Remy Cofield was officially hired as Arkansas general manager back on March 24 and has since been working quietly behind the scenes to get acclimated to the new gig. On Thursday, he made his first public comments since being hired on and offered insight into his role and how the athletic department plans to navigate this new college landscape. 

Cofield, a former Director of Scouting for the Boston Celtics and GM of their G-League affiliate Maine Celtics, was hired to “oversee the strategic allocation of department and affiliate resources to support Razorback head coaches in the acquisition and retention of championship-caliber athletic talent,” according to the official release from the school at the time. 

The 12-year NBA executive officially offered a much simpler explanation of his day-to-day role as general manager when speaking for the first time on Thursday afternoon. 

“It’s just pick up the pieces where things need to be picked up,” Cofield said. “I said to Hunter when we initially got on with this and started working on things, I just want to help people out. Coaching staff needs something, need advice on a particular rule that we’re looking at, call us up, let’s figure it out. If you want to talk about roster, players, all that stuff.

“If you need connection to somebody that I may have, let’s figure it out. So I think in my role it’s just trying to be a connector in a lot of ways, making sure every staff has what they need from a (revenue) share standpoint. But also brought up to speed on the new rules that are coming through, that we’re all kind of learning right now and we don’t have a lot of answers to. But we’re trying to get ahead of it and be proactive in that space.”

One of the key reasons why the general manager role has taken off in college athletics is because coaches were being tasked with handling more and more off-field issues with NIL and transfer portal. On top of their day-to-day operations as coaches, they would also have to negotiate NIL agreements and deal with player representatives. Sam Pittman mentioned his hopes for Cofield taking some of those things off his plate back during spring drills.

“Since we’ve been here, I’ve kind of been the good guy and the bad guy,” Pittman said. “Good, if you come in and you want X amount of money and all that and we feel like that’s the worth. They’re gonna go to him, so I think that buffering system is going to help me tremendously. And it’s personal, you know. Guys are gonna leave, you understand why, but then it becomes personal. We need to take that part out of the game, to me.”

Now, as Cofield’s explained on Thursday, his role is to sort of be the “bad guy” and shield coaches from athletes who are unhappy with rev-share or NIL agreements. That allows the coaches to focus more on what they’ve been hired to do.

“I don’t mind having tough conversations, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing, either,” Cofield explained. “I think when you want an answer to a question and it’s negative, that’s just what it is. I think when Sam has those conversations, we want to make sure Sam is a good guy coaching every single day, paying attention to his players’ needs from a football standpoint, and just keeping the money stuff out of it.

“I think that helps him, but again, that’s his situation. Every situation is different. I think for Sam, that helps him in a lot of ways, just to be able to connect with those guys on a personal level and be the person he is on a day-to-day basis. Allow me to be the one to have those tough conversations and say, ‘We can’t do this. We can’t do that’. Or sometimes, deliver some good news. ‘We can do this. We can do that’. I think it’s been positive for him and I hope it continues to be positive.”

On June 6, the House v. NCAA settlement was approved, the landmark decision now allows schools to pay players directly beginning on July 1. Cofield has only been at Arkansas since March and has been focused on getting acclimated to the new role while preparing for what’s to come after July 1, but he believes that the Razorbacks will be more competitive in this new landscape.

“I’m trying these last two months to just kind of get my feet wet,” Cofield said. “I was telling [Kyle Parkinson] this is the second time I’ve been down here you know, seeing the area and I didn’t really know where the media room was so, that’s the biggest thing for me. But coming down to Arkansas, it’s been fantastic ever since I stepped foot down here. People have been really, really nice.

“Our fanbase wants us to be extremely competitive. I’m extremely competitive, all of our coaches are extremely competitive. We’re going to get the right players for Arkansas, that’s the most important for us. We’ll compete with some of the money issues that are going to be out there. I think a lot of the cap stuff that we’re going to see going forward is going to level it out a little more so that we can compete from a money standpoint. But I think it starts with the players, we’ve got to get the right players for us.”

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NIL has affected everything in college sports since it began nearly four years ago in 2021. The pros have since felt those effects as well, specifically in their drafts, with how good some players have it in collegiate athletics now.

Jay Bilas explained the impact of name, image, and likeness on the NBA Draft going into tonight’s second round coverage while on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Thursday. He felt it had steadily decreased the value that teams can find in the second round with prospects who have remaining eligibility that could be selected in those spots, deciding to withdraw their names and return to college rather than be picked in the association.

“One thing you’re seeing with NIL now? Players are not only going to college. They’re staying in college longer,” Bilas said. “The second round is probably not – I haven’t like, you know, done this with a microscope. But the second round this year is probably not as good as the second round, like, two or three years ago because a lot of second-round picks are guys that would’ve come out two or three years ago, are staying in school because they’re going to make way more money staying in school.”

“If they’re not going to be first-round picks, they’re staying in (college),” Bilas said.

