Last week, UNC AD Bubba Cunningham was asked if a starting wide receiver worth $2.5 million is more valuable to him than his men’s and women’s tennis programs. In a surprise admission, the Tar Heels’ AD said, ‘Yes.’ And while UNC hasn’t cut any sports yet, the reality is that programs are looking to dedicate more of their revenues to football and men’s basketball. And it all started with Arkansas.

Arkansas, despite operating with one of the nation’s strongest athletic budgets and generating eight-figure revenues, made it clear that schools continue prioritizing the sports that bring in the most money, while non-revenue programs are increasingly being pushed to the sidelines. They recently cut off their men’s and women’s tennis teams. As per OutKick’s Clay Travis, this is just the beginning.

“Look out. Arkansas is the canary in the college sports coal mine,” he said. “There are many, many more schools that are all headed for this incredibly difficult situation. This is why we have to have an antitrust exemption so that there can be a collective bargaining agreement created with these players to create a situation where college sports can continue to exist across the board.”

“Because otherwise, the untenable reality is: revenue-producing sports are going to take even more of the dollars, and the result is going to be all the non-revenue-producing sports are going to be canceled. This is a big issue. I love college sports. We cannot continue on the pathway we are on,” Travis added.

The Arkansas decision caught the college tennis community off guard. Former college and pro player Patrick McEnroe said that they have been battling the issue at lower levels of college tennis, but seeing it happen in the SEC is not good.

The Razorbacks’ decision stemmed from the difference in the total revenue generated by the two programs vs. the amount the school was spending on them. According to reports, men’s and women’s programs cost Arkansas $2.5 million annually to operate while generating less than $3,500 in total revenue.

Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek said they could no longer provide the level of financial investment required to remain competitive in the SEC. The amount saved from not having tennis will be reinvested in football and men’s basketball.

However, Travis stresses that the revenue disparity is not a new thing in college athletics. It is made to look worse because of how football and men’s basketball spending have skyrocketed over the last decade. And sadly, there are going to be more programs like Arkansas in the future.

Can Razorbacks make a return on investment this season?

Although money rides high on the Razorbacks, the new head coach, Ryan Silverfield, will have to prove that the team has what it takes. He seems rather content with how the team is shaping up after the spring practice.

“You know, almost five months here now, and got to see the growth. But uh, through every practice, I got to see a lot of positives. Got to see certain guys step up. Still have a ton of work to do. Uh, it was a good day to kind of conclude things,” Ryan said after the end of their annual spring scrimmage.

Last year, Arkansas finished the season with a 2-10 record, matching the lowest winning percentage in program history. Sam Pittman was fired five games into the season after a 2-3 start. Over his five years, he had a 32-24 overall record. Bobby Petrino came in as the interim head coach to steady the ship, but the Razorbacks failed to win a game under his watch.