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HawgBeat – Battle, Mark, players-only meeting lead Arkansas to wild win over Vandy

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HawgBeat  –  Battle, Mark, players-only meeting lead Arkansas to wild win over Vandy


The Arkansas Razorbacks (16-16, 6-12 SEC) came out on top in the first round of the SEC Tournament, winning a wild overtime game over the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-23, 4-14 SEC) by a score of 90-85.

In a wild turn of events, Arkansas overcame a 15-point second-half deficit to take the lead before a string of late-game turnovers allowed Vanderbilt to tie the game back up and send it to overtime. From there, the Hogs battled it out to survive and advance.

Arkansas’ comeback was fueled by the scoring efforts of backcourt duo Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle. After going scoreless in the first half, Mark went on a tear to finish with 18 points on 50% shooting. It was the Houston transfer’s huge four-point play that gave Arkansas the lead back with less than eight minutes to play.

“I just didn’t wanna lose,” Mark said. “That factored into my mindset…I just went out there and got it, and we were able to get the win.”

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Battle led the team in scoring with 24 points and was able to attack the basket and draw fouls. He shot a remarkable 13-14 from the charity stripe, the most made free throws by a Razorback in an SEC Tournament game. Battle cited the team’s resilience after sleepwalking into a 41-27 halftime deficit.

“[Coach Musselman] told us we were playing soft, and we took it personal from there,” Battle said in his postgame interview. “He challenged a lot of the guys…It’s still March and anything can happen…my confidence never wavers…I’m a hooper and that’s what I do.

With the Razorbacks on the brink of having their season ended in an ugly fashion, Mark said that the team called an emergency players-only meeting at halftime to rally the troops, and that helped inspire the Hogs to a second-half comeback.

“It was definitely a fired-up locker room, especially after the coaches left,” Mark said on SEC Network after the game. “We had a players-only meeting and we just called each other out. Everybody had something to say and it was good, because we came out there in the second half with a chip on our shoulder.”

As for Battle, this marks his sixth straight game with at least 20 points. He also six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game, plus seven of his points came in overtime.

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“He was phenomenal,” Musselman said. “We wanted to go to him. We’ve gone to him the last couple of weeks when we need a basket. We put the ball in T-Mark’s hands too in certain stretches.”

Up next, Arkansas will face the 5-seed South Carolina Gamecocks (25-6, 13-5) in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Tipoff at Bridgestone Arena will be 25 minutes after the conclusion of Mississippi State vs. LSU, which starts at noon CT.



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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet


Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security



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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone


IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

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“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

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The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC



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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

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Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026. 

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

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Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.



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