JANUARY

The Arkansas State football team capped a second consecutive 10-victory season by defeating Kent

State 17-13 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Defensive co-ordinator John Thompson filled in as interim coach after Gus Malzahn left in December to become head coach at Auburn.

Oaklawn Park opened its scheduled 56-day live run in front of a crowd of 19,633 on a mild Fri day afternoon. … The good weather didn’t last long. Oaklawn had to cancel racing the next day when a torrential rainstorm made the track unsafe for racing. … Will Take Charge, owned by Marshall’s Willis Horton and trained by Hall-of-Famer D. Wayne Lukas, won the Smarty Jones Stakes, the first of Oaklawn Park’s 3-year-old prep races. Will Take Charge won the Rebel Stakes in March, over stablemate Oxbow, but skipped the Arkansas Derby.

Will Take Charge went on to success over the summer, winning the prestigious Travers Stakes at Saratoga and the Pennsylvania Derby in Parx to position himself as a top candidate for top 3-year-old honors.

Coach Dave Van Horn’s Arkansas baseball team was ranked No. 1 in preseason polls by Collegiate Baseball and USA Today.

Forward Marshawn Powell had 28 points and 11 rebounds in 44 minutes in the Razorbacks’ 88-80 double-overtime victory against Auburn. Road woes continued for Mike Anderson’s team with losses at Texas A&M, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Alabama.

The 23rd-ranked Arkansas women’s basketball team fell out of The Associated Press poll after losing to No. 24 Texas A&M 63-51. The game featured the return of Aggies Coach Gary Blair, who coached the Razorbacks for 10 seasons. Arkansas wasn’t ranked the rest of the season.

In a Sporting News article, former Arkansas football coaches John L. Smith, Paul Petrino and Paul Haynes criticized Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long for giving Smith a 10-month contract early in 2012, and claimed several key veterans on the 2012 team were mailing it in at the end of a 4-8 season.

The UALR women’s basketball team lost five of its first six games in January before beating Florida Atlantic on Jan. 23, sparking a run of 13 consecutive victories.

Paul Allen was promoted to full-time general manager for the Arkansas Travelers after spending seven weeks as interim general manager following the firing of Pete Laven.

FEBRUARY

Coach Mike Anderson’s Arkansas basketball team upset the No. 2 Florida Gators 80-69 at Walton Arena. It was the highest-ranked foe Arkansas had beaten in 14 years, since the Razorbacks took down No. 2 Auburn 104-88 in 1999.

Arkansas’ highly ranked baseball team left Surprise, Ariz., in shock after going 0-4, losing twice to Arizona State and once each to Gonzaga and Pacific. They came home to sweep a four-game series from San Diego State.

Tight end Hunter Henry of Little Rock and offensive lineman Denver Kirkland highlighted the first class of Arkansas football signees for Bret Bielema.

Blue-chip running back Alex Collins of south Florida, who undergoes signing day drama when his mother leaves with his letter of intent, joined the class the following day. … Arkansas offensive line coach Sam Pittman, courted by Alabama, signed an amended offer letter which raises his salary from $275,000 to $500,000 and gives him a three-year deal to stay with the Razorbacks.

Arkansas State football Coach Bryan Harsin signed his first recruiting class two months after being hired as Gus Malzahn’s successor. Only two of Harsin’s 20 signees saw action during the 2013 season.

The Razorbacks men won their 19th SEC Indoor track title with 152.5 points. The Arkansas women won their first SEC Indoor title since 2003 when the Razorbacks edged LSU 114.5-109.5.

MARCH

The Arkansas men’s track team won its first national championship since 2006 when the Razorbacks won the NCAA Indoor title, led by first-place finishes by Andrew Irwin in the pole vault, Kevin Lazas in the heptathlon and the 4x400 relay team.

It was the Razorbacks’ 41st overall national title in cross country and track and first under Coach Chris Bucknam, who replaced John McDonnell in 2008,

Coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks ended their season at 19-13 with a 75-72 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament. Arkansas beat Florida, Missouri, Kentucky and Oklahoma, buy the NIT snubbed the Razorbacks because of their 1-12 record in out-of state games. All-SEC players BJ Young and Marshawn Powell announced they were declaring for the NBA Draft rather than return to Arkansas. … The Arkansas women’s basketball team went 1-1 in the WNIT and lost at home to Tulane, 60-48, to end its season at 2013, including 6-10 in the SEC.

Former Arkansas golfer Stacy Lewis, the LPGA player of the year in 2012, is inducted at age 27 into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Lewis, an NCAA champion, overcame scoliosis to rise to the top of her profession.

