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SEC honors late Arkansas beat writer Bob Holt during 2025 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament

by:Alex Byington•03/12/25•

_AlexByington

An "It Just Means More" banner at the SEC Tournament - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio
An "It Just Means More" banner at the SEC Tournament - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

For decades, the late Bob Holt was a staple along press row at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Now, three months after his untimely passing, the longtime Arkansas Democrat-Gazette beat writer is back where he belongs.

The SEC communications department honored Holt, who passed away Dec. 4 at the age of 65, with his familiar spot along press row for the 2025 SEC Tournament inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

The SEC’s five-day tournament tips off at 1 pm ET Wednesday with a first-round matchup between 16th-seeded South Carolina and No. 9 seed Arkansas, a game Holt would likely be covering.

Although he covered multiple Razorback sports, Holt had a special affinity for the Arkansas men’s basketball team throughout his four decades at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Holt, a 1981 graduate of Missouri’s famed journalism school, spent his entire career covering the Razorbacks. He was named Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year four times and a member of the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Holt was also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, on the board of directors for the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and voter for the Heisman Trophy and AP Top 25 basketball poll, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette website.

A 2014 AL.com profile once described Holt as “the most curious reporter at SEC Media Days and a reluctant cult hero.“

Throughout his four-decade career covering Arkansas and the SEC at large, Holt was a staple of the annual SEC Media Days events in both football and basketball, prepared with a litany of questions for every SEC head coach or player to take the dais, many with some circuitous connection to Arkansas.

“I don’t work for the Wall Street Journal,” Holt told AL.com. “I don’t work for the New York Times. You know, I don’t work for the USA Today. I work for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and like Bill Clinton says, ‘It’s a small, wonderful state,’ but to me, you always have to go for the local angle. I mean, you always have to. … I’ve gotten jokes about that. So-and-so flew over Arkansas, so you’re going to do a story on them.”