Count Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek among those who think the coronavirus pandemic will not derail the 2020 college football season.
Speaking to the Democrat-Gazette, the Razorbacks’ head hog conveyed a glass half full view regarding the upcoming campaign this September.
“I’ll tell you what I think,” Yurachek told the paper. “I think that will happen. I think we will get a full football season in. I think that will start on time.
“I think it’s something that our community and our country desperately needs, for professional and college athletics to start back up again. I feel comfortable. That is how we’re planning here at the University of Arkansas right now.”
Like most schools across the country, UA has hit pause on just about everything this spring due to COVID-19. An SEC directive has halted any athletic activities until the end of May and the program recently had to mourn the loss of a beloved former player to the virus.
Not all news is on the negative end of the spectrum in Fayetteville, however. Yurachek revealed that season ticket renewals were hovering around 91%, a pretty good mark given mixed reviews to the hire of head coach Sam Pittman and the fact that the team has won just four games the past two years.
The Hogs are slated to open their 2020 campaign at home against Nevada and then travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame the following week. While some may question if those games will take place as scheduled, the AD in charge at UA sounds confident that fans can keep making plans this fall.