Arkansas

Jon Gruden Will Finally Answer Questions About Time Arkansas “Offered” Him Head Coach Job

Published

2 years ago

August 4, 2022

Jon Gruden Will Finally Answer Questions About Time Arkansas “Offered” Him Head Coach Job

On this planet of what-could-have-been, there are specific scabs that Razorback followers can’t assist however preserve selecting. Imagining the glory that may have transpired had Carson Shaddy caught a sure fly ball within the 2018 School World Collection. Fantasizing in regards to the trajectory of the basketball program had Al Jefferson and Andre Iguodala performed for the Hogs as initially deliberate. Interested by the chances of the 2006 Arkansas soccer workforce had Gus Malzahn and Houston Nutt been capable of get alongside.

And, after all, this hum-dinger of an alternate historical past possiblity: What would have occurred had Bobby Petrino by no means ridden his bike right into a ditch?

The following firing of Petrino by Arkansas athletic director Jeff Lengthy set into impact an extended seek for a everlasting head coach. Throughout these six months of wanting excessive and low, Razorback Nation was subjected to this:

The 2012 season was not the very best of occasions. (Nor, because of Chad Morris, wouldn’t it show to be the worst of occasions.)

Nevertheless it was additionally an period of dreaming about the potential for what might come subsequent. By the tip of the 4-win season, the listing of candidates for subsequent Arkansas soccer coach included loads of of us with Arkansas ties – Tommy Tuberville, Butch Davis and Charlie Sturdy amongst them.

Then there was essentially the most pie-in-the-sky candidate that the majority followers would have thought to be an absolute grand slam of a rent, somebody who would have introduced extra nationwide consideration to Fayetteville than nearly every other risk: Jon Gruden.

Jon Gruden and the Little Rock Landing Membership

It was no secret that sure Arkansas powers that be needed to make Gruden, who had already received a Tremendous Bowl with Tampa Bay and was then serving as an ESPN NFL analyst and a commentator on Monday Night time Soccer, into the very best paid coach within the SEC. On the time, Gruden was making $4.3 million yearly as a commentator, however Arkansas was ready to pay him one thing within the $6 million per 12 months vary.

The Razorbacks gave a proposal to Gruden’s workforce, in response to Arkansas sports activities author Jim Harris, a contributor to Better of Arkansas Sports activities. Harris believes that Lengthy ran this proposal by Gruden’s agent to appease sure energy brokers on the Razorback Basis. Whereas Gruden declined earlier than a proper supply might be made, that is doubtless the closest Arkansas has ever gotten to hiring a Tremendous Bowl-winning head coach who would have are available with extra identify recognition than every other first-year SEC coach.

Ultimately, Arkansas employed Bret Bielema and the Gruden-mania that had swept sure components of the Arkansas soccer fanbase was swept apart. Nonetheless, questions linger about what Gruden truly considered the job and the Arkansas followers who needed him so badly. How shut did he get to returning to the school ranks?

We’ll lastly get solutions to some if not all of those sorts of questions on August 30 when Gruden seems because the visitor speaker on the Little Rock Landing Membership:

David Bazzel, the founding father of Little Rock Landing Membership, wrote in a textual content that he’ll ask Gruden in regards to the time he acquired a proposal to develop into Arkansas’ head coach. It might even be good to listen to extra in regards to the friendship between Gruden and John Daly, the Arkansas native golfer who reps the Razorbacks tougher than any movie star on the market.

Certainly, Daly overtly campaigned for Gruden because the Arkansas soccer head coach in 2012, Tweeted Jeff Lengthy “[S]until robust behind Gruden as I nonetheless suppose he could be the person to take us to that degree! #WooPigSooie’”

Gruden had caddied for Daly throughout the PODS Championship in 2008 after the 2 had concocted the plan collectively whereas sitting in a company hospitality tent sponsored by Hooters.

Little doubt, Gruden would have upped Arkansas’ recruiting sport primarily based on his identify recognition and professional bona fides alone. We’ve already seen an analogous dynamic play out, to a lesser diploma, with former NBA head coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas basketball program.

Sure, Gruden received a Tremendous Bowl, however his different years (together with more moderen ones with the Las Vegas Raiders) weren’t as constantly nice. His report in Tampa Bay within the all seasons following that Tremendous Bowl win have been 45-53.

