SEC Outdoor Coach of the Year accolade for Chris Bucknam

FAYETTEVILLE – A narrow team victory that was decided in the final event of the conference meet secured a fourth consecutive SEC Outdoor team title for the Razorbacks and earned Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam another SEC Outdoor Coach of the Year accolade.

Voting by the SEC coaches had Bucknam earning his 32nd SEC Coach of the Year overall and a ninth honor for the outdoor season. Bucknam, in his 16th year with the Razorbacks, has collected 12 honors during the indoor season along with 11 honors in cross country.

Heading into the 4 x 400m relay to close out the conference meet, Arkansas led the field with 100 points after scoring 17 points in the 5,000m, and were followed by Texas A&M (98.5), Alabama (96), and Florida (94).

A world-leading time of 2:59.03 by the Razorbacks broke the school record of 3:00.97 from 2023 and held off Alabama (2:59.06) by 0.03 of a second with Florida (2:59.48) third and Texas A&M (3:00.98) fourth.

Four teams scored over 100 points contending for the 2024 team title. Behind the winning tally of 110 points for Arkansas, Alabama followed at 104, with Texas A&M third at 103.5 and Florida fourth with 100.

Previously, three teams scored over 100 points in 2013, 2017 and 2021 with the current configuration of teams in the league. Prior to 2013 four teams scored over 100 points in 1992, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.

The Razorbacks distance group scored 31 points in the 5,000m and 10,000m while 29 points were added from three jumping events and 18 were scored in the decathlon. Sprints, hurdles, and relays accounted for 32 points.

This marked the second time Arkansas has claimed four consecutive SEC Outdoor titles, which was previously accomplished from 2003 to 2006. The Razorbacks also completed a SEC triple crown with the team title, the 18th achieved by Arkansas in the SEC.