Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

1/21/2012 at 6:00pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Students were a strong part of the 19,050 on hand for Saturday's 66-64 victory against No. 20 Michigan.

With a few minutes left in the first half of Saturday’s game against Michigan, Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long found just enough room to maneuver his way into a packed Razorback student section. Long proudly watched as the Razorbacks finished off a first half that set the tone for a 66-64 victory against the No. 20 Wolverines.

Long, dressed in a suit, might have appeared to be out of place, but he was clearly enjoying himself. Bud Walton Arena was rocking like it has few times since the 1990s, and the student section was the epicenter of the madness as 19,050 called the Hogs.

“They say some words I can’t say, but they’re a lot of fun,” Long joked as we chatted at halftime. “They’re enthusiastic. I enjoy it.”

Wherever Long found himself during the weekend, he was enjoying it. Friday it was a victory by the No. 3 gymnastics team and a pep rally that followed featuring athletes from multiple sports. Saturday Long was up for an early morning swim team victory against Kansas before making his way to his luxury suite at Bud Walton Arena, and then into that frenzied student section just before halftime.

Long was on the floor chatting up donors at halftime just before the Razorback football team was honored for tying a school record with 11 wins.

Sure, he’s still trying to figure out football opponent No. 12 in 2012, but plenty else is going well. Long has stressed from the beginning of his tenure that Arkansas would be nationally competitive in all sports. Even on that night last March when he announced Arkansas would be looking for a new basketball coach, Long remained steadfast in his belief the Razorbacks could be nationally competitive in both major sports.

Watching Mike Anderson coach his team to a victory against a nationally ranked opponent, and hearing Bobby Petrino reflect on 2011 and outline his goals for 2012 in a pregame media appearance, does that notion seem at all crazy?

Petrino envisions the program continuing to make strides toward the goal of SEC and BCS titles. On Saturday he was with the players he hopes can help this program break through, gathering with his current team and a group of 20 recruits, including 12 ranked as four or five stars.

Bringing them into a packed house was a plus.

“I just think it is awesome,” Petrino said of the atmosphere.

Remember, it was just last year that a pair of football recruits could be spotted dozing off in the stands during an official visit as Arkansas basketball muddled its way through a game. No way was that happening Saturday.

All the recruits, including national player of the year Dorial Green-Beckham, seemed engaged. Green-Beckham, a big-time wide receiver from Springfield, Mo., was even spotted calling the Hogs when the football team was recognized for its Top 5 finish.

Arkansas has further to go in basketball. While the Razorbacks aren’t a Top 25 team in basketball, they have been. And they will be in the near future if Saturday’s atmosphere and game  — the second victory for the Razorbacks this season against a ranked team — are any indication.

Anderson’s young, inexperienced squad showed grit in improving to 14-0 at Bud Walton Arena. Like Petrino, Anderson has his team looking to win them all at home and so far the Razorbacks have responded just like the football team, which went undefeated at home for the first time since 1999.

A national television audience tuned in as the Razorbacks proved themselves better than their previous TV appearance, a big loss at No. 2 Kentucky. Anderson was pleased to see the bounce back for this year and what it means for the future as freshmen BJ Young and Hunter Mickelson combined for 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and game-winning plays on offense and defense.

“I think the nation got a chance to see, Razorback fans got a chance to see … people excited about this team,” Anderson said.

That goes for his boss, who envisions a day the athletic department can do what it did in 1977-78 and have both teams ranked as high as No. 3. It might be a few years before even a dual Top 10 happens, but from where Long sits — luxury box, sudent section or otherwise — he doesn’t see any more years happening like 2008-09, when both basketball and football missed the postseason.

“It’s one of the reasons I loved having the opportunity to come to Arkansas,” Long said. “I knew what was done in the past. I knew we could do it again.”

Reach Chris Bahn via email at cbahn@abpg.com or follow him on Twitter @cbahn.

Tagged: Arkansas Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, Jeff Long, Mike Anderson, Michigan Wolverines, AT&T Cotton Bowl