Doc Harper, additionally a contributor to BoAS, identified that Gruden’s fame as a soccer genius was bolstered by his pre-draft breakdowns of quarterback prospects on ESPN.

“That present is designed to make Gruden appear like a genius. He will get to undergo all of the tape of a quarterback’s profession and handpick just a few performs that enable him to present sage recommendation on the best way to run sure conditions higher. It could appear like an impromptu movie session that we envision most each coach going by, however it’s solely scripted.”

Harper, then writing for Arkansas Battle, added: “When Alabama employed Nick Saban, they knew they have been getting a high school coach as a result of they knew what he did at LSU. South Carolina knew what Spurrier did at Florida. Arkansas knew what Petrino did at Louisville. Tennessee knew how properly Derek Dooley did at Louisiana Tech, and properly, there they’re. Gruden has no such report. He’s by no means been a lot as a coordinator in school and hasn’t coached in any respect at this degree in over 20 years.”

The actual fact Gruden wasn’t a school coordinator doesn’t look so unhealthy now contemplating what Sam Pittman has achieved within the final couple years in Fayetteville. However Pittman was extraordinarily skilled in big-time school soccer as an offensive line coach and he has used each ounce of that have in constructing the Razorback program.

Gruden would have been extra of a wild card because the final time he coached school soccer was 1991. Musselman had the good thing about assistant teaching at Arizona State and LSU, plus just a few years as head coach at Nevada, earlier than leaping to Arkansas. Gruden wouldn’t have had the good thing about such a ramping up.

The closest corollary doubtless was Lane Kiffin leaping from two years on the helm of the Raiders into head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers (who additionally tried to get Gruden in 2012) in 2009. And that was a catastrophe.

In the long run, Jon Gruden as a Razorback coach won’t have labored out properly. Onerous to say it will have been worse than the Bielema period, nonetheless. Regardless, it’s a kind of enjoyable different historical past narratives which are enjoyable to carry up now and again throughout the canine days of summer season.

And the Gruden flirtation did, in the long run, produce one thing of lasting worth. One of the crucial catchy anthems ever carried out by Arkansas soccer followers got here from this time:

Right here’s to hoping David Bazzel rounds up these three guys and will get them to carry out “Hey Grude” one last time on August 30 on the Little Rock Landing Membership.

This may occasionally even be Gruden’s first public look since this went down:

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Arkansas

Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Viewer pictures: The Natural State transforms into a winter wonderland

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A winter storm rolled into Arkansas Thursday and brought with it snow to the majority of western and central Arkansas.

Many from around the Natural State sent in pictures of their area covered in snow.

Courtesy: Greg Harrison, Little Rock
Courtesy: Mark Cover, Little Rock
Courtesy: Mark Burfeind, Hot Springs
Courtesy: Terrell and Yolanda Moseley, Traskwood
Courtesy: Stella Harthcock, Little Rock
Courtesy: Res, Beaver Lake
Courtesy: Steve Barnett, Hot Springs
Courtesy: Bud Hughes, Hot Springs
Courtesy: John Webb, Conway
Courtesy: Shelly Zuber, Paron

Though Arkansas is already full of natural beauty, there’s something about the state covered in snow that makes it even more of a winter wonderland.

Several kids from around the state got out and took advantage of the day off of school by throwing snowballs, digging up the snow, sledding and of course making snow angels.

Courtesy: Jack Moore, Little Rock
Courtesy: Nikiya Simpson, Benton
Courtesy: Drew Griffin, Hot Springs
Courtesy: Mark Edwards, Little Rock Air Force Base

Many who got out in the snow had enough accumulated to make snow men.

Share your snow day pictures at KARK.com/winter-pics.

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Arkansas

Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield Lays Off About 75 Workers, Reports $100M Loss

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield Lays Off About 75 Workers, Reports 0M Loss

The Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield building in Little Rock (Michael Pirnique)

Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield sent layoff notices to 2% of its workforce — about 75 employees — on Thursday after reporting a loss of more than $100 million in the first three quarters of 2024, the state’s dominant health insurance carrier confirmed.

The Little Rock nonprofit had 3,375 employees as of April 2024, and its $3.14 billion in 2023 revenue put it at the top of Arkansas Business‘ most recent list of the state’s largest private companies.