Calvin Borel became the 26th jockey in North American racing history with 5,000 career victories when he guided Hezunusal to a 4-length victory in Thursday afternoon’s sixth race at Oaklawn Park.

Borel, Oaklawn’s leading rider in 1995 and 2001, reached the milestone on his 20th attempt. He had been winless since Dec. 28.

High school state basketball tournaments returned to Barton Coliseum for the first time since1994. The 14-game, three-day tournament drew a record crowd of 83,216 fans. … North Little Rock won its first boys state basketball title since 1971 with a 64-52 victory over Fayetteville in the Class 7A state title game and ends the season on a 27-game winning streak. …. Little Rock Hall won its fourth consecutive state basketball title when senior guard Evan James hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 34-33 victory over Jonesboro in the Class 6A state game.

Mark Chepses and Hellen Rotich won the Little Rock Marathon. Former women’s winner and race favorite Leah Thorvilson is injured during the race and is unable to finish the marathon.

Coach Corliss Williamson’s third UCA men’s basketball team made its first Southland Conference Tournament appearance, but lost to Sam Houston State in the first round in Katy, Texas. … UCA’s first season under coach Sandra Rushing ended with a first-round loss to Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Sugar Bears finished 15-15, a disappointing mark despite having three time Southland player of the year Megan Herbert.

The UALR men’s basketball season ended with a 69-54 loss to Florida International in the Sun Belt tournament. … The UALR women won 13 in a row to advance to the Sun Belt Championship game before losing to Middle Tennessee in the final. The Trojans lost 69-65 at Pacific in the WNIT, their sixth consecutive postseason appearance.

Arkansas basketball signee Bobby Portis, from Little Rock Hall, scored 12 points for the West team in the McDonald’s High School All-American game in Chicago. He was the first McDonald’s All-American since Ola Famutimi (2003) to play for Arkansas. … Jessica Jackson, a 6-3 forward from Jacksonville and consensus top 20 high school player nationally, signed with Arkansas.

APRIL

Overanalyze, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, scored a 4¼ -length victory over Frac Daddy in the $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby for 3-year-olds Saturday afternoon. The victory before a crowd of 66,158 ended a 15-race local losing streak for trainer Todd Pletcher, a four-time Eclipse Award winner as the country’s top trainer. War Academy, the 9-5 favorite, was trying to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his second consecutive Arkansas Derby victory but endured a nightmare in his first start outside California. War Academy backed out of the gate after initially being loaded, then was pulled up just past the half-mile pole when racing fifth under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith

Offensive tackle Terron Armstead was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, the first player with Arkansas connections to go in the draft. Later, Knile Davis (3th round), Tyler Wilson (4th round), Cobi Hamilton (6th round), Chris Gragg (7th round). Armstead, Davis and Gragg made their respective rosters while Wilson and Hamilton spent most of the season on the practice. Dennis Johnson, an undrafted free agent from Arkansas, spent the second half of the season with the Houston Texans and started last Sunday against the Broncos.

The Arkansas Travelers’ opening night was postponed because of rain, and a night later they split a double-header with the Midland RockHounds, winning Game 1 7-0, and losing Game 2 6-3.

MAY

The Arkansas men won the SEC Outdoor title to complete its second consecutive Triple Crown. … The Arkansas women Arkansas (109) finished third with behind Texas A&M (117) and LSU (112).

The Arkansas baseball team went 2-1 at the SEC Tournament, beating Ole Miss and LSU before losing to LSU. The Razorbacks earned their 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and were sent to Kansas State. … Kansas State beat the Razorbacks 4-3 in the NCAA regional final to end Arkansas’ season at 39-22.

Former Arkansas men’s golfer David Lingmerth led after 54 holes at the Tournament Players Championship, the highest-paying event on the tour, but settled for a second-place tie behind Tiger Woods for a $709,333 paycheck.

Robert Cox stepped down after 26 years as Arkansas’ tennis coach to take an administrative job in the athletic department. He had a 322-331 record with nine NCAA Tournament bids and two Southwest Conference titles. Andy Jackson, former Florida coach, was hired as Cox’s replacement.

In high school baseball and softball, Brett Price tripled and homered in leading Fayetteville (27-2) to a 6-3 victory over Rogers in the Class 7A baseball state championship game. … Behind William McCauley’s three-run home run, Jonesboro rallied to defeat Greenwood 5-4 in the Class 6A baseball state championship game. … North Little Rock’s Sydney Parr tripled three times in leading the Lady Charging Wildcats to a 10-0 victory over Rogers in the Class 7A state championship game.

