Yurachek named to replace Long as head of UA athletics

FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Chancellor Joe Steinmetz named Hunter Yurachek as vice chancellor and director of athletics Monday.

Yurachek, 49, had served as vice president of athletics at the University of Houston. He will be introduced later in the week, UA said in a news release.

The appointment came 19 days after Steinmetz fired Jeff Long near the completion of his 10th season as Arkansas' athletic director. Yurachek will be only the third athletic director at Arkansas since 1973.

"I am thrilled to welcome Hunter to the Razorback family," Steinmetz said in the release.

[DOCUMENT: Read Yurachek's offer letter]

Yurachek, a native of Richmond, Va., earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Guilford (N.C.) College in 1990 and a master's in sports administration at the University of Richmond in 1994.

"The opportunity to serve the Razorback program is both humbling and exciting," Yurachek said in the UA release. "There is so much already in place, and we will quickly build on that foundation to win championships. We will do so with integrity and while continuing to be a great source of pride for the entire state of Arkansas."

Yurachek has agreed to a five-year contract with total compensation of $850,000 per year, plus a one-time hiring bonus of $200,000. His annual package includes a base salary of $525,000 and additional compensation of $325,000 for speaking engagements and other personal services that will be paid from revenue generated by contracts with vendors of athletic apparel, shoes and multimedia rights. He will not have a separate agreement with the Razorback Foundation, the fundraising arm of the athletic department, university spokesman Mark Rushing said Monday evening.

Yurachek was paid a base salary of $450,000 at Houston, excluding incentives, on a contract that was extended last year through 2021. His agreement at Houston also called for a $350,000 payment if he were to leave within three years of his original deal. Rushing said the Razorback Foundation will transfer the $350,000 to the university for the buyout payment to Houston.

Yurachek enters the Arkansas athletic department at a time when the university is in the middle of the expansion of the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, a $160 million venture that will add about 4,200 premium seats, and when the future of Razorback football games in Little Rock is in question. The university is under contract to host one more game in Little Rock, against Ole Miss on Oct. 13, 2018, but it's unclear whether UA will extend its agreement with War Memorial Stadium beyond 2018.

His arrival also comes at a time of upheaval within the football program. One of Yurachek's first moves will involve the hiring of a head football coach after the firing of Bret Bielema on Nov. 24. Bielema compiled a 29-34 record in five seasons, including a 4-8 record this past season.

Interim Athletic Director Julie Cromer Peoples has led the search for a replacement for Bielema. The Razorbacks presented Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn, whose hometown is Fort Smith, a substantial offer after the Tigers lost 28-7 to Georgia on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game. However, Malzahn accepted a raise and contract extension Sunday from Auburn that was reported to be for seven years with a salary topping $7 million per year by the end of the contract.

There was no word from UA officials on how Yurachek's presence would affect the direction or timing of the coaching search.

The story on Yurachek's move, which was broken by the website FootballScoop.com, came less than 90 minutes after the conclusion of a UA board of trustees meeting in Little Rock.

The nearly three-hour meeting was conducted almost entirely out of the public eye in executive session, which is reserved for consideration of employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining or resignation of public officers or employees, according to state law.

Board Chairman Ben Hyneman of Jonesboro said no action was taken during the meeting, though he said Steinmetz was a part of the conversation. University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt also took part in the private session.

Hyneman would not confirm whether they talked about athletics in closed session. The board hires only the system president and campus chancellors. A position on the campus level is decided by the chancellor.

Asked whether there was discord regarding how the search was handled, Hyneman said he was not aware of any.

He added, "The chancellor is just kind of keeping us advised of the process that he's going through, identifying potential candidates, and then you have to check to see if any interest is there on the other side, have a discussion, and that process of getting it right takes precedence over the timeline. So I think he's working through that and doing a really good job."

Steinmetz did not grant an in-person interview request from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after his phone conversation with the board of trustees.

Yurachek was in attendance Saturday for the Cougars' 91-65 victory over Arkansas in Houston. The game was played at H&PE Arena at Texas Southern University because the University of Houston's on-campus arena, which will be named the Fertitta Center, is undergoing a $60 million renovation.

Steinmetz also attended a UA Alumni Association service project while in Houston.

When asked that night by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about his search for an athletic director, Steinmetz said, "I'm not commenting on any of the candidates, but we're interviewing candidates right now."

Steinmetz is believed to have interviewed at least three other candidates for the position, including former Arkansas quarterback Kevin Scanlon and Tulsa Athletic Director Derrick Gragg.

Yurachek has been athletic director at Houston since 2015. He also spent four years as athletic director at Coastal Carolina (2011-2014), where he was named one of four Under Armour FCS athletic directors of the year in 2014.

He left in February 2014 to join the University of Houston as an associate vice president for intercollegiate athletics and chief operating officer, the No. 2 person in the athletic department under Mack Rhoades. Yurachek was appointed as vice president of athletics April 28, 2015.

Yurachek and his wife, Jennifer, have three sons: Ryan, Jake and Brooks.

Information for this article was contributed by reporters Aziza Musa and Jaime Adame of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 12/05/2017