Sam Pittman received support from his athletics director amidst a disappointing season for Arkansas.

Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek released a statement sharing his support for Pittman moving forward. He also spoke with the team in the locker room after Saturday’s game to tell the team that Pittman would be the coach next season.

“There’s a lot of emotion in the room,” Pittman said during his press conference Monday. “He wanted to address the team right before we finished with the conversation. Then it was really cool because of the kids. They went off. I don’t ever want to get in that situation, but it was a special moment to be apart of. It was really cool.”

In his 4th season with Arkansas, Pittman knows the pressure that comes with being an SEC coach, and he knows he’s hasn’t met the standard this season.

“I’ll say this, I think when you sign up for the SEC, you have to win,” Pittman said. “Whether it’s here, A&M, Mississippi State, Alabama, wherever. You gotta win. If you don’t, there’s opportunities for you to be unemployed. That’s just how it is and that’s what we sign up for.”

Now Pittman is looking towards the future. He’s using the support as an opportunity to get his team back to a winning caliber.

“I look at this as an opportunity to change our team, keep the ones that are good players for us and good kids and change our team and give us the opportunity to do that,” Pittman said.