It took less than 30 minutes to complete the University of Arkansas System's special board meeting Wednesday afternoon. And in a matter of seconds, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was Ohio Valley Conference-bound.
The 10-member committee, meeting virtually via Zoom, unanimously approved the Trojans' request to depart the Sun Belt Conference for the OVC, a move that will be formalized with a news conference at 3 p.m. today inside the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
On Wednesday, UALR Chancellor Christina Drale spoke briefly before introducing Athletic Director George Lee, who spoke for about 10 minutes before fielding questions from multiple trustees.
"[The OVC] really gives us a chance to be a part of a conference that does not have [NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision] football. ... It's men's and women's basketball that generate revenue," Lee said in his presentation. "It gives us the opportunity from that standpoint to do the things we have to do to be successful. We have to work on trying to fill the Jack Stephens Center up for our games."
UALR has been a part of the Sun Belt since 1991. But with the recent additions of four new members -- Southern Mississippi, Marshall, Old Dominion and James Madison -- as well an increased focus on revenue generation through football, a sport that the Trojans do not sponsor, Lee said, "[The Sun Belt] is not the same conference we joined 30 years ago."
As the Sun Belt has expanded, UALR has encountered longer road trips. Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina are more than 600 miles from Little Rock, and three of the conference's new additions will be at least that far away.
"I want to congratulate Little Rock on their membership into the Ohio Valley Conference. They will be a great addition to a well-respected conference," Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said in a statement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Little Rock has been a tremendous member and provided many important contributions to the success of our conference."
Of the OVC's eight current members (Eastern Illinois, Morehead State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Martin), the longest trip will be to Morehead, Ky., at 9 1/2 hours and a little more than 600 miles.
The OVC also has two outgoing members -- Austin Peay and Belmont -- but it remains unclear whether the conference is looking to make any additions beyond the Trojans. Commissioner Beth DeBauche declined to issue a statement Wednesday but will be in attendance at UALR's formal announcement this afternoon.
In his presentation to the UA System trustees, Lee noted that not only would shorter trips be beneficial to the student-athletes in limiting their time away from campus, it would also limit the cost of lengthy road trips. That was the primary reason he ruled out the Summit League -- which includes schools in North Dakota, South Dakota and Colorado -- as a potential landing spot.
Lee said he also met with commissioners from the Missouri Valley and Southland conferences, both of which are also relatively regional. Lee said he values developing nearby rivals, something which can also bring more fans through the arena doors.
Fora myriad of reasons, Lee said he felt the OVC would be the best fit of the four options he studied.
And though the Trojans' AD acknowledged that UALR would receive a smaller payout from the Ohio Valley than they currently do from the Sun Belt, he said he believes the move will at least be revenue-neutral in the long term.
"At the end of the day, I think the Ohio Valley is the right place for us," Lee told the board. "I don't make this recommendation lightly. I've been either a student or an employee here for 40 years. ... I frankly believe this is what we need to do if we want our teams to be successful over the next decade."