How Many Hats Can Hunter Yurachek Wear? 

As we learned on Thursday morning, there will be a new chair of the College Football Playoff Committee. Mack Rhoades, of Baylor, took a leave of absence “due to personal reasons”. Because of this, the committee had to have a voice, and their choice was Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek. Yurachek is one of six active ADs on the committee, which is an entirely different article in itself. In this article, we will look deeper into the current role of Yurachek and some current happenings on campus that will need his attention. Then, we will combine these responsibilities with his new role within the CFP, and how he has a large hat closet.  How many hats can Hunter Yurachek wear? We take a look. 

Current Mood For Yurachek

We here at Last Word have been critical of Yurachek and his handling of this entire coaching search in Fayetteville. With this, plus the modern age of college athletics, where the AD is essentially a cheerleader for funding, Hunter seems to have quite a plate full. Then, you go back to the coaching search and have to wonder how involved he really is. 

Based on the hiring of the current basketball coach in Fayetteville, he used a well-known connection, and booster, in John Tyson, to convert John Calipari to Arkansas red. The majority of the hirings under Yurachek have been fruitful, but then he hitched his wagon to Sam Pittman. This is where Yurachek is between a rock and a hard place, as he made a move to appease the fans by promoting Bobby Petrino to interim. Since then, nothing but losses, and for the exact reason Yurachek stated that he let Sam go, one score losses. 

With additional sports kicking off on campus, Hunter will need to be in numerous places at once, yet he is only one man. With the decision of the new direction in football looming, one would think that Yurachek would be focused on scouring the nation for the next head hog. Are you seeing why we asked how many hats Yurachek can wear?

CFP Role

Yurachek has been here before, as he has served on the committee in the past. Now, he is the voice of the room, and will have to answer the questions from the television panel and media call following. Will Yurachek have to excuse himself from the room when discussing the SEC? How will he know how to answer if he is not in the room? While some may ask, “What is the difference in Yurachek and Rhoades?” and we understand why. The difference is that Rhodes is not in the middle of a coaching search in the conference where it “Just Means More”. 

Yurachek is also the “point person”, which, per the CFP, “Will ensure that (1) the committee has complete, detailed information about each team, and (2) the conferences and independent institutions have an effective and efficient channel for providing facts to the committee.” Yurachek is the person for the Big 12 and MAC within the committee. The committee is also tasked with watching all teams to gather information with their eyes. Seems to us that Yurachek is being pulled in several directions, and we question his availability to the University he serves first, Arkansas. 

Will This Hurt Arkansas?

In closing, we acknowledge that Yurachek is not the only AD on the committee, as mentioned at the onset. The other members are not in search of a coach. Furthermore. They are not trying to replace a coach who was fired on September 28th.  As Arkansas hits the road to LSU, we will have all eyes on Yurachek. Not only him, but also the performance of the team in the midst of a seven-game losing skid. Many fans are reading the “reports” of this or that coach coming to Fayetteville. Yet, they need to understand that their own AD is quite busy with additional responsibilities. Some of these may hurt Arkansas before they help.