 For Dick Idol, the installation of the Arkansas “Wild Band of Razorbacks” monument is the culmination of nearly six years of work.

Idol, a Montana native who is known as one of the nation’s master wildlife sculptors, began to have talks with Arkansas officials about creating the monument in late 2012. The university received funding needed to begin the sculpting process in late 2014, but a change in where to place the monument delayed the process by about two years.

The monument, which reaches as high as 25 feet and is 50 feet wide, is being assembled on the northeast side of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, near the opening that allows a view into the stadium from the intersection of Maple Street and Stadium Drive. The monument originally was going to be placed on the southwest side of the stadium, along Razorback Road near the entrance of the Fred W. Smith Center, but those plans were scrapped when the Razorbacks made the decision to expand the stadium two years ago.

It will be one of two statues on the north end of the stadium. A statue of the late Frank Broyles is being moved back to the north end, on the west side of the entrance to the Broyles Athletic Center, an office complex that was torn down and rebuilt as part of the stadium renovation. The Broyles statue was dedicated on the steps of the old Broyles Center in 2012 but was moved to the southwest side of the stadium during renovation.

Idol's sculpture depicts six wild hogs in a mountainous setting. The bronze hogs are between 6 and 7 feet tall from ground to shoulder, and between 12 and 14 feet long.

Idol said the lead hog was sculpted to mimic the Razorbacks’ logo.

“I also made it dramatic by placing him way out front where he has a lot of space underneath him,” Idol said. “I have a neat composition there where the logo hog is the most forward, then you get more of a ‘V’ effect as you go backward.”

While the hogs were made in bronze, Idol said the mountain in the sculpture will be made of concrete and stained to match the bronze coloration of the animals. Black granite will be used around the perimeter of the piece.

A complex series of molding was completed in Montana and Colorado.

The monument will include a waterfall and a vanishing pool, and water will shoot out 6 feet wide in some areas. Lights under the water will create illusions, Idol said, and the lights and audio can be synced with video boards and the audio system inside the stadium.

“My theory is that the more senses you can tweak with the viewers, such as audio, music, movement, lighting, water features - I try to use all the sensory elements to make it more interactive with the viewer,” Idol said, “and make it a really powerful statement, all the while trying to enforce and enhance their logo and their brand."

All of the elements will not be finished by the Razorbacks’ Sept. 1 opener against Eastern Illinois, but should be complete by the Alabama game on Oct. 6, when an official unveiling is planned.





Dick Idol is a world-renowned sculptor and painter, and designed and built the' "Wild Band of Razorbacks" monument that will be displayed outside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.











The estimated $2 million cost to build the structure was covered by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a former Arkansas player who was a member of the 1964 national championship team. The funding was provided through a land and cash donation by Jones in 2015 that had an estimated value of $10.65 million, and also helped cover costs for the 55,000-square-foot dining hall and academic center that was named for the Jones family.

Idol spoke to Jones about his vision for the monument at the 50th anniversary for the championship team in October 2014. Idol drove the maquette - a scaled down model of the sculpture, about eight times smaller than the finished product - to Arkansas for a game against Alabama.

“We met with Jerry that morning and showed him the model," Idol said. "We talked about the vision of what I foresaw there and what the university wanted to see. It was a donor presentation. I was in one of the boxes with (former athletics director) Jeff Long and I think it was about the second quarter he came over and whispered, ‘Jerry just agreed to fund it.’”

The monument is being dedicated to the memory of the ’64 championship team, but it is more a celebration of the Razorback mascot. Its name comes from the November 1909 speech then-Arkansas coach Hugo Bezdek reportedly gave to a crowd of greeters at a Fayetteville train station, when he said his team had played “like a wild band of razorback hogs” during a 16-0 win over LSU in Memphis. Arkansas finished the season undefeated and students voted to change the school mascot from the Cardinals to the Razorbacks the following year.

The Arkansas statue is the second that Idol has created on a university campus. A former football player at North Carolina State, Idol was commissioned to assemble a similar monument for his alma mater.

The "Wolfpack Turf" monument features wolves that are twice life-size standing atop a 33-foot stone mountain. The statue sits in front of NC State’s football office building in Raleigh, N.C.

“It’s an iconic mascot that is spectacular and seems to carry a lot of weight with recruits," Idol said. "I think it helps substantiate that perception."

But Idol said it might not be as "spectacular" as the one he is finishing at Arkansas.

“In my opinion, this one here is going to be one of the most spectacular - if not the most spectacular - mascot monuments in the United States," Idol said. "I know pretty much what other universities have and there’s not anything close, except for maybe the other one I did at NC State.

“(The Wolfpack monument) is spectacular because it’s really high and is more of a vertical piece than this one, but the footprint is not as big around.”

In addition to the NC State sculpture, Idol has finished wildlife monuments at the headquarters of Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo., and Anadarko Oil and Petroleum in Houston, and outside of a Cabela’s in Owatonna, Minn.

He remains hands-on during work to complete the monument in Fayetteville, having traveled from his Montana home multiple times during the installation process. Once finished, he will have spent around a month in town, and indicated he will be as proud of this monument as any he has completed.

“For me, as an artist, it’s an opportunity that few artists ever get to do a project like this,” Idol said. “It hasn’t been done much in the past to this scale.

“It’s a great legacy and something I know is going to be there a long time.”