Union Hails UA Now Offering 2nd Chances

Petrino Rehiring Furthers ‘Employer of Choice’ Goal

The Executive Board of UA-Fayetteville Education Association/Local 965 welcomes the return of Coach Bobby Petrino because it demonstrates the possibility of a fresh flexibility in campus and UA System administrators.

Petrino was head football coach from 2008 until his April 2012 firing for cause, with offenses including deception of superiors and improper hiring practices. At the end of November 2023, he accepted a lower position, that of Razorback offensive coordinator, in a 27-month contract paying $3.45 million in salary and “other compensation.”

Under the UA System policy 405.6, “Termination of Employment and Eligibility for Rehire,” any eligibility for rehire comes from the statement, “Any exception to this policy will require the approval of the President.”

UA System President Donald R. Bobbitt approved the return of Petrino to the Fayetteville campus on Nov. 28. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Nov. 30 in “Coach’s Hire Took Bobbitt’s Approval” (and alternate link): “Writing on behalf of football Coach Sam Pittman and Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, UA Chancellor Charles Robinson requested the exception to be made in an email to Bobbitt [Nov. 27].”

Petrino’s return would seem unfair because it’s a different standard than what staff and faculty face, Local 965 President Hershel Hartford said.

“Any former employee fired for cause who falls under the ban would not receive the chance to address the UA System president because the Workday employee management database would automatically kick out their application with no notice as to why it was not accepted, before ever having a chance to get through the system red tape. As many of these employees did not commit prosecutable offenses, this is a discriminatory employment practice,” Hartford said.

Local 965, the labor union of UA staff and faculty, see this as an opportunity for better and more fair treatment of all employees, and not just in matters of workplace discipline, as the leadership of the Fayetteville campus and UA System continue to work toward elimination of any sort of discrimination, not to mention of favoritism toward the athletic agenda.

Petrino is eligible for union membership.