Commentary

Red Wolves Gather In Heart Of Razorback Country

Have you ever peeked over the backyard fence at your neighbors' house to see what all the noise and excitement was about?

That was my motivation last week when I met with a pack of Red Wolves in the heart of Razorback country. Arkansas State director of athletics Terry Mohajir was in Fayetteville along with ASU football coach Blake Anderson.

Arkansas is still mostly a one hogs state, but the Red Wolves are causing a stir with their recent success in football. Arkansas State has had two 10-win seasons and three consecutive conference championships despite turnover at the head coaching position.

Razorback fans, meanwhile, mostly sit and grumble as losses continue to pile up in football and basketball.

Arkansas State frequently plays big non-conference opponents, mostly for financial reasons, and the Red Wolves will play this season at Tennessee and Miami. That's Miami in Florida, not Miami of Ohio.

"We want to be well-known nationally and we want recruits to know who we are," Anderson said. "So, it's important to play well in those games and put a good product on the field."

I was still mingling in the lobby with Red Wolves fans when a howl went out, which, I guess, was a call to gather in an upstairs room for a presentation. I declined, mostly because I already had information I needed from interviews with Anderson and Mohajir beforehand.

So, Terry, why doesn't ASU schedule a good non-conference opponent in Little Rock? Seems like a good idea, especially with the Razorbacks interested in leaving War Memorial.

"Little Rock is always a possibility for a game, but it's got to be financially beneficial for us," Mohajir said. "To build a statewide program, we have to build it from Jonesboro first. When you take a game away from Jonesboro, you're taking away from your sponsors, your vendors, season ticket-holders, and a community that expects you to play in one place. My research has shown that previous games in Little Rock weren't as financially as beneficial as they had hoped."

Yes, but Arkansas State was not as good then as it is now. More wins, more fans.

So, I tried again.

Terry, what's the latest on possible expansion in the Sun Belt Conference? That needs to happen, right, to play a conference championship game?

"We're going to hold at 11 for right now," Mohajir said. "I'm not sure 12 really gives you an advantage. The Big 12 doesn't have a championship game. Forty percent of the championship games last year caused more of a detriment than an advantage to that conference."

On the third try, I got an answer I agreed with when discussing the Razorbacks' outdated policy against playing in-state schools. Mohajir said he'd welcome a change, but would not push the issue.

"We've played about every school in the state except (Arkansas), but that's their policy," said Mohajir, who added that ASU will face Central Arkansas in football again in 2016. "I think it would be good for the state. I believe in keeping revenue in the state, especially with the economy the way it is. But we're going to focus on ourselves, not on what other people are doing."

So, there's your peek at our neighbors to the east, who rolled into Fayetteville in a black minivan with a big Red Wolf on the side. There are a lot of unusual sights in Fayetteville, especially when the motorcycles roll in, but that vehicle caused some double-takes in the heart of Razorback country.

I was at Arkansas State in the 1980s, when Larry Lacewell was head coach and the football team was called the Indians. More importantly, I'm an Arkansas native who strongly disagrees with the "either you're with us or against us" attitude of some fans. If a uniform says Arkansas on it, I wish only the best for that team.

That's true whether it's the Razorbacks, Red Wolves, or those lovable Boll Weevils from Monticello.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTSWRITER FOR NWA NEWSPAPERS.

Sports on 05/18/2014

Upcoming Events