When it comes to the future of the Arkansas tennis programs, the ball is officially back in Hunter Yurachek’s court.
The UA athletics director sent a shockwave through the sport late last month when he announced the discontinuation of the Razorbacks’ 71-year-old men’s tennis team and 46-year-old women’s tennis team.
Since being served that devastating news, Arkansas tennis alumni and supporters have rallied to the tune of more than $5 million in pledged money for the next two years.
It’s an impressive response from supporters of one of the smaller Olympic sports in Fayetteville. The efforts even commanded a face-to-face with Yurachek, news of which surfaced last week.
After initially postponing last Thursday’s meeting, the Arkansas AD met with the group Monday morning. Details of the meeting remain unclear.
While members of the group — which consists of alumni, boosters and others — have expressed optimism throughout the process, it also remains a mystery on how the situation will be resolved.
Possibilities for Arkansas Tennis
It is unknown what the actual options could be for the UA, but after following the story closely over the last two-plus weeks, Best of Arkansas Sports has a few ideas as to what might ultimately unfold.
One option would be for Hunter Yurachek to stick to his decision to cut the programs. After all, the original press release Q&A stated that “fundraising is not a sustainable option for the long-term operation of the programs.”
Plus, BoAS has heard that the group trying to save Arkansas tennis were told they must not only raise the $2.5 million the UA claimed it was saving by dropping the sport, but enough to sustain it for a lengthy period of time – possibly as much as a decade.
However, the fact that more than $5 million was pledged in just one week of fundraising might be enough for Yurachek to change his mind and reinstate the program. Of course, that would mean swallowing his pride and admitting he made a mistake by not trying to fundraise from the beginning.
Another possibility: reinstating the programs on a sort of probationary status.
Even if they can’t fund the sport in perpetuity, that $5 million is nothing to scoff at and could be used as a two-year bandaid. Then, instead of having just two weeks to come up with a long-term plan, the program would have two years to figure things out.
