Sports

RAZORBACK WOMEN: Mike Neighbors steps down as head coach

Published

3 months ago

March 11, 2025

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas head women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors has stepped down from his role with the Razorbacks. Neighbors resigned from his position on Tuesday after recently completing his eighth season as the head coach of the Razorbacks and his 12th season overall as a Division I head coach.

Neighbors was hired as the Arkansas head women’s basketball coach prior to the 2017-18 season. The Greenwood, Arkansas native compiled a record of 148-114 at Arkansas, leading the Razorbacks to six winning seasons and positioning the Hogs for six postseason appearances.

“As I shared in my introductory press conference on April 4, 2017, the opportunity to coach the Hogs fulfilled a lifelong dream,” Neighbors said. “I also acknowledged that there would be a time when that dream would end, and until then, I pledged to do my best to make my family, my team and my home state of Arkansas proud. One day would have been an honor! Yet, I’ve had the privilege of leading our program for 2,898 days.

“I am appreciative of all the administrators, staff, student-athletes, managers, practice players, spirit squad members, the Hog Wild band, table crew, ushers, UAPD, facility staff, radio and TV talent, boosters and fans, for the support and commitment to Arkansas women’s basketball over the last eight seasons. We leave with our heads high and enough memories to last a lifetime.”

Combined with his four years as the head coach at the University of Washington, Neighbors has a career 246-155 record as a head coach at the Division I level.

“I am deeply appreciative of Coach Neighbors and his contributions to the University of Arkansas and our program during the past eight seasons,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “There is no questioning his love and passion for this university and this state. After a successful run at the University of Washington, he returned to his home state to take on the challenge of competing in the nation’s most challenging conference. During his tenure, we enjoyed numerous memorable wins and watched some of the best players in the history of our program.

“I want to thank Coach Neighbors for his commitment and dedication to the Razorback program. I wish Mike, Jayci and their family the very best.”

Neighbors led the Razorbacks to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the WNIT during his tenure. The Hogs’ back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in 2021 and 2022 were the first consecutive trips to the Big Dance for the women’s program since 2002 and 2003. He quickly turned around the program winning 22 games in his second season on the Arkansas bench and followed up with a 24-8 campaign in 2019-20 that would have resulted in the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2015 if the tournament would not have been canceled due to the pandemic. Neighbors’ Hogs again reached 24 wins in 2022-23 with a deep run in the WNIT, reaching the Great 8.

Along with team success, Neighbors and his staff developed the two greatest scorers in program history. This past season Izzy Higginbottom became the school’s all-time leading scorer for a single season with 790 points, surpassing another Neighbors protégé in Chelsea Dungee, who set the record with 759 points in 2019. Higginbottom added her name to the top of several records in her lone season on The Hill, setting the top mark for scoring average (24.4 ppg), free throws made (242) and field goal attempts (578) while finishing second in free throw attempts (267), free throw percentage (90.6%) and field goals made (251).

The Neighbors era also produced two of the program’s eight WNBA Draft picks in history and did it in the same draft when Dungee was selected fifth overall by Dallas and Destiny Slocum was picked 14th overall by Las Vegas.

Yurachek announced that a national search for the next head women’s basketball coach will begin immediately.

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Sports

Hogs Are Omaha Bound After Victory Over Tennessee

Published

4 days ago

June 9, 2025

Staff Reports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The OmaHogs are back!

Arkansas (48-13) is headed back to Omaha for the 12th time in program history after an 11-4 victory over Tennessee (46-19) in game two of the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional.

The Hogs jumped to an early lead in the top of the third inning after a two-run blast from Charles Davalan (2-for-2, 2 RBI) got the offense started. The Volunteers, however, quickly responded by putting one across in the bottom half of the inning.

Cam Kozeal scored on a wild pitch and Logan Maxwell (3-for-5, 4 RBI) swatted his first career grand slam in the fourth to open the floodgates for the Razorbacks, who pushed their lead to 7-1. It was all the Hogs would need.

Cole Gibler entered in relief in the bottom of the fourth after Gage Wood started and tossed 3.1 innings of one-run ball. Gibler, the true freshman, cruised through 2.2 innings of work, striking out four and sitting down 8-of-10 batters faced on 45 pitches to earn his third win of the season.

The Razorback offense continued to add to their lead in the top of the seventh, scoring three more runs thanks to Kuhio Aloy’s RBI single and a pair of bases-loaded walks. Brent Iredale (1-for-4, HR, RBI) landed the final punch, belting a solo shot in the top of the ninth inning.

Aidan Jimenez (1.0 IP, 1 R, 1 SO), Parker Coil (1.0 IP, 2 SO) and Christian Foutch (1.0 IP, 2 R, 3 SO) closed out the 11-4 win to send Arkansas back to the College for the eighth time in the Dave Van Horn era.

The Razorbacks finished the season with a 37-4 record inside the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium. The wins and .902 win percentage are both single-season program records.

Sports

Hogs Punch Ticket To Super Regionals

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Staff Reports

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas (46-13) secured its spot in the NCAA Super Regionals with a dominant 8-3 win over Creighton (43-16) Sunday night at Baum-Walker Stadium. With the victory, the Hogs set a program record with their 35th home win of the season and will host next weekend’s super regional against either Tennessee or Wake Forest.

The appearance marks Arkansas’ 11th super regional in program history and sixth time hosting, including four since 2018. With top seeds Vanderbilt and Texas eliminated, No. 3 Arkansas is now the highest remaining seed in the tournament.