As many as 106 players, whether from college or international, entered their names to be early-entry candidates as part of this draft. Then, by the withdrawal deadline for college players on May 28th, 50 pulled their names out of this class.

Among the most notable on that list were Houston’s Milos Uzan, Duke’s Isaiah Evans, Florida’s Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, and Reuben Chinyelu, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and Jaland Lowe, Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford, Alabama’s Labaron Philon, Arkansas’ Karter Knox, and NC State’s Darrion Williams. Those are several players who will make the difference for potential national title contenders. The rest of the names still then include ones who will absolutely affect their respective programs as well in ’25-’26.

Several of those names could have been or would have been selected tonight in the second round, or maybe even last night in the first round for some. However, name, image, and likeness has made it a much different decision-making process considering what those players could make over a year back in college than their first as rookies in the NBA.

First round picks make several million dollars on guaranteed deals as rookies, but second-round picks aren’t on the same wage scale, meaning less guaranteed money for contracts closer to the minimum or ones for a two-way signing. That’s the same value or less than some of them would make back in college, based on the compensation at their respective programs.

There are still good players to be found by franchises in the second round, with that on display tonight as 29 more selections will be made. Still, as compared to previous drafts in years past, there may be less talent available this year and in ones moving forward, as a result of NIL.

When EA Sports released its first college football video game in over a decade, Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium ranked in the top 25 hardest home-field advantages in the game. In College Football 26, that’s no longer the case.

Arkansas football dropped from College Football 26 toughest places to play

Arkansas didn’t make the cut this year, but to be fair, it was shocking they made it in the first place. Over the last ten seasons, Arkansas has accumulated a home record just above .500 (35-34). Still, it wasn’t the most criticized choice, with Texas A&M coming in first place last year. Fans pointed out that the Aggies had recently lost to Appalachian State when the list was released, and it appears that EA Sports has righted their wrongs. Kyle Field now sits at No. 11.

However, the new ranking has its share of problems. The last five are especially heinous. Norte Dame comes in at No. 21, which is completely ridiculous. The Fighting Irish may be overrated most seasons, but they’re still excellent and have only had 12 losses in Notre Dane since the 2015-16 season.

It’s completely unrealistic to sandwich Notre Dame Stadium between Rice-Eccles Stadium (Utah) and Carter-Finely Stadium (NC State). No. 2022, 23, and 25 are off-the-wall picks, too, but for a different reason. With NC State at No. 22 and Oklahoma State at No. 23, they don’t exactly scream “terrifying home environments.”

Sure, Cowboy fans are basically on top of the players on the sideline, but Arkansas, which is annually a bottom-third SEC, nearly wiped the floor with them in Stillwater until the Hogs shot themselves in the foot. And OK State fans can’t quite claim the environment helped because Arkansas continued to do it all season, including at home.

Mississippi State comes in at No. 25, but let’s be real—it’s just because of the cowbells. EA Sports has taken too much advice from Christopher Walken. We, in fact, don’t need more cowbells. Davis Wade Stadium is hard to play in because opposing players can’t hear themselves talk, but that hasn’t stopped them from beating Mississippi Stat. The Bulldogs have a slightly higher home winning percentage (.588) than Arkansas.

Why does it matter?

In College Football 26, home-field advantage isn’t just cosmetic—it’s game-changing. Just like in College Football 25, EA Sports is turning up the intensity by making crowd energy and stadium atmosphere directly impact gameplay, only more so for its newest edition.

Players on the road will face a wave of immersive challenges like distorted play art, jittery screen shakes, blurred routes, and drops in confidence and composure. The rankings now carry real weight, as playing in a top-tier environment could rattle even the most composed athletes, just like on a real Saturday in the fall.

College Football 26 toughest places to play top 25 rankings

1. Tiger Stadium: LSU
2. Beaver Stadium: Penn State
3. Ohio Stadium: Ohio State
4. Stanford Stadium: Georgia
5. Bryant -Denney Stadium: Alabama
6. Memorial Stadium: Clemson
7. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: Florida
8. Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memoria Stadium: Oklahoma
9. Autzen Stadium: Oregon
10. Michigan Stadium: Michigan
11. Kyle Field: Texas A&M
12. Neyland Stadium: Tennessee
13. Darrel K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium: Texas
14. Doak S. Campbell Stadium: Florida State
15. Camp Randall Stadium: Wisconsin
16. Williams-Brice Stadium: South Carolina
17. Jordan-Hare Stadium: Auburn
18. Husky Stadium: Washington
19. Kinnick Stadium: Iowa
20. Rice-Eccles Stadium: Utah
21. Notre Dame Stadium: Notre Dame
22. Carter-Finley Stadium: NC State
23. Boon Pickens Stadium: OK State
24. Spartan Stadium: Michigan State
25. Davis Wade Stadium: Mississippi State