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John Calipari, Arkansas’ Ultimate Players’ Coach

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John Calipari, Arkansas’ Ultimate Players’ Coach


Demarcus Cousins, John Wall, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Karl Anthony Towns and countless others all left similar comments on new Arkansas coach John Calipari’s goodbye video posted on Instagram. Each shared their support for their college coach after 15 years at Kentucky.

Calipari lived by one simple rule. Always look out for the players first.

“They [my former players] also know you never blame players when you lose,” Calipari said in his first press conference as Razorbacks’ coach. “Never. You take responsibility as a grown man. You take responsibility. You never throw a player under the bus and they know that. And they know I’ve stood up for every one of them. ”

He was concerned about players who weren’t even his. Calipari and athletics director Hunter Yurachek tried to keep a low profile (albeit unsuccessfully) about their conversations regarding the Arkansas job until Tuesday for one simple reason. Purdue and UConn were playing in the national championship.

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“I didn’t want anything out until after the national championship game that we were even talking,” Calipari said. “I didn’t think it was fair to those two teams and those coaches and those players and those programs.”

Now, without any players, Calipari must use his players’ first approach to start from zero. Lawson Blake is the only player listed on the school’s official roster although Baye Fall and Davonte “Devo” Davis were spotted in the arena. His approach comes from fellow Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, the only coach ever to win both an NCAA title (1988 Kansas) and an NBA championship (Detroit Pistons 2004). The two crossed paths when Calipari worked under Brown as a volunteer assistant at Kansas.

If there was any doubt on whether Yurachek thought Calipari’s philosophy would transfer well to his new job, he dispelled that with a succinct answer.

“I’ll give you a short answer there,” Yurachek said when asked if he thought Calipari could rebuild the roster. “I’m really confident that he can put a great team together pretty quickly.”

HOG FEED:

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• What did boosters, Yurachek do to lure Calipari away from Lexington?

• Calipari managed to make himself relatable to Arkansas fans in a single press conference

• Razorbacks baseball completes yet another sweep

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow allHOGS on X and Facebook





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Arkansas

Vrba Heads to Orlando for ITA Singles Championships

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Vrba Heads to Orlando for ITA Singles Championships



FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s tennis team will have a representative at the ITA Singles Championships for the first time since 2022, as Jakub Vrba takes part in the tournament after qualifying through the ITA Central Sectional Championships. The last Razorback to reach this feat was Alex Reco.

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Vrba has posted a 9-3 record in ITA singles events, including five wins against ranked opponents. He collected his highest ranked victory of the fall after a win against No. 30 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State). Vrba started the preseason ITA rankings at No. 123 and navigated his way through multiple qualifying tournaments to earn his bid to the NCAA Singles Championships.

No. 123 Vrba will take on No. 49 Peter Benjamin Privara (Harvard) on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 8 a.m. CT in the Round of 64.

The tournament will take place at the UTSA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., with a total of 64 singles player qualifying for the competition. Singles matches begin on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with one round of play taking place each day of the tournament with the championship match being scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 23.

The NCAA Singles Championships bracket is here and will be updated after results are final each day. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+.

For the latest information on all things Arkansas Men’s Tennis, follow the Hogs on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Men’s Tennis) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackMTennis).

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Kentucky volleyball clinches another SEC title with Arkansas sweep

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Kentucky volleyball clinches another SEC title with Arkansas sweep


The Kentucky Wildcats volleyball team swept the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday, and completed a sweep of the SEC in the process. The Cats won their 19th straight match 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-12) and finished the regular season with a 22-2 record and 15-0 in the conference. The win gives Kentucky their 9th consecutive SEC championship, edging out the Texas A&M Aggies.

Kentucky jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, then extended the lead with a four-point run that put them up 19-12. Brooklyn DeLeye had six kills and the Cats closed it out 25-16.

