Top Arkansas Sports Stories of 2021
The football program everybody wanted to see on the schedule from 2017-19 is no pushover anymore.
The Arkansas Razorbacks, under second-year Coach Sam Pittman, won their first four games this fall, then closed with four wins in their last five games to reach 8-4 and a spot in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1.
For its rapid return to prominence this year, the University of Arkansas’ football team has been selected as the top sports story in the state in 2021 by the staff of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The Razorbacks had all of eight wins in the three seasons between 2017-19 and just one against an SEC rival. Opposing SEC fans got used to circling dates against the Hogs as “W’s” on the schedule.
Arkansas, ranked No. 21 in the last College Football Playoff [CFP] poll, matched those eight wins in the 13-week regular season and four of those victories came against SEC opponents.
The Razorbacks captured all three of their trophy games with wins over Texas A&M, LSU and Missouri, a first in school history.
Pittman was asked if he could express what it meant to have the Southwest Classic, Golden Boot and Battle Line Rivalry trophies in the Smith Football Center at the same time.
“I don’t know if I can to be perfectly honest with you,” he said. “We don’t have a guy on our team that had any of them. Ever. Not one. … To have those three trophies in there is big.”
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek was asked if an 8-4 run was on par with his preseason thinking.
“I would say it probably surprised me for sure,” Yurachek said. “When you looked at our schedule before the season started and you looked at the players we had returning and the step [to 3-7 vs. an All-SEC schedule] we took in 2020, you think, ‘We’re going to win some games.’ We had a true non-conference schedule, but one of those non-conference games was a nationally ranked Texas team at home.
“So I think you probably saw a realistic path of, ‘Can we get to six wins? Can we get to seven wins?’ To get to eight and then to lose at Ole Miss the way we did with an opportunity to get to nine, played so well against Alabama. You know we had some games we won that could have gone the other way as well, but I mean, really … you look at the fact we’re 8-4 and we lost to two teams that are in the CFP and one that’s in a New Year’s Six bowl and the other one was Auburn.”
Indeed, the Hogs’ only losses came against CFP participants Georgia and Alabama on the road, a 52-51 decision at Ole Miss on the road and a 38-23 setback at home against Auburn.
The resurgent Razorbacks will face national power Penn State (7-5) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1.
The Ultimate Weapon
Kevin Kopps turned in the most dominant season of any Arkansas Razorback in any sport in 2021.
It might have been the University of Arkansas’ greatest individual season ever.
The sixth-year senior right-hander was college baseball’s unanimous national player of the year and the first reliever to win the prestigious Golden Spikes Award since 1993. He was the first reliever to ever win the Dick Howser Trophy, the national player of the year award voted on by baseball writers.
In 33 appearances, Kopps went 12-1 with 11 saves. His ERA (0.90) and WHIP (0.76) were the lowest in college baseball.
With a wicked off-speed pitch he called a cutter, Kopps looked untouchable at times. He struck out 131 and walked 18 in 89 2/3 innings, and opponents hit .162 against him.
“It was ridiculous how he could manipulate that baseball to make the best hitters in the country look very feeble,” Arkansas hitting coach Nate Thompson said.
“He was like the ultimate weapon. Whenever we needed to call on him, he would come in and put the fire out. When he came in the game, it was like game over. If we were down a run or a tied game, it was like, ‘Oh, we’re winning now. They’re not scoring.’ It would give us another boost.
“I’ve never seen a guy as dominant as that.”
The Razorbacks were 28-5 in games during which Kopps pitched, part of a 50-13 campaign that included the program’s first SEC regular-season championship since 2004 and first ever SEC Tournament title.
Kopps entered a game in relief 32 times. His only start lasted eight-plus innings in the Razorbacks’ season finale, a 3-2 loss to North Carolina State in the decisive game of the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional on June 13.
Kopps allowed three runs in the start — the only runs he allowed in 23 1/3 innings of NCAA postseason play.
“His mentality is what makes him as good as he is,” Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs said. “He doesn’t come into a game and think, ‘I’ve got to get nine outs.’ He approaches it like, ‘I’ve got to get one out nine times.’”
Kopps was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the MLB Draft with the 99th overall pick, and by the end of the summer he had advanced to the Padres’ Class AAA affiliate in El Paso, Texas — an unlikely turnaround for a player who struggled greatly and posted an 8.18 ERA for the Razorbacks in the shortened 2020 season, and asked Arkansas’ coaches if they even wanted him to come back to the program.
Razorbacks make Elite 8
It took the national championship team to stop the Arkansas Razorbacks’ best NCAA Tournament run in 26 years.
The University of Arkansas reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 before losing to Baylor 81-72 in the South Region semifinals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 29.
