Bret Bielema is taking his brand of power football to Arkansas, leaving
Wisconsin after seven seasons. Arkansas released a statement Tuesday night saying Bielema has agreed to a
deal to take over the program reeling following the firing of former coach Bobby
Petrino. A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
because the information hasn't been released publicly, says the deal is for six
years and $3.2 million annually. Bielema, Barry Alvarez's hand-picked successor at Wisconsin, was 68-24 with
the Badgers, with four double-digit win seasons. He coached Wisconsin to a 17-14
victory over Arkansas in his first season at the Capital One Bowl. ''His tough, aggressive style of play has been successful and will be
appealing to student-athletes and Razorback fans,'' Arkansas athletic director
Jeff Long said in a statement. ''He not only shares the vision and values for
the future of Arkansas football, he embraces them.'' Bielema is leaving the Big Ten for the SEC and a Razorbacks program that
opened the year with hopes of challenging for a national championship only to
get mired in the Petrino scandal before stumbling to a 4-8 finish. The move was the second stunning hire this year at Arkansas, which brought in
John L. Smith as the interim coach after firing Petrino for hiring his mistress
to work in the athletic department. Long announced after the season that Smith
wouldn't return. Bielema seems likely to bring a far different approach than what the
Razorbacks have become accustomed to. Arkansas continually ranked among the
Southeastern Conference's best passing teams under Petrino while Bielema is
known for his dominant offensive lines and slew of running backs. ''During my conversation with Jeff (Long), he described the characteristics
for the perfect fit to lead this program,'' Bielema said in a statement. ''It
was evident we share the same mission, principles and goals.'' Wisconsin running back Montee Ball tied Barry Sanders' long-standing
single-season record of 39 touchdowns last year, and this year became the FBS
career leader in touchdowns. He currently has 82 touchdowns after running for
three Saturday night in the Big Ten title game against Nebraska - a 70-31 romp
that secured the Badgers third straight trip to the Rose Bowl, where they will
play Stanford on Jan. 1. The 42-year-old Bielema was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin for two
years before being promoted to head coach in 2006. He played for Iowa and
started his coaching career there as an assistant under Hayden Fry and later
Kirk Ferentz. ''I was very surprised when Bret told me he was taking the offer from
Arkansas,'' said Alvarez, Wisconsin's athletic director and former coach. ''He
did a great job for us during his seven years as head coach, both on the field
and off. I want to thank him for his work and wish him the best at
Arkansas.'' The Illinois native takes over a program still reeling following the April
scandal, one eager for stability and leadership. ''I'm excited about this decision,'' Arkansas cornerback Tevin Mitchel
tweeted. The Razorbacks improved their win total in four straight seasons under
Petrino, including a 21-5 mark in 2010-11, and finished last season ranked No.
5. They had talked openly in the spring about competing for the school's first
SEC championship and perhaps a national title. Then came the April 1 motorcycle accident that led to Petrino's downfall. The
married father of four initially lied about being alone during the wreck, later
admitting to riding with his mistress - a former Arkansas volleyball player he
had hired to work in the athletic department. Smith, who had been an assistant the last three seasons at Arkansas under
Petrino, was chosen by Long to guide a team that returned first-team All-SEC
quarterback Tyler Wilson and a host of other key playmakers. The decision was
lauded by the Razorbacks, who welcomed the personable Smith back with open
arms. The season hit the skids with a stunning overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe on
Sept. 8, starting a four-game losing streak that dropped Arkansas out of the
rankings. The Razorbacks finished with the school's lowest win total since 2005,
missing a bowl game for the first time since 2008. ''It's very difficult for me to believe that is not a bowl-eligible team,''
LSU coach Les Miles said following the Tigers' win over the Razorbacks in the
season finale. ''Watching the talent there, (it's) very capable.'' Arkansas struggled to find its identity in the SEC after leaving the former
Southwest Conference in 1992, but it appeared to have finally found just that
under Petrino, who was hired after leaving the Atlanta Falcons during the season
in 2007. The Razorbacks turned into an offensive powerhouse under Petrino, leading the
league in scoring and total offense last season. After winning 10 games and
reaching the school's first BCS bowl game in 2010, losing to Ohio State,
Arkansas won 11 games in 2011, capped by a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas
State. Still, Arkansas has yet to win the SEC, losing in the conference championship
game three times. While the country watched closely to see how Arkansas would react following
Petrino's dismissal, Smith made headlines of his own throughout the season. The
former Michigan State and Louisville coach filed for bankruptcy during the
season, revealing $40.7 million in debt he blamed on bad land deals. He was under far more fire from Arkansas fans for the mounting losses and it
will be up to Bielema to turn things around in the loaded SEC West, with
Alabama, LSU and now Texas A&M. Long said during the season that the new coach would be tasked with building
on the recent success at the school, which is looking into expanding the
72,000-seat Razorback Stadium and is currently building an 80,000-square-foot
football operations center. ''The infrastructure in place at Arkansas shows the commitment from the
administration to accomplish our goals together and I am excited to begin to
lead this group of student-athletes,'' Bielema said. ''This program will
represent the state of Arkansas in a way Razorback fans everywhere will be proud
of.''
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