Men's Basketball
Former Hogs coach Nolan Richardson gets another honor
Going into Junior College Hall of Fame takes Richardson back to beginnings of legendary college career at West Texas.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas legend Nolan Richardson is another Hall of Fame and, no, that’s not a disimissive comment in any way. The only thing a little surprising is it took this long for him to be inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame.
Richardson, who guided the Razorbacks to their only national championship in a major sport in 1993-93, started his career in high school, then took West Texas Junior College while he compiled a 101-13 in three seasons. That included a 1980 championship. The 37-0 record that year is only the third in junior college history without a single loss.
Joining Richardson in the Class of 2023 are Brittany Reese (three-time track and field Olympic team member), Kirby Puckett (MLB Hall of Famer), Leonard Hamilton (current head men’s basketball coach at Florida State) and Bruce Arena (all-time winningest Major League Soccer head coach).
After West Texas, he went to Tulsa in 1981, becoming the first African American coach to win the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title. Staying at Tulsa for five years, Richardson is credited with bringing the Tulsa program to national prominence, and with a winning percentage of .763, became the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons.
With the Hogs, Richardson led the team to 15 post-season appearances in 17 seasons. Finding great success at Arkansas, he led the Razorbacks to three Final Fours and, in 1994, the Hogs won the National Championship. Richardson’s career garnered numerous accolades including NABC Coach of the Year, Naismith College Coach of the Year, two-time MVC Coach of the Year, three-time SWC Coach of the Year, SEC Coach of the Year, and the USBWA Most Courageous Award.
Richardson is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted as part of the 2008 and 2014 classes, respectively. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Richardson played basketball collegiately at NJCAA member Eastern Arizona Junior College for one season before transferring to Texas Western College. After Western, he retired from playing and decided to leave his mark through coaching.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
| Thu, Aug 29 |  | vs UAPB (Little Rock) | W, 70-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | @ Oklahoma State | L, 31-39 2OT |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | vs UAB | W, 37-27 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | @ Auburn | W, 24-14 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Texas A&M (Arl) | L, 21-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | vs Tennessee | W, 19-14 |
| Sat, Oct 19 |  | vs LSU | L, 34-10 |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | @ Mississippi State | W, 58-25 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | vs Ole Miss | L, 63-31 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Texas | 11:00 AM ABC |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | vs Louisiana Tech | 3:00 PM ESPN+/SECN+ |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | @ Missouri | 2:30 or 3:30 PM TBA |
| Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll: | ||||
| OVERALL | Record | Pts | Prv | |
| 1. | Bryant (19) | 9-0 | 271 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway (7) | 9-0 | 252 | 2 |
| 3. | Greenwood (2) | 9-0 | 221 | 3 |
| 4. | Little Rock Parkview | 8-1 | 180 | 4 |
| 5. | Bentonville | 6-3 | 157 | 5 |
| 6. | Benton | 8-1 | 138 | 6 |
| 7. | Fayetteville | 7-2 | 105 | 7 |
| 8. | Pulaski Academy | 7-2 | 97 | 8 |
| 9. | Rogers | 6-3 | 38 | 9 |
| 10. | Mountain Home | 8-1 | 29 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Joe T Robinson 12, Elkins 7, LR Catholic 7, Shiloh Christian 7, Valley View 7, Cabot 6, Marion 4, LR Christian 1. | ||||
| CLASS 7A | ||||
| 1. | Bryant (21) | 9-0 | 133 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway (7) | 9-0 | 119 | 2 |
| 3. | Bentonville | 6-3 | 78 | 3 |
| 4. | Fayetteville | 7-2 | 50 | 4 |
| 5. | Pulaski Academy | 7-2 | 33 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Rogers 7. | ||||
| CLASS 6A | ||||
| 1. | Greenwood (28) | 9-0 | 140 | 1 |
| 2. | Benton | 8-1 | 112 | 2 |
| 3. | Mountain Home | 8-1 | 77 | 5 |
| 4. | Shiloh Christian | 6-3 | 35 | 3 |
| 5. | Little Rock Catholic | 8-1 | 28 | — |
| Others receiving votes: Marion 24. | ||||
| CLASS 5A | ||||
| 1. | Little Rock Parkview (27) | 8-1 | 139 | 1 |
| 2. | Joe T. Robinson | 8-1 | 102 | 2 |
| 3. | Valley View (1) | 9-0 | 94 | 3 |
| 4. | Farmington | 8-1 | 43 | 5 |
| 5. | Hot Springs Lakeside | 7-2 | 21 | 4 |
| Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 8, Harding Academy 8, Morrilton 3, Vilonia 1. | ||||
| CLASS 4A | ||||
| 1. | Elkins (18) | 9-0 | 129 | 1 |
| 2. | Little Rock Mills (4) | 9-0 | 75 | 3 |
| 3. | Arkadelphia (3) | 7-2 | 71 | 2 |
| 4. | Warren | 7-2 | 59 | 4 |
| 5. | Malvern (3) | 9-0 | 48 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Dardanelle 18, Southside Batesville 13, Mena 6, Highland 1. | ||||
| CLASS 3A | ||||
| 1. | Bismarck (11) | 9-0 | 108 | 1 |
| Fordyce (11) | 9-0 | 108 | 2 | |
| 3. | Osceola (3) | 7-1 | 65 | 4 |
| 4. | Prescott (2) | 8-1 | 60 | 3 |
| 5. | Booneville (1) | 8-1 | 27 | 5 |
| Others receiving votes: Mansfield 20, Rivercrest 20, Charleston 4, Rison 9, Mayflower 3. | ||||
| CLASS 2A | ||||
| 1. | Carlisle (24) | 9-0 | 135 | 1 |
| 2. | Conway Christian (3) | 9-0 | 110 | 2 |
| 3. | Bigelow (1) | 7-2 | 72 | 4 |
| 4. | Murfreesboro | 7-2 | 53 | 5 |
| 5. | Des Arc | 7-2 | 28 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: East Poinsett County 8, Marked Tree 4, Cross County 3, Poyen 3, Junction City 2, Mount Ida 2. | ||||
| 8-MAN SANCTIONED | ||||
| 1. | Strong-Huttig (27) | 5-0 | 83 | 1 |
| 2. | Midland (1) | 8-0 | 54 | 2 |
| 3. | Cedar Ridge | 8-1 | 27 | 3 |
| Others receiving votes: Woodlawn 4. | ||||