Dear Arkansas players, coaches, fans and officials:

Congratulations. You deserve it.

Bret Bielema and company got a huge weight off their back on Saturday in the win over LSU. A weight that bore down for the past 763 days.

It’s been a long time coming for Arkansas, and for Bielema.

Fans waited through the last three head coaching regimes waiting for a contender, or perhaps a man of whom they could be proud.

Players suffered through the tragic end of Bobby Petrino’s tenure in Fayetteville, John L. Smith’s unfortunate 10-month span and now a total reconstruction with Bielema.

Arkansas administrators wanted to shake the bad press that came with Petrino’s firing and Smith’s coaching stint.

Around 11:30 p.m. on a cold Saturday night inside Razorback Stadium, it all came to fruition.

Related: Patience, perseverance pays off for emotional Bret Bielema

The Hogs put forth their best effort under Bielema, stifling a LSU offense with physical defense and dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“[Arkansas players] had a calmness to them today that I thought was just very, very special,” Bielema said following Arkansas’ 17-0 win. “We talk about earning victory, and I think our guys did that today.”

It was a fitting way for the streak to end, a form of poetic justice, if you will.

The Razorbacks snapped its 17-game losing streak by beating the 17th-ranked team in the country 17-0.

Bielema has said all of the right things. Players have said all of the right things. It’s as if no one around that program knew or felt there was realistic chance of Arkansas going winless in conference play again.

There was the emotional post-game press conference after the loss to Alabama. Running back Alex Collins tweeted the following message after Arkansas’ heartbreaking loss to then No.1 Mississippi State:

Bielema echoed that sentiment during his weekly media availability the following week.

“I think if you’re team wasn’t being managed very, very well you would not see the results that you’re seeing,” Bielema said. “You would see teams that get handed one-sided losses very, very routinely. These guys never quit. I think they have shown that all year long. It’s not an option in our program.”

Arkansas players never quit. Bielema and his coaching staff never quit. Razorbacks fans never quit. Now, a moment that solidifies the process for a program of which they can be proud.

“He’s building a program the appropriate way, and we know people don’t like to hear that,” athletic director Jeff Long said in an August interview with SBNation. “But I brought him here to a build a program a certain way, and he’s doing that.”

Bielema’s message has been one play at a time, one set of downs at a time. Fight as hard as you can, but live to play the next play.

Saturday night was the culmination of nearly two seasons worth of plays, moments, heartaches and learning. For everyone involved.

“I can’t say enough about our fans. I don’t know how a coach can be 0-17 and get the support that we did,” Bielema said, “but I think it’s because we’re doing things the right way, building a foundation the right way, our kids are gonna handle themselves the right way.

“It’s just such a fun thing to share it with such a fan base that absolutely enjoys every trial and tribulation the way that they did. To get them a win, but also let them know that there’s some really good things coming.”

When you walk in the Arkansas complex, there will be a Boot front-and-center for the next 365 days symbolizing what took place, not only on Saturday night, but for the previous 763 days.