In the last year, some of Arkansas' legendary coaches have been honored. Now, another great joins the group in having an arena named after him.
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's basketball facility, with the approval of the UA board of trustees, will now be known as Gayle Kaundart Arena.
Kaundart was one of the best coaches in the state's history, beginning at Green Forest and Conway, then at Fort Smith Northside where he coached Ron Brewer. He then went to Westark Community College (now UAFS), where he coached Darrell Walker and Brewer among others.
The Alma native won Arkansas' first national championship in basketball when he led Westark to the national junior college championship in 1981.
In his 13 years at Westark, he had an amazing record of 379-87 (81%) and at Northside 575-212 (73%), where he won five state championships.
Kaundart has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, College of the Ozarks Hall of Fame and the UAFS and NJCAA halls of fame.
He joins Nolan Richardson, who had the University of Arkansas court in Bud Walton Arena named after him. Eddie Sutton's name adorns the Razorbacks' practice facility, and Morrilton has named its new arena after legendary coach John Widner.
Kaundart was one of those rare coaches who could beat you, trade teams and beat you again.
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On the subject of basketball, the Saturday which Arkansas hosts TCU, (already a sellout), will be a very special day.
Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer will be hosting "Game Day with the Triplets" on Jan. 25.
The day includes a screening of the documentary All for the Hogs.
There will be a pregame lunch and a postgame reception.
There will be a panel discussion with the Triplets and Dr. Jimmy Counce, who was a critical player on their Final Four team, and Pat Foster, who was an assistant coach on that team.
Moncrief, Delph and Brewer under head coach Eddie Sutton made the Razorbacks a national name.
All nongame activities will be held at the Schmieding Center Auditorium in Springdale.
A limited number of tickets are available for $750 each and can be purchased by calling (205) 317-2417.
The event will benefit Moncrief's "We Are One," a diversity and inclusion initiative for Arkansas high school students.
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There are a few seats left, available on a first-come, first-served basis, for today's Little Rock Touchdown Club Awards Banquet.
Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman trophy winner, is the guest speaker.
This is the banquet when seven state and national awards are presented as well as high school players and coaches are honored.
Tickets are $25 for members and $35 for non-members.
Doors open at the DoubleTree Hotel at 10:30 a.m. and the banquet will wrap up by 1 p.m.
Parking in the DoubleTree's underground garage is free for those attending.
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Except for Monday's College Football Playoff Championship Game bowl season is over, and the SEC stood head and shoulders above all the other Power Five conferences.
The SEC was 7-2, with the only losses being Auburn and Mississippi State.
Of course, that record changes after the LSU-Clemson game, but regardless, it will not diminish the glow of postseason for the SEC.
The next best record for Power Five leagues was the Pac-12 at 4-3.
Third was the Big 10 with an embarrassing 4-5 record, including Ohio State's loss to Clemson in the CFP semifinals.
Fourth was the ACC at 4-6, which was no surprise since that league was down this season except for Clemson.
Last, with what should have been a humiliating record of 1-5, was the Big 12.
Sports on 01/09/2020