But revenue in the first three quarters of 2024 was down by almost 7%, and the company (officially USAble Mutual) reported to the Arkansas Insurance Department a net loss of $100.5 million for those nine months. That compares with net income of $94.7 million for the same period in 2023, although the year finished with net income of just $13.2 million.

“The reduction in workforce was due to changing conditions in the market and increasing financial pressures primarily due to health care costs jumping to the highest levels in more than a decade,” Max Greenwood, an ABCBS spokeswoman, said in response to email questions Thursday afternoon.

ABCBS also has seen “large increases” in the use of all medical services, especially prescription drugs.

“These situations have caused necessary shifts in business strategy across the health care and health care insurance industries,” she said.

In addition, the insurance company lost tens of thousands of members as result of the state’s disenrollment of tens people on Medicaid in 2023.

As part of the Obama-era Medicaid expansion, the state pays private insurers to provide health insurance policies to qualifying Arkansans under the Arkansas Health & Opportunity for Me program, or ARHOME. This program had been known as the “private option” and Arkansas Works.

In January 2023, ABCBS had about 207,000 ARHome members. By December 2024, it was down to 108,729, Greenwood said.

“We’ve also seen a drastic increase in the claims amounts among our ARHome population,” she said. “Remember, since we were the first company who offered ARHome policies statewide when the program began, our block of members in that program is older and most likely unhealthier than what other carriers may be experiencing.”

ABCBS’ premium revenue fell during the first three quarters of 2024. It reported $2.2 billion premiums collected net of reinsurance through Sept. 30, a 4.8% drop from the same period in 2023.

The insurance company’s total members also fell from 630,444 on Dec. 31, 2023, to 598,492 on Sept. 30. The biggest drop came from its comprehensive individual plan. In that group, the total members fell nearly 17% to 132,596 members.

ABCBS also laid off 85 employees in January 2024. Those positions have not been refilled, Greenwood said.

She said it was too early to tell what the financial numbers will look like for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31. No additional layoffs are planned at this time.

“Every executive vice president was asked to make reductions in their areas,” she said.

Greenwood said the insurance company has made several other budget-tightening moves for 2025. “We’ve reduced our budget by more than 7% including cuts to consulting and outside vendor costs, contract labor, software and equipment and facility costs,” she said. “We’ve also had to implement substantial premium increases on our small and large groups.”

Greenwood said the company has a strong balance sheet and has no concerns about its liquidity.

Founded in 1948, Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield offers health and dental insurance policies for individuals and families.

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Arkansas

Topping out ceremony for new $33.9 million Arkansas Tech University Ferguson Student Union set for Tuesday in Russellville | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Topping out ceremony for new .9 million Arkansas Tech University Ferguson Student Union set for Tuesday in Russellville | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

RUSSELLVILLE — Arkansas Tech University and Kinco Constructors will host a topping out ceremony for the $33.9 million Ferguson Student Union at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Attendance will be open to the public. Those in attendance will have an opportunity to sign the final steel beam before it is put in place atop the facility. Refreshments will be served in Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room following the ceremony.

Construction on Ferguson Student Union on its Russellville campus began last year after the ATU Board of Trustees accepted the guaranteed maximum price for building the facility during its meeting on June 20.

Kinco Constructors submitted a final price of $33,946,865 for the project. That figure includes the cost of demolishing the Administration Building and Tomlinson Hall, constructing Ferguson Student Union and parking lot development on the south side of the new building

Parking for the event will be in the lot between Rothwell Hall and Doc Bryan Student Services Center with overflow in the Tucker Coliseum parking lot. Golf cart shuttles to and from the ceremony site will be available.

Those unable to attend the ceremony who wish to sign the steel beam may do so from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday through the ceremony at 2 p.m. that afternoon. The beam will be located on the east side of the construction site near Rothwell Hall and Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall.

Construction of Ferguson Student Union began in July 2024 and is scheduled to be complete in early 2026.

Located on the parcel of land between Chambers Cafeteria and the Hull Physical Education Building, Ferguson Student Union is named for ATU benefactors Cindi and Jimmy Ferguson.

Ferguson Student Union will provide student meeting spaces, lounge spaces for students to enjoy during their free time, fast casual dining, an e-sports gaming lab, basketball courts, a location to check out outdoor recreation gear and workout areas for cardiovascular and strength fitness training.

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