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Arkansas Athletic Department Depends on the Grassroots Reach of Razorback Clubs

by Chris Bahn

8/9/2010 at 12:00am

Image by Will Flowers

Razorback Club meetings give fans across the state an opportunity to interact with coaches and administrators from the University of Arkansas, such as football coach Bobby Petrino.

FAYETTEVILLE — Every University of Arkansas football game will be televised this fall. News organizations across the state provide almost daily coverage of the program and there are places online that can accommodate Razorback-related discussion 24 hours a day.

Yet most fans are no better connected with coaches and administrators on a personal level than they were 50 years ago. Searching for some sort of personal connection is what led Razorback supporters to gather over the last six months in places like a high school cafeteria in Bentonville, the fairgrounds in Texarkana, a golf course in Mountain View and a sports bar in Tulsa.

A crowd of more than 450 gathered last week in Heber Springs to hear former athletic director Frank Broyles speak at the Greers Ferry Lake Area Razorback Club. By the time the club schedule winds down, there will have been 34 Razorback Club events in all, proof that the organizations maintain their position as a crucial part of the fan experience more than a half-century after they were created by Broyles as an extension of the Athletic Department.

Sean Rochelle, the Razorback Foundation associate director who is in his first year working as a liaison with the clubs, said the focus of meetings is the same today as it was decades ago.

Fans crave more than just information; they want interaction, and Arkansas does its best to accommodate.

“It’s one thing to get to know somebody in sound bites, press conferences and watching them coach on the field,” Rochelle said. “It’s another thing entirely to take them out of that context and have them interact.

“There is no replacement for person-to-person contact. There is extreme value in these clubs.”

Whether the lineup includes big-name attractions like Broyles and football coach Bobby Petrino or more moderate draws like basketball coach John Pelphrey and athletic director Jeff Long, crowds will show up. In that regard, it’s just like “the old days,” Razorback Foundation executive director Harold Horton said.

Horton first attended club meetings as a high school coach in Forrest City. He oversaw clubs from 1998 until last year as part of his duties at the Razorback Foundation, and Horton’s experiences in previous decades mirror what happens now at one of the 23 Razorback Clubs in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

While local organizations are becoming more complex in how they communicate — club specific websites and Facebook pages are becoming commonplace — it’s the human element that still appeals to fans.

Petrino, for example, has earned a reputation in the national media as cold and distant, based on how he was perceived at previous coaching stops. But he’s been far from that at Razorback Club meetings. Organizers said the coach routinely stays well past meeting time to interact with members who want autographs.

Clubs can be found in all four corners of the state, including locations as far northeast as Blytheville; Bentonville/Bella Vista in the northwest; Dumas to the southeast, and Texarkana to the southwest. Meetings are also held in Tulsa and Dallas, two cities with large numbers of UA alumni.

“When these were formed, it was about creating total support for the Razorbacks across the entire state of Arkansas,” Horton said. “We need to take our program to your community. That’s something we still believe in today.”

Grassroots Level

Just like the old days, the hope is that a personal connection will lead to a financial commitment. Each Razorback Club is independently operated, but serves as a fundraiser for the Razorback Foundation and, ultimately, the Athletic Department.

Money raised by what are essentially local chapters of the Razorback Foundation goes into the annual fund. It’s the same destination for money raised through ticket sales and foundation memberships, which can be bought for a minimum of $50 a year.

The annual fund goes primarily to pay for scholarships for the 400-plus athletes at Arkansas.

And every dollar counts.

“We appreciate the donors at a high level, but I think people forget how much we appreciate a donor at any level,” Rochelle said. “Some people might give $100 or just pay the fee to join a club and it’s just as much a sacrifice as the person who gives $2,000.

“These Razorback Clubs gives us an opportunity to articulate that.”

Each of the clubs is asked to give at the Broyles-Matthews level, which begins at a minimum of $5,000. Some are better about it than others and, while charters aren’t immediately pulled for failing to hit the donation amount, the foundation does have the option of dissolving chapters.

Fortunately for the Athletic Department and any struggling clubs, there are strong ones to make up the difference.

When Rochelle, Horton and others describe what would make the ideal Razorback Club, they could easily be talking about the George Billingsley Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club. That club, run by Doyle and Jeanne Groff and a 10-person volunteer board, has donated an average of $30,000 the last two years to the Razorback Foundation and has more than 700 members. The club — a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization like its counterparts — mails a monthly e-newsletter to twice that number of people.

President Jeanne Groff, who was recently added to the Razorback Foundation board of directors, said the key is keeping people engaged throughout the year and not just in conjunction with club meetings. Golf tournaments and social functions have been a big boost for the Northwest Arkansas club, which is now focusing attention on drawing in younger members and new graduates.

“We try to do things that are entertaining and interactive,” Jeanne Groff said.

Arkansas could use more clubs like the one in Northwest Arkansas. Nationally, the down economy has made fundraising a challenging proposition.

Long often points out that, compared with other SEC schools, the Razorbacks are often near the middle or rear of fund-raising efforts. Increased attention is being put on all areas of soliciting donations, but particularly on the local level.

“Certainly, you start with the grassroots, getting Razorback Foundation members,” Long said during an appearance last year. “There’s something we have here in the state of Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas. We have great grassroots support.

“We need to work that grassroots level.”

It’s hard to imagine a more grassroots organization than the Razorback Clubs. As Horton points out, some club and foundation members get their only exposure to the UA Athletic Department at one of the stops scheduled during the offseason.

There are times TV, Internet, newspaper and radio just aren’t enough.

“Some people may never come to a game,” Horton said. “This is their shot to see their Arkansas Razorbacks. It doesn’t matter the sport. It doesn’t matter the coach. They want to be there to see the Razorbacks.”

Razorback Clubs

Razorback Clubs have long been a part of the fan experience at the University of Arkansas. Each chapter is independently operated, but serves as a fundraiser for the Razorback Foundation and, ultimately, the Athletic Department. Below is a list of the 23 clubs currently operating in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

Club No., Name

2 George Billingsley NW Arkansas

4 Harrison Area

5 Baxter County

6 Northeast Arkansas (Paragould)

7 Mississippi County

8 Memphis-East Arkansas

9 East Central Arkansas

10 White County

11 White River (Batesville)

12 Stone County

13 Little Rock