Column: Hootens give state football fans plenty to read

JONESBORO — Chad Hooten spent his Fourth of July weekend on the road, stocking shelves as he traveled north and west from Little Rock. He wouldn’t have had it any other way. Hooten, his brother Chris and a couple of their employees have been distributing the latest edition of “Hooten’s Arkansas Football.” The book is billed as “the most comprehensive in-state annual in the nation,” and with 424 pages in this year’s 13th annual edition, that’s not just hype. For $14.95, the football fan who is looking to pass summer’s dog days can burn a lot of time with “Hooten’s Arkansas Football,” which is available in stores and news stands in the area. Start reading now, and you might finish before the season kicks off in late August. One of Hooten Publishing’s goals was to make the book an annual tradition in Arkansas, Chad said. The Hooten brothers, who grew up in Sheridan, seem to have succeeded in that regard. Books start going off the shelves as they are stocked. “If we’ve done anything, we’ve succeeded in making it something that people look for around the Fourth of July,” Chad Hooten said. “That’s neat, that’s cool. We’re proud of that.” The Hootens also have a television show, a Web site, week to week high school predictions, a high school kickoff classic and postseason high school awards, but the book is their baby. Both brothers have a background in communications and their timing for starting an Arkansas-oriented football magazine was good. Dave Campbell’s Arkansas Football, the offshoot of a Texas publication, ceased to exist because Arkansas left the Southwest Conference. That left a void, especially for preseason coverage of the state’s high school football. “We held our breath, saved our pennies and started in 1993. We had no idea what we were getting into,” Hooten said. “We didn’t make any money at all for five years. We survived and seemed to have gotten better.” Initially the Hootens intended to focus strictly on high school football. A few sales calls convinced them to broaden their horizons and include the state’s college teams. They cover the rest of the Southeastern Conference and Barry Groomes (an Arkansas State alumnus) ranks all 119 Division I-A teams. According to the Hootens’ research, 40 percent of their buyers get the book for Arkansas Razorback coverage and 40 percent take it for the high school coverage. Nearly half of the buyers (46 percent) are between the ages of 26 and 45. In 2003, 88 percent of those purchasing the book had bought it three or more years. The process of putting the book together begins in September as the Hootens start files on every team. Questionnaires go out in early January. Around the first of February, the Hooten staff talks to every high school coach in the state, then goes back to many for updates after spring practice. Information on the college teams is also gathered after spring drills. All told, about 6,000 hours go into producing the book. The Hootens printed 19,000 copies this year. Predictions for 2005? There isn’t a Sun Belt poll, but the book has ASU at No. 113 out of 119 in Division I-A, ahead of league foes Louisiana-Lafayette and Florida International, among others. Arkansas is picked fourth in the SEC West. Valdosta State is the top pick in the Gulf South, with Central Arkansas and Arkansas Tech second and third, respectively. Jonesboro is picked third in the AAAAA-East coaches’ poll. Wynne is the favorite in the AAAA-East, Pocahontas is favored in 2AAA, Osceola gets the nod in 3AAA and East Poinsett County is the pick in 3AA.

Kevin Turbeville
Sun staff writer