COMMUNICATIONS
Pierson leaving Arkansas staff
The Arkansas Razorbacks are in the market for a new leader for their communications department.
Patrick Pierson, who has led the department for the past three years and spent five years overall at Arkansas, has accepted a similar position at Oregon. Pierson said he will begin his new job as the Ducks' associate athletic director for communications on Feb. 5.
Pierson, 36, said the move will allow him and his longtime girlfriend, Sarah Brolsma Whitfield, to be close to her family in Oregon.
"It gives us the opportunity for one of us to be close to home and still be professionally satisfied," Pierson said. "That's rare."
Pierson spent two seasons as the Razorbacks' media contact for basketball before he was promoted to assistant athletic director for communications in 2015. He managed a department of seven full-time employees and 10 interns, including some with paid internships.
His primary role was as the lead media contact for Arkansas football, only the fourth person to hold the position since 1977.
Chris Freet, UA senior associate athletic director for external communications, said an interim director for the communications department will be announced sometime this week and a national search for Pierson's replacement has begun.
-- Matt Jones
BASKETBALL
Taylor leads UAFS women to victory
Senior forward Tayla Taylor scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith women to a 68-59 victory over Rogers State University on Wednesday at the Claremore (Okla.) Expo Center.
Junior guard Lundon Williams added 13 points for the Lady Lions (14-6, 7-1 Heartland Conference), who outscored the Hillcats 19-8 in the second quarter to overcome a four-point first-quarter deficit and took a 34-27 lead at halftime.
Northside coach on leave of absence
Eric Burnett, who coached Fort Smith Northside to the Class 7A state championship in March, has taken a leave of absence.
District Athletic Director Darren McKinney said Burnett will be stepping away from his duties for an undetermined length of time, with full pay. Assistant coach Greg Scott has been filling in for Burnett.
Burnett has led the Northside program in 2011 win which his teams have compiled a 108-70 record, including 13-6 this season. Prior to arriving at Northside, Burnett was the head coach at Springdale Har-Ber from 2005 to 2011 and at Fort Smith Southside from 2001 to 2005.
Burnett is a 1989 graduate of Northside. He graduated in 1994 from Arkansas Tech, where he is the school's all-time leader in made three-pointers with 354.
Scott, who is a former Southside player, has been an assistant at Northside the last four seasons.
-- Tim Cooper
TRACK AND FIELD
Okeze, Dunderdale honored by SBC
Charles Okeze from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas State University's Hannah Dunderdale were named the Sun Belt Conference's track athletes of the week on Wednesday.
Okeze, the first UALR athlete to earn the honor since Nathan Carr in 2012, won the 200-meter dash at the Samford Open on Friday night in 21.43 seconds. Okeze finished sixth in the 60-meter dash in 6.94 seconds.
Dunderdale scored 3,750 points in the pentathlon at the Samford Invite. She finished her final event, the 800 meters, in 2 minutes, 16.19 seconds, the ninth-fastest time in program history.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services
Sports on 01/25/2018