UA board cancels summer classes, prospect camps for recruiting

Sam Pittman hasn’t had a lot of good news since taking over Arkansas football in December and Wednesday he got another curve thrown into his plans heading into his first season.

The University’s board of trustees voted to suspend all athletic and academic in-person camps through the summer in addition to face-to-face classes for the summer term.

This has nothing to do with fall practices and doesn’t address permitting player-led workouts during June and July if restrictions from the ongoing health crisis are relaxed.

The chaos for the Razorbacks continue in football. On the heels of 4-20 the last two years, this issue is not something anyone in Fayetteville caused but Pittman is the one having to sort it all out.

He said at a teleconference nearly three weeks ago that getting in by August 1 may be reality. While he didn’t have a clue he’s not going to panic over it.

“If they said you couldn’t have anything and just have the regular time you have in August — just Tuesday, Wednesday practice — you’re going to practice about half your season before the first game starts,” he said.

And he’s done it before.

Youngsters don’t know it, but when Pittman started coaching in the high school ranks they often didn’t really have much of a clue what they really had coming in every year until August.

While it’s not the preferred way to go about things it’s not exactly like the Hogs are on an island alone.

“Everybody’s in the same boat,” Pittman said.

Which, ultimately, may be the most important thing in all of this.

The Hogs are the only SEC school that has suspended things through the summer and it remains to be seen what they will do although they aren’t jumping the gun in early April cancelling things in the summer.

Of course there’s nothing that says the board can’t hold another teleconference and modify things.