The second set was a closer one. Arkansas actually took a 9-8 lead early one, but the Wildcats scored four straight points. They’d lead 19-12 at one point, but the Razorbacks fought back valiantly, cutting into the lead, but ultimately fell 25-20.

Set three wasn’t competitive. Kentucky got out to an 18-12 lead, then scored the final seven points of the set to take the set 25-12, and the match 3-0.

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Eva Hudson had 15 kills in the match to lead the way for the Wildcats, and DeLeye added 13 of her own along with 3 service aces. Kassie O’Brien had 35 assists.

Next up is the SEC Tournament. Kentucky will play on Sunday, Nov. 23 against an opponent yet to be determined. Congratulations on the SEC championship.



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Postgame Thoughts: LSU 23, Arkansas 22

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Postgame Thoughts: LSU 23, Arkansas 22


Of all the LSU football games I’ve seen in my life, that was certainly one of them but the Tigers (6-4, 3-4) won its first game in five weeks, clinched bowl eligibility, and held off Arkansas by the slimmest of margins Saturday morning in Tiger Stadium.

Frank Wilson got his first win as interim head coach of the Tigers, while Michael Van Buren, making his first start as quarterback for LSU in place of an injured Garrett Nussmeier, made enough plays with his arms and legs to win. Did he perform well enough to be the clear-cut, unquestioned QB1 for the Tigers heading into 2026? Well…let’s revisit that later.

Maybe it was the early start, but LSU looked completely disinterested in the first quarter of today’s game. Arkansas moved right down the field on the game’s opening drive, but fumbled a toss dive on 3rd and 1 deep in LSU territory to squander that early opportunity.

The Hogs wouldn’t have to mourn the missed chance however, as Arkansas forced an LSU three and out on its opening possession, blocked a Grant Chadwick punt, and recovered it for a touchdown to go up 7-0.

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LSU went three and out its second time possessing the ball, and Arkansas’ offense marched methodically down the field to go up 14-0.

To LSU’s credit, the Tiger offense responded with three straight scoring drives, using a touchdown and two field goals to chip away and make it a 14-13 game. Get this, the Tigers were able to do that largely by “running” the ball, which is a foreign concept but something that maybe ought to have been explored more earlier this season. The tandem of Harlem Berry and Caden Durham carried the ball 23 times for 117 yards, and as a team LSU finished with 155 yards rushing.

While the LSU offense chipped away and away and eventually gained the lead, the only reason they were able to do so was because the Tiger defense made some great adjustments after the first quarter. They got some help from Arkansas (two interceptions, a failed fourth and goal from the 1 and a missed 48-yard field goal that would have given the Razorbacks a late lead) but only allowed one scoring drive over Arkansas’ final eight possessions. LSU may be a bad team, but Arkansas is an all caps B A D team and that showed up today.

Stop me when you’ve heard this one before: Harold Perkins terrorized Arkansas’ offense. Perkins had his best game of the season with four tackles, a sack, 2.5 TFLs, and also intercepted a pass, that LSU was able to turn into three points.

Did Michael Van Buren do enough to earn the starting job for next season? Maybe, maybe not. The numbers look a lot better than the eye test would tell you (21 of 31 for 221 yards, one touchdown and no picks) but the bulk of those completions were at or near the line of scrimmage. Van Buren was an okayish 6 of 12 on passes beyond 10 yards, and was also sacked four times. But the whole offensive operation is so rotten (the scheme, the offensive line) that I think Van Buren probably did as well as he possibly could given the circumstances; and, if nothing else, it was nice watching a healthy quarterback. Would LSU still be a 6-4 team if the change at quarterback were made sooner? We’ll never know for sure, because the offensive line and play calling is just so bad, but I think things would look a little better. Maybe not “CFP Contender” better, but not…wherever we are now.

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The LSU and Arkansas game almost always plays out like today (derogatory) and in this year’s edition LSU made just enough plays to keep The Boot in The Boot.



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