Sources: Arkansas to hire Bret Bielema as new football coach
In a stunning coup, Arkansas will hire Wisconsin's Bret Bielema as its next football coach, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
Bielema, who has taken the Badgers to three straight Rose Bowls, was nowhere on the radar amid months of speculation over who Arkansas would hire.
An announcement will come Tuesday, sources told Y! Sports, but Bielema is not expected to be introduced until Wednesday.
Details of Bielema's contract at Arkansas are not yet known, but the school was said to have a major war chest for this coaching search.
Bielema, 42, is leaving the only job he's had as a head coach, and the school where he has worked since 2004. Bielema was defensive coordinator for two seasons under Barry Alvarez before becoming Wisconsin's head coach in 2006. He's gone 68-24 in Madison, with four seasons with 10 or more victories. Wisconsin advanced to its third consecutive Rose Bowl Saturday with an upset romp over Nebraska in the Big Ten Conference championship game.
Arkansas suspected last spring that it would be searching for a head coach at the end of this season, after hiring John L. Smith as its interim coach. Smith succeeded Bobby Petrino, who was fired following a scandal involving his mistress, who he had hired and put on the Arkansas payroll.