Gum new head baseball coach

Well, the news has made it’s way to Twitter via @GrantMerrill, so it must be ok to publish.

Exactly three weeks after Doug Clark “resigned” his position and the day that the job posting official closed, Allen Gum is to be announced as the head coach of the Bears’ baseball program at 4:30.

Gum just finished his fifth season as the head coach of the Southern Arkansas team that was one win away from making a trip to the D2 World Series. He returned to SAU where he played as an outfielder.

From the SAU recap of their regional loss:

The Muleriders finish the season at 47-10, their fifth consecutive 40-plus win season, earning their second regional championship game appearance. SAU has advanced to five NCAA regional tournaments, including three consecutive.

The Muleriders won at least 40 games in all five seasons under Gum, a first for the program. His record was 226-68 over that span – a 77% winning percentage. You can read more about his many accomplishments at SAU as a coach and player at his official bio while it lasts.

After his playing days in Magnolia ended, he spent six years at Sheridan High and three more at Batesville where his teams twice finished as the AAAA runner-up. His only college coaching experience are his seven total years at SAU.

It is expected that former SAU assistant Wes Johnson may hang around as pitching coach. Other names of assistants have been mentioned as well, but I’ll wait until those are announced.

Coach Williamson bringing more pub to UCA

One obvious positive mentioned before and after the hire of Corliss Williamson was that he could be a media magnet. He’s already proved that to be true with his Rivals.com story posted on the forum last week. I don’t know that we’ve ever had a feature story on Rivals before – ever.

Now, Arkansas Life – the expensive ($4.99?) magazine produced by the DemGaz – has a big cover story on Coach W’s new job. The good news is that the magazine can be read online for free.

Former NBA basketball player and Razorback legend Corliss Williamson takes on expectations again – as UCA’s new coach.

The three-page story is full of a lot of the same information as other stories, but it does give us this gem:

But don’t think Williamson’s changed his nickname to “Big Warm and Fuzzy.” He’s as competitive as ever. He likes to give God credit for his success, but he admits to “losing my religion sometimes when I’m coaching on the sidelines.”