a couple out of the transfer portal to stay near the top of the SEC.
Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats looks on in the second half against the Michigan Wolverines during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | David Banks-Imagn Images
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11. Iowa State
The Cyclones were on the verge of a breakthrough before falling short in the Sweet 16. Losing All-American Joshua Jefferson early in the tournament sidelined any hopes of coach T.J. Otzelberger leading his team to its first Final Four since 1944.
Iowa State will probably make a strong run in the portal to replace other key contributors. But one thing is sure that this program has staying power on the national scene.
12. Kansas
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Kansas Jayhawks forward Justin Cross (25) is welcomed by Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self before the Sunflower Showdown game against Kansas State Wildcats inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday, March 7, 2026. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Each passing year it seems that the biggest question is whether or not coach Bill Self will return for another year.
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He is, at least this year, but even with his exceptional recruiting skills and a deep portal budget, it seems like a slight nosedive has taken place since winning the national title in 2022.
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Star freshman Darryn Peterson’s one-and-done stay in Lawrence certainly didn’t live up to the hype. Big man Flory Bidunga is currently evaluating his options, which shouldn’t give anyone a reason to rank the Jayhawks higher.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A major event aimed at raising awareness and funding cancer research in Arkansas is coming up this weekend.
The 6th Annual Be a Part of the Cure Walk benefits the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, helping fund cancer research, clinical trials, and long-term survival studies, with every dollar raised staying in Arkansas.
Joining us this morning are Elizabeth Birrer, co-chair of the walk, and Lesley Murphy, this year’s emcee.
Murphy, a professional travel journalist, has shared her own cancer prevention journey after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy at UAMS when genetic testing revealed she carried the BRCA2 gene. She now uses her experience to help educate and raise awareness about cancer prevention.
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The walk is designed to bring the community together, survivors, families, and supporters, while highlighting the importance of research and patient care. Participants can expect a day of walking, activities, and opportunities to learn more about the institute’s ongoing work.
Online registration is available at here and closes at 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 1st. In-person registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2nd at War Memorial Stadium, Gate 1.
Every dollar raised during the event directly supports research and clinical studies here in Arkansas, helping to advance treatment and improve outcomes for patients across the state.
The 6th Annual Be a Part of the Cure Walk is a community effort that combines awareness, education, and support, all focused on the fight against cancer.
