Another week, another All-American dubbing the situation Razorback athletics finds itself in as “BS.”
It wasn’t 10 months ago that Joe Kleine, the great Razorback basketball player, practically led the charge against Hunter Yurachek on air during central Arkansas’ most popular morning sports show.
Like many folks across the Natural State, he wasn’t a fan of the AD including longtime UA staffer Kevin Trainor among the department’s June 2025 layoffs – especially after Morning Mayhem co-host David Bazzel said the news came as a surprise to Trainor.
“They pretty much cold turkey fired him,” Kleine said on 103.7 The Buzz last summer. “That’s BS.”
Trainor was part of a 10% “downsizing” of the athletic department that would reportedly free up $2.5 million in Arkansas’ budget. At the time, Yurachek was still in the early stages of pulling levers to reduce expenses and increase revenues ahead of the revenue sharing era.
The 2025-26 fiscal year marked the first time in which schools were permitted to make direct payments to its athletes.
The layoffs rank alongside the reseating of Bud Walton Arena among the most unpopular moves Yurachek made to free up the $20.5 million for which the Razorbacks were suddenly on the hook. (The Board of Trustees suggesting the implementation of student athletic fees was also met with strong opposition, but that doesn’t fall on the AD’s shoulders.)
None of those fanned flames on a national level, though, quite like his latest decision.
Arkansas Cuts Tennis
On Friday, Hunter Yuracheck pulled another lever to free up about $2.5 million – this time with a 100% “downsizing” of men’s and women’s tennis.
The Razorbacks are dropping the sport entirely, dissolving both teams following the spring 2026 season. That means women’s tennis has already been shuttered after going 14-14 this year, while the men’s team – which went 16-14 – will be fighting for its life, literally, against Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
It’s the first time Arkansas has cut an NCAA-sanctioned sport since dropping men’s swimming and diving in 1993. While that was a move to get the UA in line with Title IX requirements, last week’s cuts were made because of the ongoing financial strain revenue sharing has placed on athletic departments across the country.
Yurachek admitted as much in his statement, referring to the “challenging choices as we balance competitive opportunities, resources and the long-term sustainability of our department.”
