Arkansas Football: Why Hogs Must Do Whatever It Takes to Keep AD Jeff Long

Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long emerged as a rock star during the Bobby Petrino saga, and now he has emerged as a potential candidate to be the next athletics director at Stanford, according to KNWA News in Northwest Arkansas.

Former Stanford athletics director Bob Bowlsby recently left the school to become the new commissioner of the Big 12.

It'd be wise for the higher-ups in Fayetteville to do whatever it takes to prevent Long from heading west.

Long earned high praise for the way he handled the Bobby Petrino investigation and eventual dismissal. He is known for minimizing outside influences in his decision-making, which came in handy this spring when he was looking into circumstances surrounding Petrino's motorcycle accident. 

He moved quickly during the Petrino saga, and followed up his investigation by filling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests at near-record speed. That transparency is a testament to his character, and is more impressive considering he's the one who hired Petrino to begin with.

He's a no-nonsense guy that has been at the forefront of the recent success of the athletic department. According to USA Today, Arkansas' athletic department revenue has jumped from $66,174,916 to $91,768,112 since he took over in the winter of 2008.

Long's star has never shined brighter, so it makes sense that he's being mentioned as a candidate at Stanford. But he's a big piece to the Arkansas puzzle, and if it takes backing up the Brinks truck to his front door to keep him, Arkansas should do it.

He's a big reason why Arkansas has been so successful on the football field and on the bottom line, which makes him extremely valuable to its future success.

*Update*

Robbie Neiswanger of the Arkansas News Bureau/Stephens Media reported that Long released a statement Friday afternoon stating that he is staying put.

"

Jeff Long has issued a statement. Part of it says: "I am not interested in leaving the University of Arkansas."

— Robbie Neiswanger (@NWARobbie) May 18, 2012"

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