Arkansas, which finished 25-7, played the Bears closer than any of their other five NCAA Tournament opponents, who lost by an average of 16.6 points.
Baylor beat Houston 78-59 in the national semifinals and Gonzaga 86-70 in the title game.
“I think that all of us are really proud of the season that we’ve had,” Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. “We got scorching hot at the right time to end the season.
“We played with confidence. We were a basketball team that got better every single day.”
The Razorbacks were 15-3 in their last 18 games with eight victories over teams in the NCAA Tournament. Their three losses in that span were to NCAA Tournament teams — at Oklahoma State, to LSU in the SEC Tournament and to Baylor.
Arkansas, led by Moses Moody, Justin Smith, Jalen Tate and JD Notae, won 12 consecutive games against SEC opponents for the first time since the 1994 national championship team did it.
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 10 in the final Associated Press poll — the highest since the 1995 national runner-up team finished No. 6.
“This team will never be forgotten,” said Tate, a senior point guard who transferred from Northern Kentucky “This group has done a lot for this program and the culture of this program.”
Arkansas won its first three NCAA Tournament games by beating Colgate 85-68, Texas Tech 68-66 and Oral Roberts 72-70 after trailing by 14, 10 and 12 points, respectively.
After falling behind Baylor by 18 points, the Razorbacks twice pulled within four points.
“The effort when we got down, we could have hung our heads,” Musselman said. “But we played really hard, I can tell you that.”
The Razorbacks won 10 games in which they trailed by nine or more points, including a 75-73 victory over Auburn when they rallied from a 19-point deficit.
Bryant’s 4-peat
The Bryant Hornets faced a tall order this season.
Coming off their third consecutive Class 7A state championship, the Hornets lost a bevy of starters, including quarterback Austin Ledbetter and almost the entirety of their 2020 title team’s defense.
“I don’t think we’re going to have the same kind of team that we’ve had in the past where we can just dominate all the time,” Bryant Coach Buck James said in August.
Despite the significant roster turnover, Bryant did it again, going 12-1 and undefeated against in-state foes en route to beating Fayetteville 42-38 for its fourth consecutive state title. It marked the longest championship run for any football team in Arkansas’ largest classification in the modern playoff era, and it gave James his 200th coaching victory.
“I really don’t know what to say,” James said after the Hornets beat Fayetteville. “Four in a row is unbelievable. That’s almost an impossible feat.”
The Hornets faced some considerable roadblocks on their way to title No. 4, including their first loss in just under three years and a couple of near-losses, beating Conway 32-29 to close out the regular season and Fayetteville 42-38 in the championship game, both in comeback fashion.
A new cast of characters paved the way for the 2021 title, namely Carson Burnett, who was the third-string quarterback a season prior, but finished with 2,083 passing yards. Junior running back Chris Gannaway and sophomore receiver Mytorian Singleton led the Hornets in rushing and receiving yards, respectively. And defensive lineman TJ Lindsey and defensive backs Miguel and Malachi Graham carved out formidable roles.
The title continued an impressive four-year run for Bryant, which won its first-ever state title under James in 2018. Since that season, the Hornets are a combined 39-3, with its only loss since 2018 coming to Longview (Texas) this year.
As big as title four was for James and the Hornets, the coach was already looking to next season soon after notching the 2021 championship.
“That’s what I told [our team], I said, ‘We’ve got a chance to win five next year if we win this game,’ ” James said. “You can’t get five if you don’t have four, and we can shoot for it. … Hopefully, it’s a program that can be contended with for the rest of time in my opinion, but that’s all we can do, is dream and hope.”
Moody 1-and-done
Moses Moody was the Arkansas Razorbacks’ 13th NBA first-round draft pick, but with a twist.
When the Golden State Warriors selected Moody with the No. 14 overall on July 29, he became the Razorbacks’ first one-and-done player to be drafted.
Previously, sophomores Joe Johnson (the 10th pick by Boston in 2001), Daniel Gafford (the 38th pick by Chicago in 2019) and Isaiah Joe (the 49th pick Philadelphia in 2020) had been Razorbacks who left the program the earliest.
Moody, who is from Little Rock, was rated the No. 37 high school player by 247Sports, No. 41 by ESPN and No. 53 by Rivals as a senior at Montverde (Fla.)
But Moody played his way into being a first-round draft pick after one college season as he averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Razorbacks and earned All-SEC first-team recognition.
University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman, a former NBA head coach with Golden State and Sacramento, said Moody worked with a professional mindset as a freshman.
“I mean, he’s just way mature beyond his age,” Musselman said. “If you looked down at the practice facility and watched Moses shoot when no one was around at 11 in the morning or 7 at night, there was no music playing, he was not laughing, he was not joking. He was zeroed in on the rim. He came to Arkansas on a mission.”
Moody, 19, worked out twice for the Warriors.
“A few of our development coaches don’t know the players like we do,” said Bob Myers, the Warriors president of basketball operations and general manager. “We said, ‘What do you think of Moody?’ They said, ‘Is he a junior or a senior?’
“He’s got kind of an old soul about him. We liked him for a lot of reasons. He’s got great size, great length and has good skill and a good feel for the game.”
Moody, who attended the draft with his parents, was asked what it meant to hear NBA Commissioner Adam Silver call his name.
“I’ve got it [written] inside of my jacket,” Moody said, opening it. “ ‘This is why I did what I did.’
“It’s been a long process and that’s not just to say the last couple months. It’s been a lifelong process. I’ve always sacrificed for this moment and for the moments to come because this is not the end, this is the beginning.”
Razorbacks win SEC twice
The SEC baseball schedule didn’t start well for the University of Arkansas as Alabama beat the Razorbacks 16-1 at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Things got a lot better for Arkansas after that.
Arkansas took the next two games against Alabama, 9-1 and 3-1, and kept winning SEC series.
The Razorbacks won all 10 conference series and swept three games from Florida to cap a 22-8 finish and win Arkansas’ second outright SEC regular-season championship and first since 1999.
“We’ve just played really well every weekend,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “Some better than others, but always just enough. I mean, we put together some really good ball games to clinch series.”
Arkansas joined the 2013 Vanderbilt Commodores as the only SEC teams to win all 10 conference series.
“You just expect that maybe one weekend’s not going to go your way,” Van Horn said. “We always talk to our guys in the fall about league play and how tough it is.
“The new guys, they probably don’t believe it until they see it. The older guys try to tell them that it’s a grind and it’s hard to win.
“We always tell them, ‘Hey, if you’re having a bad weekend, don’t get swept. If you have a chance to sweep, find a way to win that third game.’ It’s really hard to do. And win every series you can when you get the opportunity.”
The Razorbacks won the outright SEC title by beating Florida 4-3 in the second game of their series on a pinch-hit RBI single by Charlie Welch in the ninth inning that scored Casey Opitz from third base.
Van Horn asked his assistant coaches if they remembered losing to Alabama by 15 runs to open SEC play.
‘That one got away from us,” Van Horn said. “But we didn’t let it faze us.”
The Razorbacks could have suffered a letdown in the finale against Florida after clinching the championship the previous night, but they pounded the Gators 9-3.
“That’s just the way this team is,” Van Horn said. “It’s its personality. These guys, when they step on the field, they want to win. There were no motivation speeches about playing hard and, ‘Let’s go ahead and win this.’
“I didn’t have to get into anything about them wanting to be there. They showed up and got after it. That’s the 2021 team. They’re something else.”
McDonnell dies at 82
John McDonnell, who built the NCAA’s greatest championship dynasty as the University of Arkansas men’s cross country and track and field coach, died on June 8 at age 82.
No other coach in any sport can match the 40 national championships — 19 in indoor track and field, 11 in cross country and 10 in outdoor track and field — McDonnell’s Razorbacks won between 1984 and 2006.
“It’s a sad day in Arkansas athletics,” said Chris Bucknam, who succeeded McDonnell as the Razorbacks’ coach after the 2008 outdoor track and field season. “We’ve lost a phenomenal mentor and coach.”
McDonnell also coached the Razorbacks to 84 Southwest Conference and SEC titles during his 36-year tenure from 1972-2008.
“People will look at his numbers years from now and go, ‘No way, no way,’” Arizona State Coach Greg Kraft said in 2008 when McDonnell announced his retirement. “His numbers are so staggering.”
Arkansas had three All-Americans in cross country and track and field before McDonnell’s arrival. His teams included 186 athletes who achieved a combined 654 All-America honors, beginning with fellow Irishman Niall O’Shaughnessy in 1974.
Athletic Director Frank Broyles hired McDonnell as Arkansas’ cross country coach and track and field assistant in 1972. Broyles made McDonnell the head track and field coach in 1978 when Ed Renfrow retired.
Broyles said he figured McDonnell deserved the promotion after seeing him running ahead of his SWC cross country champion athletes during workouts.
“If John could outrun them all, he sure could coach them,” Broyles said in 2008. “So we promoted him, and I’ve been very proud and appreciative of everything he’s done.”
McDonnell, reflecting on his career shortly before retiring, said he enjoyed every national championship, but some stood out more than others.
“It was always nice to win NCAA titles in Austin,” said McDonnell, whose Razorbacks brought home outdoor championships from the Texas capital in 1985, 1992 and 2004. “I think Texas is the type of team that thought they were a little bit better than you, so it was fun to go into their own backyard and beat them.”