Allen Gum’s UCA baseball team won five consecutive elimination games in the Southland Conference Tournament to win its first league title. The Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they played at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs eliminated the Bears in the Starkville Regional final.

Oxbow, second in the Rebel Stakes, fifth in the Arkansas Derby and sixth in the Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes for jockey Gary Stevens and trainer D. Wayne Lukas at odds of 15-1.

JUNE

The Arkansas baseball team had a school-record 11 players drafted, which also led the nation, including three of the top 90 picks with pitchers Ryne Stanek (29th by Tampa Bay), Colby Suggs (73rd by Miami) and Barrett Astin (90th by Milwaukee). Hitting coach Todd Butler left Arkansas to become Wichita State’s head coach and was replaced by Tony Vitello from TCU.

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long described remarks made by Ohio State president Gordon Gee regarding football coach Bret Bielema as “slanderous.” Gee, who announced his retirement soon thereafter, apologizes to Bielema for suggesting to the Ohio State Athletic Council that Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez thought Bielema “was a thug, and left just ahead of the sheriff.”

Neither BJ Young nor Marshawn Powell were selected in the NBA Draft. Powell signed to play professionally with a team in the Ukraine. Young signed with Rio Grande Valley (Texas) Vipers, the Houston Rockets’ Developmental League team.

The Arkansas men’s track team, which won the SEC Outdoor meet, took third at the NCAA Outdoor meet with 46.5 points with SEC rivals Florida and Texas A&M sharing the title with 53 points.

In pro golf, in his 187th PGA Tour start, Arkadelphia’s Ken Duke sank a 2½ foot putt on the second playoff hole to defeat Chris Stroud in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.

The former Henderson State standout became the sixth golfer in eight years to win his first PGA title at the Travelers. … World No.1 Inbee Park of South Korea won her fifth tournament of the season by defeating fellow countryman So Yeon Ryu on the first playoff hole of the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. …. In state amateur golf, Wes McNulty of White Hall won his record sixth Arkansas State Golf Association stroke-play title at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith. … Julie Oxendine of Russellville defeated Carrie Hall of Bismarck 4 and 2 to win the ASGA Women’s Match Play tournament at Maumelle Country Club. …

JULY

At SEC media days, Arkansas first-year football Coach Bret Bielema encouraged the media “the lower the better” in picking the Hogs’ SEC finish, and the media projected the Razorbacks to finish last in the SEC West. The media ended up being right, as the Hogs finished 3-9 overall, 0-8 in the SEC. … Arkansas State was picked third in the Sun Belt Conference, while running back David Oku, wide receiver J.D. McKissic, kicker Brian Davis and center Bryce Giddens were first-team all-Sun Belt picks. ASU (7-5, 5-2) finished tied with Louisiana-Lafayette for the Belt Conference title.

The Arkansas Travelers lost five of their last seven games of the first-half to fall out of contention for the first-half division title. … The Travelers then won eight of their first nine second-half games to take a three-game lead in the second-half division race, but then lost seven of their next eight and fell into a first-place tie.

In state golf, Stafford Gray left War Memorial Golf Course after completing his final round only to receive a call telling him that he had won the Fourth of July Classic after everyone in the final three groups behind him faltered down the stretch. Gray, 28, shot a 2-under 62 and won the tournament by a stroke over three others after starting the day eight strokes back. … Jessieville’s Grier Bennett won the 31st Arkansas Women Golf Association’s Stroke Play championship for the second consecutive year with a four-stroke victory over Tracy Duncan at Maumelle Country Club. Bennett then wins the ASGA Stroke Play event in Hot Springs just nine days later with a five-stroke victory over Julie Oxendine. … Matt Mabrey of Little Rock won his second consecutive Maumelle Classic after shooting an even-par 72 at Maumelle Country Club.

AUGUST

Corliss Williamson resigned as Central Arkansas basketball coach to be an assistant with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague promoted assistant coach Clarence Finley to interim coach. Finley, 57, was on Williamson’s staff at UCA for three years. He had been an assistant at UALR in 1991-2000 and coached at several Little Rock high schools.

In college football, Coach Bret Bielema’s debut as Arkansas football coach goes well as the Razorbacks post a resounding34-14 victory over eventual Sun Belt co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette. It turns out to be one of the Razorbacks’ most complete games of the year. … Coach Bryan Harsin’s first and only season as Arkansas State’s head coach began with a 62-11 romp over an Arkansas-Pine Bluff team depleted with 11 players on its two-deep held out with eligibility issues. … Central Arkansas, playing without five players serving suspensions for violation of team rules, opened its season with a 58-7 victory over Incarnate Word.