Pitching stole the spotlight as Gage Wood and Gabe Gaeckle combined for 20 strikeouts. Wood struck out a career-high 13 over six innings, while Gaeckle fanned seven in three scoreless innings to close it out.

The Razorback bats backed up the pitching with four home runs. Logan Maxwell launched two—including a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the fifth—while Justin Thomas Jr. hit a three-run blast and Ryder Helfrick added a solo homer. Charles Davalan capped the scoring with an RBI triple in the sixth.

Creighton’s only offense came via a three-run homer in the fourth, but Arkansas never relinquished its lead.

Maxwell led the offense with a three-RBI night and raised his season average to .346. Helfrick, who hit his third homer in two days, was named MVP of the Fayetteville Regional.

Sports

Hogs set to host Fayetteville regional

Published

3 weeks ago

May 27, 2025

Staff Reports

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas has earned its 36th NCAA Tournament berth and will host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 3 national seed.

The Razorbacks (43-13) will play No. 4 seed North Dakota State (20-31) in the opening game at 2 p.m. Friday, May 30, at Baum-Walker Stadium, airing on ESPN+. The regional also features No. 2 seed Kansas (43-15) and No. 3 seed Creighton (41-14), who will face off at 7 p.m.

Arkansas is hosting a regional for the 12th time in program history and the seventh time in the last eight full seasons. Should they advance, the Hogs would maintain home-field advantage through the super regional round, which they would host for the sixth time overall.

The Razorbacks boast a 32-4 record at Baum-Walker this season, just two wins shy of tying the single-season home record of 34.

The winner of the Fayetteville Regional will meet the winner of the Knoxville Regional, where No. 14 seed Tennessee hosts Wake Forest, Cincinnati, and Miami (OH), in the super regionals from June 6-9.

A record 13 SEC teams qualified for this year’s tournament: Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt. That breaks the previous record of 11 SEC teams, set last year. Eight SEC schools, including Arkansas, are hosting regionals.

Fayetteville Regional Schedule:

Friday, May 30
Game 1 – Arkansas vs. NDSU – 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Kansas vs. Creighton – 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 31
Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 2 p.m.
Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 8 p.m.

Sunday, June 1
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 2 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 8 p.m.

Monday, June 2 (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Time TBD

Sports

SouthArk Announces New Men’s Basketball Coach

Published

3 weeks ago

May 22, 2025

Staff Reports

EL DORADO — South Arkansas College has named Eric Collins of Augusta, Maine, as the next head coach of its men’s basketball team. Collins, a U.S. Army veteran and experienced coach, will become the third head coach in the program’s history, succeeding Cam Robinson, who held the position for three seasons.

Collins currently serves as the associate head coach at the University of Maine-Augusta, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). He brings more than five years of coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels in the Northeast.

A Maine native, Collins describes his coaching philosophy as rooted in four pillars: passion, leadership, culture, and accountability.

“I coach to build men—not just players,” Collins said. “My mission is to lead through relationships, set a shared standard of excellence, and create a culture where young men grow—as athletes, students, and people. My family and I are pumped to become part of the SouthArk and El Dorado communities.”

SouthArk Athletic Director Jenny Sanders expressed excitement over Collins’ hiring, noting his energy and commitment to student development.

“Coach Eric Collins brings immense passion and excitement to the campus and to the basketball court,” Sanders said. “I am excited to see the lasting impact he will have on the young men he coaches, on our campus, and within our community.”

Collins, along with his wife Brandi and their children, will officially relocate to El Dorado ahead of his full-time start date on July 1. In the meantime, he is actively recruiting to fill out the Star Force roster for the upcoming season.

Sports

Legendary Arkansas Coach Passes Away Saturday

Published

1 month ago

May 4, 2025

Staff Reports

Harold Horton

FAYETTEVILLE – Harold Horton, a revered figure in Arkansas football history, passed away on Saturday at the age of 86. His family confirmed his passing through social media.

Born in DeWitt, Arkansas, Horton played as a defensive back for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 1959 to 1961 under legendary coach Frank Broyles. During his playing career, the Razorbacks secured or shared the Southwest Conference (SWC) championship each season and won the 1960 Gator Bowl.

After a brief stint coaching high school football, Horton returned to the University of Arkansas in 1968 as an assistant coach. Over the next 13 years, he served under Broyles and later Lou Holtz, helping to shape some of the Razorbacks’ most formidable defensive units.

In 1982, Horton became head coach at the University of Central Arkansas, where he compiled a remarkable 74–12–5 record over eight seasons. Under his leadership, UCA won back-to-back NAIA Division I national championships in 1984 and 1985 and captured seven consecutive Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference titles from 1983 to 1989.

University of Central Arkansas (UCA) Head Coach Nathan Brown paid tribute to Horton, stating, “Prayers for the Coach Harold Horton family today. Coach Horton was one of the great coaches in UCA Football history. Him and his staffs brought championships and pride to the Bear program. Thanks for always supporting and rooting for me and the Bears over the years.”

Following his coaching career, Horton returned to the University of Arkansas in 1990 to work in football operations. He later served as president of the Razorback Foundation from 2001 to 2012, playing a key role in fundraising and athletic development initiatives. His devotion to the Razorbacks spanned nearly four decades.

Horton’s legacy lives on through his family, including his son, Tim Horton, a former Razorbacks wide receiver who went on to a successful college coaching career of his own.