BHS Booster

Agree 100%. The local paper here cited Freedom of Information Act to get the names. Many of the candidates were caught off guard as anyone looking for a new job might have been while still employed.

Here's a thought..... Maybe the powers the be at Trinity are fed up with BB looking at other opportunities and gave him a deadline for a decision of today or threatened to let him go outright. That timeline doesn't necessarily jive with the timeline that the AD at Bentonville has to make a decision (which it doesn't by the way), because he's yet to interview the field. ***Likely a byproduct of having his name released in the paper as having applied for the position. Trinity gets anxious and wants an answer. Timeline gets accelerated because in a normal process, Trinity would not have known he'd even applied for the job*** Unless BB signed a contract at Trinity, his "I'm staying at Trinity" declaration is just buying time until the details get worked out. If he's offered the job, he burns a bridge that he'll never cross over again in Kentucky. If he doesn't get the job, he stays at Trinity, no harm, no foul, and no one wiser knows the difference.

Bentonville always tries to play at a higher level in non-conference. We had a home and home with Kansas City Rockhurst the last two years with the road team winning both games. We had Euless Trinity (TX) come here in '13 and last season traveled to Broken Arrow (OK) and hosted Bergen Catholic (NJ) who both beat us before we got our act together to run the table.

A good, albeit polished representation of our town (Bentonville) put together today by the VisitBentonville folks. The BHS football team even has a cameo.

I believe both schools will remain 7A based on the enrollment. Bentonville for sure. BHS currenly is about 3600 students. Fayetteville, our rival, is just over 1800. So a split right down the middle, would be status quo. Fayetteville has one high school and even with 1800 students, they've been very successful too. One of the best baseball programs in the whole country and football in the state title game each of the last five years.

No. The district zones, even at the elementary, middle, and Jr. high schools have been a sore point for years. They had to redraw them nearly every year over the last eight because of the growth and new schools being built. The high school was the constant because there was only one. My guess is that there will be some leniency in the first three years with kids who started at BHS and have the desire to finish there (grandfather clause), but after that, it'll be pretty strict.

As mentioned in my first post, the new coach would get a full year with Bentonville HS full allotment of kids, before the new high school (Bentonville West) is open in the Fall of 2016, thereby diluting the talent pool. I believe the existing school will retain the majority of the talent though. People here in Arkansas always point to the Springdale High School example though. Springdale High, south of Bentonville about 10 miles, with current Auburn HC Gus Malzahn, then as the head coach won the state title in 2005 with some great talent including Parade and Gatorade Player of the year, QB Mitch Mustain (Arkansas and USC). A second high school opened (Har Ber) the next year and Springdale football has never been the same, with the 7a Division being dominated by Bentonville and nearby Fayetteville who together have won 7 of the 9 state titles since. Har Ber actually won a title in 2009 to further salt the wound. So it's a data point that every incoming candidate had to consider when they applied. I don't think it's as big a deal, but the next 10 years could prove me wrong too.

You guys have an AWESOME site here and should be proud of your healthy banter. I stumbled across this trying to find out about Coach Beatty but have really enjoyed the dialog. I'll keep you posted on any finalists or announcements in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the on the Male game. We have some fan issues with our rival Fayetteville just as most rival schools do. Things get said in the heat of the moment. In the world of Twitter, some of those "H" guys were pretty explicit about Coach B and no one I could find was defending him or the Trinity side. The Truth is always somewhere in between.

33 Total applicants, all published last week here: Football: Bentonville coaching vacancy draws 33 applicants | NWADG They hope to interview a variety of guys, as many as 12-13, and present the candidate to the school board by March 16.

Private schools are three classes below (4a) this level (7a). So yes, we don't ever play them.

Kids have to live in the district for the school they attend. Bentonville is a public school and there are some private schools where those rules obviously don't apply. Athletes aren't a problem. Our two best football players last year, a junior QB and a senior WR/DB both signed to play D1 baseball, not football. Petrino actually offered our QB, Kasey Ford, after his sophomore year. He looks a lot like Ryan Mallet (6'5 - 245, pro style). We typically get 8-9 guys signed somewhere to play at the next level.

Cost of living is very low compared to other big cities, about $100 per square foot in Bentonville's upper middle class neighborhoods. No crime, decent 4 season weather, and a thriving local economy. If Beatty's already got a lake home at Lake of the Ozarks, money is not an issue.

Guys, I'm a regular at Bentonville football games where this vacancy is. And Beatty would be a great hire. Coach Barry Lunney who retired here was a legend. He won the last two state titles in the state's largest and most competitive division. His teams played for the state title each of the last five years and won three of those. The school is very well supported by the local community where vendors and Walmart folks send their kids. Facilities are top notch including the indoor practice facility. This is the best job in the state, BUT... The new coach here will have one more year (2015) with a full student body, then in 2016 Bentonville West HS will open, and some think that will dilute the talent pool and make it a very tough job. I disagree. Lunney played about 24 guys, with the best guys playing both ways. Lots of guys never saw the field so I tend to think that our 2's and some of our 3's could start for anybody else. That said, still going to be a great job. Beatty seems like a hard-nosed winner, which is what this town will demand. We don't lose at much of anything, named last year as MaxPreps #1 Athletic Program in the country with 12 state titles last year. Already won like 6 or 7 this year. I've read a lot of support for him in the recent days, but also saw some of the Male players bashing him on Twitter for a postgame fight last fall? Likely his biggest bogey on the resume is his close affiliation with Bobby Petrino. BP didn't leave a solid taste in the mouth of anyone here who's a Razorback fan with his actions a few years ago with the grad assistant and the motorcycle.