Arkansas has committed $24-35 million to building a new, state of the art football complex for Bobby Petrino and his program.  Athletic director Jeff Long expects construction on the building to begin in the fall.

“I can’t tell you if that’s September, October or November.  We’re putting together those timelines now,” the AD said.

Long also said that a fundraising campaign is coming soon to Razorback Nation:  “I think you’ll see later in the summer kind of the mass, broader appeal for fans to step up and join in.  Right now we’re in the not so quiet phase.  Everybody knows we’re out fundraising.  We’re still focusing on individuals who might want to step up and help us.”

Yesterday, SI.com posted a report detailing a six month investigation (by SI.com and CBS News) into the criminal records of a number of college football players.  The report used only the teams ranked in SI’s preseason Top 25 last year.  Background checks were done on more than 2,800 players on the those teams’ rosters.

It was found that Arkansas had 18 players on its roster who had been arrested or charged with a crime at one time or another, the second-highest number on the list.  Now Razorback athletic director Jeff Long has issued a response.

“The University of Arkansas has high standards and expectations for all of its students, including those who take part in intercollegiate athletics,” Long said via statement.  “When a student violates the law or the student conduct code, they are held accountable.  Students who participate in intercollegiate athletics are also held accountable to our student-athlete conduct code.”

“The Sports Illustrated/CBS News article on Top 25 football programs cited 18 members of the Razorback football team who had violated the law.  While I am in no way dismissing or rationalizing the infractions, I do want the public to know the nature of those infractions.”

Of the 18 players arrested, UA says seven were picked up on traffic violations that did not involved any illegal substances, three were arrested for driving while intoxicated, five were picked up on charges involving the illegal use or possession of alcohol, two was picked up for marijuana possession and one was nabbed for shoplifting.

“It is worth noting that none of these violations involved acts of violence,” Long said.  “Unfortunately, the article placed our students in a misleading context, one which failed to distinguish the nature and severity of violations from those featured in the story.”

I have no problem with Long explaining the arrests or defending his program.  That’s his job.  Also, Arkansas had no charges of violence, a claim not all schools can make.

But looking at this as a larger issue — which was the point of the SI/CBS piece — wouldn’t it be better if there were fewer arrests in college football?  Wouldn’t it be better if college coaches were a little more selective and less likely to chase recruits who’ve had run-ins with the law during high school?

And aren’t the answers to those questions self-evident?

Content provided by The Slophouse.

FAYETTEVILLE - The University of Arkansas has already sold out its allotment of 17,500 tickets for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4.

The school received more than 24,000 pre-orders during a two-week span. Donors to the school’s athletic foundation and season-ticket holders should all receive tickets to the game, according to a press release, but all others will likely be left out in the cold.

“The demand for tickets to the Allstate Sugar Bowl has been far greater than the tickets we were allotted by the bowl game,” Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long said in a release. “We appreciate the tremendous response from the Razorback fans.”

No tickets are listed for sale on the Sugar Bowl’s official website, though several online ticket sites such as StubHub.com have tickets listed for the game.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.

Content provided by The Slophouse.

University of Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long is scheduled to hold a press conference at 4:30 p.m. today to announce renovation needs for the Razorbacks football program, according to a press release.

While the release didn’t spell out any specifics, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has spoken in the past about the need for new locker rooms and new coaches’ offices. Earlier this year, Petrino said coaches don’t take recruits into the locker rooms on their officials visits because they are dated.

The UA has been working on a new master plan for all of its athletics programs. That plan will be unveiled by early 2011, according to sources.

For more visit WholeHogSports.com. You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.