Ryan Silverfield Explains How He's Trying to Fix Arkansas' 'Loser Mentality,' Talks Fundraising

New Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield is trying to change the culture at a program he said had developed "a loser mentality" during his introductory press conference back in December.

"We're fighting those battles every single day," he told reporters at Thursday's SEC media days. "We're not the past. I think the players that we've retained and the few staff members we retained are saying, 'Oh, this is very different.' It's not rah-rah and sunshine and rainbows every day, but we're working in the right direction."

Part of that is trying to get major brand deals with companies like Tyson Chicken and Wal-Mart to bring in more funds for the program, which in turn would help improve the facilities.

"It's showing people what it needs to look like," Silverfield said. "But I have great faith we can get this done, and it's my job to tap into those resources. Listen, if we get Wal-Mart involved, it's game over. ... We're changing out every light bulb in the building. It was so dark and dreary—like, how do you get motivated? You walk the hallway and everything is trash. The stairs—nothing's been painted in there. The lights don't work. You walk in the weight room and the weights are 26 years old. I said, 'No. No wonder there's a loser mentality.' ... You're not talking Division III. This is the SEC."

Silverfield, 45, joined Arkansas in December after six years at Memphis, where he led the Tigers to a 50-24 record and a 4-0 bowl record.

The Razorbacks were once a force to be reckoned with, winning 10 Southwest Conference titles and a national championship between the 1959-89 seasons, though the team has never won an SEC title since joining the conference in 1992 (it did win four division titles in that time).

Silverfield is aiming to end that trend, though a culture shift is required first.