In golf, former Arkansas Razorback Stacy Lewis finished birdie-birdie at the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews in Scotland to win her second major championship. Lewis won the Kraft Nabisco in 2011 for her other major title. … It took an extra day but Jordan Niebrugge won the 111th Western Amateur Championship at The Alotian Club in Roland. Niebrugge’s 3-and-2 victory over Sean Dale came after three delays of rain and lightning on Sunday pushed the match to a Monday morning finish. … Former U.S. Senior Amateur champion Stan Lee, 60, became the oldest person to win the ASGA Match Play championship after he defeated 19-year-old Drew Greenwood 4 and 3 at The Greens at North Hills in Sherwood. Lee won the event for the fifth time, but his fourth victory occurred 39 years earlier. In the Texas League, Manager Tim Bogar was ejected four pitches into an Aug. 13 victory over San Antonio for arguing a call at second base. On Aug. 30, the Travs beat Springfield 4-1 then waited for a Tulsa victory over Northwest Arkansas that clinched Arkansas’ second-half North Division title and a playoff berth. The Travs won their final eight games of the regular season and swept Tulsa to advance to the Texas League Championship Series in early September. The Travs won two of three in San Antonio and returned to Dickey-Stephens Park need one victory to clinch the title, but lost the next two games, 6-5 and 5-0, and watched the Missions celebrate on their home turf.

SEPTEMBER

The Arkansas football team was 20 minutes from going 4-0 after building a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter at Rutgers. But the Hogs can’t hold on, surrendering three touchdowns in a 28-24 loss in Piscataway, N.J. … A 45-33 loss to Texas A&M followed in the Razorbacks’ SEC opener in Fayetteville.

Central Arkansas’ season turned when a 24-17 fourth-quarter lead against Pac-12 member Colorado ended up a 38-24 loss. UCA, ranked as high as No. 5 in the FCS poll early in the month, also lost 24-23 at Tennessee-Martin on Sept. 14. The Bears rallied for a 17-13 victory at Missouri State on Sept. 21 to snap a two-game losing streak.

UALR Athletic Director Chris Peterson was identified as a finalist for the open athletic director job at UNLV in a report by two Las Vegas newspapers. Peterson pulled his name from consideration three weeks later.

Arkansas State was penalized 15 yards at the beginning of each half in a 38-9 loss to eventual SEC champion Auburn for wearing jerseys that did not contrast with the home team’s uniforms. ASU led eventual SEC East champion Missouri 16-14 in the third quarter of an eventual 41-19 loss.

OCTOBER

Arkansas football goes woe for October, losing at Florida then enduring back-to-back pummellings, 52-7 to South Carolina and 52-0 to No. 1 Alabama, going 0-3 for the month and 3-5 for the season.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff, the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion, ended a seven-game losing streak to start the season with a 38-18 victory at Mississippi Valley State.

The Razorbacks’ basketball team begins practice in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building because of flooding in Walton Arena that damaged the court.

Arkansas Athletic Jeff Long says he is “honored and humbled” to be appointed as chairman of the selection committee for the first College Football Playoff following the 2014 season.

Central Arkansas’ year unravels with season-ending injuries to quarterback Wynrick Smothers and tight end Chase Dixon. UCA’s 13-game home winning streak was snapped with a 59-28 loss to McNeese State on Oct. 5 at Estes Stadium in Conway.

Arkansas State’s football season reached a low point during a Thursday night game on ESPN2, when Louisiana-Lafayette rushed for 265 yards and held ASU to 168 yards of offense in a 23-7 victory over the Red Wolves.

In high school, Luke Long of Fayetteville and Olivia Loiacano of Jonesboro captured the High School Overall Golf championships at the Pleasant Valley Country Club. … Jake Jacoby of Pulaski Academy and Emily Metcalf of Valley View captured the High School Overall Tennis championships at the Burns Park Tennis Complex

NOVEMBER

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long received a $100,000 bonus, an immediate $100,000 raise and the promise of another $100,000 raise on July 1, 2014 that will take his guaranteed salary to $1.1 million. The raise is based on “positive attention” brought about by his appointment as chairman of the first College Football Playoff selection committee and after the University of Texas had shown interest in hiring Long, according to UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart.

