The multibillion-dollar man

At a luncheon today at Razorback Stadium, the Fayetteville Economic Development Council was joined by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, University of Arkansas Chancellor John A. White, Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody and many other dignitaries to honor Frank Broyles, who retired as UA athletic director on Dec. 31 after 50 years in the job.

What’s most interesting about the event was an FEDC-commissioned study from the UA Center for Business and Economic Research that attempted to quantify the economic impact of all the things that have happened under Frank Broyles’ watch at the UA.

The group presented Broyles a large framed photograph of Razorback Stadium at twilight with an engraving that proclaimed Broyles’ quantifiable economic impact on Northwest Arkansas and the rest of the state during his career was nearly $3 billion. Yes, that’s Billion.

Broyles covered his face with both hands (see photo, with Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe), expressing amazement at the figure. Beebe noted, however, that Broyles’ impact — especially on the young men who have been part of athletic programs at the UA — cannot be quantified.

Broyles credited others such as the late Orville Henry, longtime sports writer for the Arkansas Gazette, who Broyles said gave the program “monumental coverage from one corner of the state to the other,” and John Barnhill, the athletic director who hired Broyles. Broyles said Barnhill was smart enough to give every radio station in Arkansas the rights to broadcast Razorback games, making every penny of advertising they sold profit for the radio stations. That, he said, helped to keep programs such as LSU from gaining fans in the Natural State.

Others at the event included State Sen. Sue Madison and state Reps. Lindsley Smith and Marilyn Edwards, Broyles’ wife, Gen, a large contingent of kids and grandkids from Broyles’ family and a virtual who’s who of Fayetteville’s business and political community.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Greg Harton. Posted on: January 29, 2008 at 2:10 pm