The University of Arkansas' board has commissioned a review of the school's competitiveness in athletics and to identify steps to improve resources for its struggling football program.
The board on Friday unanimously approved a resolution directing university system president Jay B. Silveria to lead the review of "the state of competitiveness of Razorback Athletics." A news release announcing the review did not provide specifics or a timeline for any findings or actions.
"We expect this review to be comprehensive, and we trust President Silveria to lead this effort to identify how we can improve our position, including identifying the necessary resources and empowering key people to be successful," board chair Randy Lawson said in a statement.
Football resources have been a hot topic around Arkansas, which hosts No. 2 Georgia on Saturday. Athletic director Hunter Yurachek said last September, following the firing of coach Sam Pittman, that Pittman "did not have the resources he needed to appropriately compete" in the SEC. Yurachek, who has served as AD since 2017, also told the Little Rock Touchdown Club before Pittman's dismissal that the football program was "not set up [financially] to win a national championship."
Yurachek has since presented an improved outlook, recently telling WholeHogSports.com that Arkansas had risen from the bottom of the SEC "closer to the middle" with its resources.
"It's going to take a collective effort to put the university in a position where we can have the level of success that our fans so desperately want," Arkansas trustee Kevin Crass said in a statement. "It's a challenge that's daunting, but I think we have the people and the fans to meet the challenge. We all should rally around the cause here to solve this problem."
Trustee Steve Cox, who seconded the resolution proposed by Ashley Caldwell, said, "Failure is not an option. This has to succeed and I believe it will."
Arkansas has recorded just three winning seasons since 2016, and comes off of a 43-10 road loss to Utah last Saturday under first-year coach Ryan Silverfield.