Arkansas coach Bret Bielema met with the media Wednesday, but before he began speaking about his team, the man at the top of the Razorback program paid tribute to arguably the greatest Razorback of them all.

Two days after his passing at the age of 92, Frank Broyles’ shadow continues to loom larger over the program. Bielema opened his press conference by expressing his gratitude to the Arkansas legend.

“I was very fortunate — I got a phone call last week — just to have an opportunity to go over, had a chance to stop by Saturday night to see him and his family,” Bielema said. “Forever grateful for everything he did before I got here. One of the only regrets I would say is getting here at a time, it wasn’t the best part of his lifetime.”

Bielema went on to talk about one of his fondest memory of Broyles, as both men had a connection to long-time Iowa coach Hayden Fry.

“I did get a chance to talk to him several times. One of the best memories was Shaun Rochelle, when he was still the acting director over at the (Razorback) Foundation, called me one morning and said he was going to call me when it was a good day,” Bielema said. “I went over and had lunch, sat there for about an hour. I took him to Wendys, he liked the Wendy’s chicken nuggets if I’m not mistaken. Sat down and had a great lunch, shared some ideas and thoughts he had at that time and just the crossover I had with him through Coach Fry who worked for him here was pretty cool.”

According to Bielema, his team honored Broyles after learning of his death with a moment of silence.

“Monday we got the news, we had a moment of silence with our team and, of course, my staff and I will be at the celebration of his life this Saturday,” Bielema added. “Our thoughts and prayers continue with him and his family and everyone that he affected.”