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Ex-Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema officially out at Arkansas

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Arkansas officially fired head coach Brett Bielema.

The news came just minutes after the Razorbacks’ 48-45 loss to Missouri on Friday night. Arkansas finished the season with a 4-8 record.

An official statement was made public shortly after the season finale.

“Shortly after the completion of today’s game, I met with Coach Bret Bielema and informed him of our decision to move forward with new leadership in the Razorback Football program,” said interim Athletics Director Julie Cromer Peoples. “During the course of the last five seasons, we have not been able to sustain the success on the field that is expected and required at the University of Arkansas.”

Arkansas wasted very little time notifying Bielema of the decision. In the post-game press conference, the head coach said that he was “informed coming off the field that I am no longer the coach of Arkansas.”

Bielema has been at Arkansas since 2013 and has accumulated a 29-34 record, including an 11-29 mark in SEC play. He took the Razorbacks to three bowl games but never got above the eight-win mark and only finished better than fifth in the West once.

Prior to taking over in Fayetteville, Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin for seven seasons. He enjoyed much more success in Madison, posting a 68-24 mark and winning three consecutive B1G titles from 2010 through 2012.

The Badgers reached the double-digit win total in five o those seven years and Bielema never had a losing season.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB