Sam Pittman nets extension, raise for Arkansas’s bowl win over Texas Tech

Sam Pittman’s job was in jeopardy long before the leaves changed this fall.

But look at him now. The Arkansas head coach walked off the field at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis with an emphatic 39-26 victory over Texas Tech. It was a great way to end a tumultuous season for Pittman, and it gave the Razorbacks a winning record at 7-6 to be happy about all winter.

But for Pittman, well, it meant the world. With the Hogs reaching 7 wins this season, the 5th-year head coach earned an automatic 1-year contract extension and a $250,000 raise that kicks in on Jan. 1.

So, there was a lot more on the line for Sam Pittman on Friday night than just a winning season or a losing season. There was longer job security in Fayetteville, and that job security was anything but secure earlier this fall. And there was financial reward, too, so the 63-year-old Pittman will have a lot to toast to on New Year’s Eve.

Thankfully for Pittman, Texas Tech is a member of a Power 5 conference, in this case, the Big 12, or else that stipulation about the 7th victory wouldn’t matter. In this case, the Red Raiders came into the game with a solid 8-4 record, so this was no pushover, as Arkansas came into Friday night’s game as a slight underdog.

For Pittman, what a difference a few months make.

Cory Nightingale

Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.