Arkansas teams combine for 10 SEC titles
The University of Arkansas athletics program had the plan and the pieces in place to cope with the covid-19 crisis and its aftermath.
The Razorbacks ripped through SEC competition in 2021 by winning 10 conference championships, including both regular-season and tournament titles in baseball for the first time in school history. The next-closest competition in the conference came from Alabama, which won five SEC titles in 2021.
The Arkansas Razorbacks’ unparalleled year of athletic domination netted a school-record eighth-place finish in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Learfield Cup.
The year of winning started early with a national championship in women’s indoor track and field. The Razorback’s SEC titles came through sweeps in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country, soccer, softball and the two baseball championships.
Of particular note were the softball and soccer championships. Softball Coach Courtney Deifel was named SEC Coach of the Year after a 43-11 season with a 19-5 SEC record. The Razorbacks, who swept their first four SEC series, were the first team other than Alabama and Florida to win a share of the regular season championship since 2007.
Deifel has built from a 1-23 conference in her first season at Arkansas in 2015.
“You go in six years from winning one SEC game to winning the SEC regular season championship and hosting a super regional on your field against a very good Arizona program, that is a phenomenal, phenomenal climb for sure, in a conference that’s known for softball,” Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said.
Soccer Coach Colby Hale has captured back-to-back SEC regular season titles and the Razorbacks have advanced to six SEC Tournament title games under his watch.
“He went to the Elite 8 this year … and he’s an elite coach,” Yurachek said.
Oaklawn extends season
The significance of the schedule change announced by Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort President Louis Cella in the summer surprised horsemen across the country.
Cella said Oaklawn’s 2021-22 season would run from Dec. 3, 2021-May 8, 2022. As a consequence, the season’s start had been moved from the fourth Friday of January to the first Friday of December, an adjustment that trimmed a seven-week wait between racing in Kentucky and Arkansas to a mere five days.
The delight of Oaklawn’s regulars was evident. The great bulk of them have traditionally moved their stables from Kentucky to Oaklawn, and for many of their horses, it has meant a seven-week loss of earnings potential.
“If you look at it on paper, if we start in December, we pick up those Churchill horses,” Cella said. “[Racing in] the United States would benefit with really high purses and high-quality racing, and it really made a lot of sense. So, we’re giving it a whirl and, so far, it seems to be successful.”
Like most changes, Cella said this one was subject to adjustment. For instance, he said the track would make a more significant effort to market its early start.
“We knew the messaging was going to be so, so important,” Cella said. “We thought we did a good job, but clearly we did not, of getting the message out to our fans and to horsemen to say, ‘Look, we’re open in December.’ We’re kind of rekindling our effort right now to push that message strong for the balance of year into January.”
Trainer Ron Moquett, who has built his family’s home within earshot of Oaklawn’s backstretch, said the many facets of change have required multiple adjustments.
“It’s going to take some getting used to it,” Moquett said. “I think the horsemen are happy to be running in December, but just because we changed our schedule doesn’t mean the rest of the racing world changed theirs. There are still horses coming in today. Horses that ran at Churchill still haven’t had a chance to run here. It’s not like it was, where there was a big buzz about the opening. It’s more of a circuit-blend kind of deal. It’s going to take some getting used to, but it’s going to be all right.”
UA women beat UConn
University of Arkansas women’s basketball Coach Mike Neighbors has said his system gives the Razorbacks a puncher’s chance against anyone.
Well, his Razorbacks came up with two of the biggest knockouts in school history in the 2020-21 season.
The Razorbacks defeated No. 4 Baylor 83-78 on Dec. 6, then took down No. 3 Connecticut 90-87 on Jan. 28 in a game scheduled on the fly after both teams had games canceled because of covid-19 issues by their opponents. Both came in Walton Arena.
The win over the defending national champion Lady Bears was Arkansas’ first over a top-5 opponents since 2003. But the Razorbacks did it again almost two months later against the 11-time national champion Huskies.
“It’s validation for all those kids who believed in us,” Neighbors said after the Baylor victory. “ ‘Hey, why are you going to Arkansas? They haven’t done anything.’ It’s validation for those people in our locker room who buy into what we do.
“That gives us validation any time somebody’s got defending national champion behind their name.”
Guard Chelsea Dungee poured in a game-high 37 points against UConn, including 22 in the second half as the Razorbacks held off a late charge by the Huskies. It was the most points scored against Connecticut since the 1999-2000 season.
“There’s performers and then there’s performances,” Neighbors said of Dungee. “That kid when the big stage and the big shot needed to come was crucial. I thought she was so patient and had great awareness and understanding.”
The win was also huge since it came with Arkansas having only eight players available. Six Razorbacks were ruled out because of covid-19 protocols, but they held on despite Connecticut chopping an eight-point deficit to three in the final minute.