Arkansas signs Musselman to new contract
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Coming off the program’s first NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in more than 25 years, the University of Arkansas has signed head men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman to a new employment agreement that could extend Musselman’s tenure in Fayetteville through at least the 2028 season.
The new five–year agreement will run from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2026 and includes the potential for a pair of one-year automatic agreement extensions (2027, 2028) based on Arkansas receiving bids to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament within the timeframe of the agreement.
“As I mentioned during the course of what was a memorable men’s basketball season, the best way for any head coach to advocate for themselves and their program is to win games,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “Coach Musselman earned this opportunity based on the tremendous progress that he and his coaching staff have made in the past two seasons, culminating with the most exciting season in the recent history of Razorback Basketball. Based on our ongoing dialogue, it is clear to me, Coach Musselman and I both share a desire to work together to ensure he remains the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas for the foreseeable future. I’m excited for the future of Razorback Basketball and look forward to seeing our program continue to progress under Coach Musselman’s leadership.”
Under the terms of the new agreement Coach Musselman will receive $4.0 million in annual compensation, with additional compensation and incentive payments available based on success in the SEC and NCAA Tournament as well as longevity in the position.
“Arkansas is one of the premier programs in the nation and my family and I are ecstatic to be here,” Musselman said. “I am grateful for the commitment the University is making to me, my family and the future of our basketball program. I have tre- mendous pride in being a Razorback and it is an honor to represent the state of Arkansas. Our staff remains focused on winning basketball games and building our roster for the future. We look forward to continuing to build on the foundation we have established in our first two seasons in an effort to achieve even greater success for our program, our University and Razorback fans everywhere.”
Musselman recently completed his second season with the Razorbacks and returned the program to heights it had not seen since the mid1990’s when the Hogs played in back-to-back national title games. He became the first Arkansas coach to win at least 20 games in each of his first two seasons, win as many as 45 games in his first two seasons and take the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight within his first two seasons.
Musselman is 45-19 in two years at Arkansas and 155-53 in six years as a collegiate head coach. His overall
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The nation’s leader in home runs added to its total in a big way Wednesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The unanimously topranked Razorbacks smashed eight homers in a 26-1 blowout win against UA Pine Bluff, finishing one shy of tying the single-game school record of nine (vs. Grambling State, June, 4, 2010). The output brings the Hogs’ season total to 63, which is nine more than any other team in college baseball this season.
Wednesday night’s contest was called after the top of the seventh inning with the run rule in effect. Arkansas improves to 28-5 on the year with the win and has won all five games against in-state opponents this season.
Matt Goodheart, Brady Slavens, Cullen Smith and Charlie Welch each swatted two home runs in the 26-run onslaught, contributing to the Hogs’ 17 hits on the afternoon. Slavens’ three-run shot in the third tied him with Christian Franklin for the team lead in home runs (9).
Arkansas scored multiple runs in the first, second and third innings, opening a 15-1 lead by the fourth. The Hogs nearly doubled that total in the bottom half of the fifth with 11 more runs, three shy of the single-inning program record of 14 (first inning vs. Saint Louis, April, 7, 2010).
Goodheart led the squad with four base knocks, his second four-hit effort of the season. His first home of the evening traveled 450 feet to right, leaving the bat at 110 miles per hour with a 50-degree launch angle and clearing the newly constructed J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Baseball Development Center.
He and Slavens each drove in five runs in the 26-1 win. Welch, meanwhile, collected a career-best four RBI.
Kole Ramage started on the mound and earned the win, striking out four in two scoreless innings. Seven Hog relievers pitched in the winning effort, combining for five innings of two-hit, onerun ball with seven strikeouts.
Offensively, the Razorbacks had not scored 26 runs in a ballgame since doing so against Iowa on Feb. 24, 1997, in Arlington, Texas. Arkansas hit six or more home runs in a game for the first time since a 32-4 win against Bucknell on Feb. 17, 2018, when Jared Gates, Luke Bonfield, Carson Shaddy, Dominic Fletcher, Grant Koch and Casey Martin each hit one.
Arkansas now looks forward to this weekend’s SEC home series against Texas A&M. The Aggies come to Fayetteville for a three-game series, which gets started at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 16, on SEC Network+.