Arkansas football ended a brutal five-game stretch against ranked SEC opponents with a 35-17 loss to No. 8 Auburn in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks were outscored 214-67 while going 0-5 in that stretch. … Arkansas lost a late lead and fell to Mississippi State 24-17 for a program-record eighth consecutive loss and the Razorbacks’ first setback ever on Arkansas soil to the Bulldogs. The following week, LSU scored on a 49-yard pass late in the fourth quarter and sent the Razorbacks into the off season with a 31-27 loss and a school-record nine-game losing streak.

Losses to Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana ended Central Arkansas’ chances of making a third consecutive trip to the FCS playoffs. The Bears won their final two games of the season, including a 49-31 victory over two-time FCS runner-up Sam Houston State to finish 7-5.

Arkansas State won four consecutive games in which they were trailing or tied at halftime, starting with a 17-16 victory at South Alabama on Nov. 2. ASU did it after Bryan Harsin gave play-calling duties to co-offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz before that victory, and he called plays the rest of the season while ASU went 4-1 to grab a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.

Arkansas men’s basketball added guards Anton Beard and Nick Babb and forward Trey Thompson during the NCAA’s early signing period.

The Arkansas men won SEC and NCAA South Central Regional cross country titles, then took 12th at NCAA Championships. The SEC title was their 21st in 23 tries since joining the conference. … The Razorbacks women won SEC and NCAA South Central Regional cross country titles and were 15th at the NCAA Championships.

Fort Smith Southside (34-3) claimed its eighth state volleyball title with a 3-0 victory over Bentonville in the Class 7A state championship game. … Catholic’s Brendan Taylor shattered the course record at Oaklawn Park in winning the Class 7A cross country meet in Hot Springs. Taylor’s winning time was 15:14.7. The previous record was 15:30.1.

In high school football, Pine Bluff snapped Greenwood’s 50-game winning streak when Austin McGehee kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired for a 37-34 victory. The Bulldogs fell one victory short of tying Pine Bluff Dollarway for second place at 51 victories in a row, and 13 away from Barton’s state record 63-game streak from 1986-1990.

Henderson State capped an undefeated regular season (11-0) with a thrilling 60-52 three-overtime victory over Ouachita Baptist in the Battle of the Ravine. The Reddies were defeated 40-35 the following week by St. Cloud (Minn.) State in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

DECEMBER

A winter storm delayed the Arkansas high school football playoff schedule a week. The Class 7A, 6A and 5A championships were decided Dec. 13 and 14, with the 4A, 3A and 2A title games, originally scheduled for that weekend, being pushed back to Dec. 20 and 21. State championship winners were: Class 7A Bentonville, Class 6A El Dorado, Class 5A Morrilton, Class 4A Booneville, Class 3A Charleston and Class 2A Junction City. Both the Class 3A and 2A games ended with a running clock after Junction City and Charleston built leads of 35 points in the second half.

Arkansas State started the month by accepting a third consecutive trip to the GoDaddy Bowl, then nine days later, Coach Bryan Harsin accepted the head-coaching job at his alma mater, Boise State. He became the third consecutive ASU coach to leave after one year. An eight-day search led to Blake Anderson being named as ASU’s fifth coach in five years. Anderson had been the offensive coordinator at North Carolina.

Clint Conque, Central Arkansas’ all-time winningest coach with a 105-59 record, resigned on Dec. 14 to take the Stephen F. Austin position. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Coach Steve Campbell was officially introduced as the Bears’ new coach Dec. 20.

Arkansas assistant head coach and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was hired away by Florida Atlantic University to be the Owls’ fourth head coach Senior linebacker Jer-ryan Harris won the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the year award. Harris led the SWAC in tackles with 107, including 56 unassisted, for a 2-9 Golden Lions team.

Phillip Wellman was named manager for the Arkansas Travelers in 2014. Wellman had spent the last four seasons as hitting coach for the Springfield Cardinals, but has been a manager for 15 minor-league seasons.

Former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor of Little Rock scored a seventh-round technical knockout against JC Candelo at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Taylor (32-4-1) won for the fourth time since resuming his career after a 12th-round knockout loss in 2009.

The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame announced its 11-member 2014 class. The hall’s newest members to be inducted Feb. 28 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock are: David Bazzel, Dennis Winston, Gary Blair, Bennie Fuller, Stephanie Strack Mathis, Ken Duke, Don Campbell, Alvy Early, Ken Stephens, Jim Barnes and Harry Vines.

Sports, Pages 24 on 12/26/2013