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Fayetteville High School: A Decade of Dominance

September 29, 2014

By: Andy Runyan
Prep Baseball Report Arkansas

Prior to the 2000 baseball season, if you asked anyone in Arkansas baseball who the preeminent coach was in the history of Arkansas, there was only one answer: “Billy Bock.” Since 2003, with the string of championships produced by the Fayetteville Bulldogs, the legendary Bock may have some company. Vance Arnold took over the Bulldog program 27 years ago and has built his program into a nationally relevant powerhouse that frequents the national top 25 in many polls.

 Over the years, Fayetteville has turned into what many consider to be the flagship program in the state. For Arnold and the Bulldog program, the accolades are astounding. Six state titles and 12 conference titles. Over 20 players signed to Division 1 scholarships. Three players currently in the pros, including Blake Parker of the Chicago Cubs. 500 career wins. A national ranking of #11 in 2013 that tied 1999 Mills High School for the highest ranked Arkansas team in modern poll history. And if the current roster of the latest installation of Bulldog baseball has anything to say about it, the list will keep on growing.

 Like many coaches and programs, Arnold and the Bulldogs came from humble beginnings. In the early ‘90s the program played and practiced at a city park and operated with very limited funds. Coach Arnold saw the need to be near campus as vital to his program, so they began building and moved to a campus field in 1992. In the 1990s, the program operated mainly on parent and directly-linked community support, as many Arkansas baseball programs do. It has been the broadening of that community support and development of their facilities that Arnold accredits for a big part of his success. In regards to the backing of the school based community, Arnold sees it as paramount: “I think my greatest personal satisfaction came when most of our youth teams switched from professional names and mascots to ‘Fayetteville Bulldogs’ and started wearing our school colors for their summer teams. That showed the kids and parents were buying into what we were doing at the high school.” In addition, the program has seen an increase in athleticism and arm strength as players have developed under strength training and long toss programs. “Our athleticism has improved over the years with our own weight room and strength coach and the kids can handle adversity”, Arnold said.

 After that transformation, the 2000s have been an era of dominance for FHS. They have won six state titles since 2003, all coming in the state’s largest classification. Fayetteville has gone toe to toe with other elite programs in the state, such as Bryant and Conway, and managed to emerge with the best baseball resume in Arkansas since 2000. Sustaining that success hasn’t been easy, as the Bulldogs participate in the baseball rich conference of the 7A West, playing each week against solid clubs such as Springdale Har-Ber, Bentonville, Rogers, Rogers Heritage, and Van Buren. When asked about the consistency of his program over the last decade Arnold said: “I think player dedication (plays a part). Kids work long hard hours in the weight room and (we) desire to play the best. We have had some crazy road trips to play good teams to make us better for the tournament run.”  Those “crazy road trips” have included trips that have pitted FHS against national powerhouses Jenks (OK), Owasso (OK) and Bishop Gorman (NV).

 Ironically, with all the wins and championships, when asked about a single game that stood out over the last three decades, Arnold remembered a loss. “One that comes to mind that has always stayed with me was JA Fair in the state tournament held at Mills in 1989. It was the second round. I tried to squeeze with a left-handed hitter and they pitched out and got us at the plate. It just seemed like we couldn't get a hit to fall at the right time and we lost.” Moving forward in 2015, the future looks very bright with six  graduates seniors committing early to 5 different NCAA Division I programs ( Arkansas, Central Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi, and Southern Mississippi).  Regardless of how 2015 ends for the team, Vance Arnold and the Bulldog faithful can stand proud and admire the construction of a nationally relevant program that has finished many a year with a dogpile at Baum Stadium.

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