Pittman's Pitfalls Overshadow Successful Athletic Department

In celebrating winning in other sports when four qualify (with more expected), remember football start just around corner

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman at fall practices last August at the indoor field in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas football is still nine weeks away from opening kickoff and basketball is even further away. While all are in impalpable anticipation for the Razorbacks to take the gridiron, the rest of the Hog athletic department have continued to stack up success.

The Hogs have already qualified four Razorbacks to the U.S Track and Field Olympic Team, with more potential qualifiers on the way. Something written at length on this site because there are no other sports right now, but more importantly, these athletes deserve their moment.

An incoming gymnastics commit is in contention to make the team. While football looks on course to struggle again in the ever-competitive SEC, the rest of the athletic department has hung in there to save the Hogs.

Established in 1993 to measure holistic success across all sports, the Directors' Cup isn't the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to measuring a department's success and isn't exactly the best cannon fodder on social media to argue against other fanbases. However, it should amount to something, Arkansas only carries 19 varsity sports, a relatively low number.

The Hogs were the top finisher that carries that many sports or fewer, 18th place with a total of 921.75 points, its fourth straight finish in the Top 20. If you're going to carry the sport, you might as well be successful in it. Volleyball reached the elite eight for the first time. Gymnastics broke every school record in the book. Perhaps unsuprisingly, the women's track and field team, making a statement at the Trials, picked up 100 points by winning a national title.

There are coaches on the campus that deserve to be celebrated and have continued to turn in sustained success. While it will never amount to the fanfare of football or men's basketball, especially when those two sports aren't in action, they should be celebrated and given their proper flowers. So before football potentially capitulates on itself again. Let's just state the obvious, enjoy the successes , big or small to make the losses sting a little less.

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