Sam Pittman receives hefty bonus for Arkansas becoming bowl eligible

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman got the Hogs bowl eligible on Saturday, after they defeated Louisiana Tech 35-14. And he earned a nice bonus since the Razorbacks will be going bowling. According to Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, Pittman landed a $100,000 bonus after the Hogs got their sixth win of the 2024-2025 college football season.

Sam Pittman put it simply when discussing what it would mean for Arkansas to make a bowl game this season. The Razorbacks head man entered this season on the hot seat and now has a 6-5 overall record with one game remaining.

“It would mean something to the team,” Pittman said. “That’d be four out of five and, yeah. It’d be a lot better than not. I think our kids still enjoy going to postseason. There was several years when they didn’t. So four out of five opportunities or invites, that’d be good.”

Pittman had gotten an invite to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons before missing out in 2023. He has a 2-0 record in bowl games (the 2020 Texas Bowl was canceled due to COVID) and another win might be good enough for him to earn another year.

The Razorbacks had not had a winning season in three years when Pittman took over in 2020. The coach has since directed them to a 28-30 overall record since then with wins in the Outback Bowl (2021) and Liberty Bowl (2022).

Sam Pittman’s contract at Arkansas keeps him through the 2026 season, though the Razorbacks could of course let him go early. His best win so far this season is a 19-14 victory against Tennessee in Week 6.

Still, it’s unclear if that will be enough for him to keep his job especially considering the questions he had entering the year. Making a bowl game certainly increases those chances, though.

There’s still opportunity for the Razorbacks to reach as many as eight wins this year. One would think if that happens, Pittman should be safe.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.