Feb. 6, 2026 Vol. 101, No. 09
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2A OPINIONS . . . . . . . . . . 3&4A SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1B COMMUNITY . . . . . . . . . . 2B FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . 3B LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B
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Students savor longest snow break in years KERRA FELZIEN guest writer
Photos by REESE MALLETT
Junior Grace Manuel, freshman Samantha Duran and junior Macey Savell sled down hills near the Benson Auditorium. Students enjoyed four days off from school after a snow storm hit Searcy the night of Jan. 23.
A winter blast coated Searcy in snow and ice last week, turning roads slick, canceling classes and shutting down campus. Harding University’s campus was closed for four days, the longest closure since 2021, when Harding closed for an entire week. The snow fell Friday night, and on Saturday morning students living on campus flocked to the front lawn and Benson steps for sledding and snowball fights. On Sunday, many students got together with friends for devotionals and worship in dorm lobbies and campus buildings when the roads were too treacherous to make it elsewhere. “Me and my friends did a little home church thing in the Reynolds since we couldn’t drive to church,” sophomore Rachael Sims said. “It was awesome.” When Monday rolled around and classes got cancelled, the snow was frozen over and difficult to enjoy. Social clubs still made the most of it. For example, Knights social club had “Jerseys and Jammies” every day campus was closed. “We went to the caf, and then we would go out on the front lawn, play in the snow and have fun,” sophomore Knights member Deacon Lawley said. Other students turned away from the cold and cozied up inside, whether that was watching movies in their dorm or enjoying indoor sports and recreation in the Ganus Athletic Complex. “I got to play volleyball a lot with a lot of my friends, which was fun,” senior Reese Marcangeli said. “I enjoyed just the time to kind of hang back, catch up on things and just relax for a little bit. I don’t feel like we really get the opportunity to do that a lot, especially being a civil engineering major.” Some freshmen experiencing the Harding snow days for the first time got a little more adventurous, whether that was doing donuts in empty parking lots or hiking across Searcy to get breakfast. “The first day we walked two and a half miles to Waffle House in the snow,” freshman Larissa Mansfield said. “That was my first time going to Waffle House because I’m from Oregon, so I’ve never been there before.” Eventually, the excitement of no school wore off for some students, and they were ready to get back to the normal school day routine. “It was nice to have some free time – and it was very fun – but it made me realize how much I appreciate the school routine because I started to get bored after, about, a day,” Sims said.
Simmons shifts to GM, Mote named football head coach ELI DEAN sports editor
Two weeks after the Harding Bisons football team wrapped up their season in the national championship game, news was announced on Jan. 6 that Harding’s head coach Paul Simmons was leaving his post to take on the role of general manager for the Bisons and former defensive coordinator Roddy Mote would take the helm as head coach. Simmons, in a statement on the day of the announcement, said that his new role “will allow me to have an even greater impact on this awesome program” and that “I am going to wake up every day and fight like crazy to make sure Harding football has every single thing that it needs to succeed from a support standpoint.” The role, which is rare for DII teams but common among DI programs, is a testament to how quickly Harding has become one of the premier football programs in DII after the three most successful years in program history. During that stretch, the Bisons went
42-3, made two national championships and won the school’s first championship in 2023. Now tasked to continue to build on that success as head coach, Mote isn’t trying to be Simmons or the other great coaches of Harding’s past. Mote said he is taking the things he’s learned through the years as a Bison in various roles and hoping to shape his own identity and path to success. “It’s an honor and a privilege to serve in this role,” Mote said. “My identity is not in the title. It’s not changing who I am, I want my identity to be in Jesus Christ, and I try to model that to the young men I am around, that’s where my identity is.” Mote’s family ties run deep with the Bisons. A player himself from 1984-1989, his father, uncle and father-in-law played for Harding in the 1950s and ’60s, with his uncle later coming back to coach in the ’70s. Mote’s wife, Kim, who was a cheerleader at Harding, teaches first grade at Harding Academy. Mote was head coach of the
Graphic by MELANIE GUYETTE
Academy’s football team from 2008-15, where he posted a 93-12 record and won two state championships. The 2025 FootballScoop Division II Coordinator of the Year award winner said that above all, the culture he wants to create with his team will be player-first. “My first priority is our players,” Mote said. “The players are the ones that drive our really, really good team. They drive our culture, they are the culture.” Shortly after the announcement of his promotion, which was made during winter break when the team was not together, Mote called every player on the roster to be as transparent as possible about the process and what they should expect going forward. Mote said that even though he is a defensiveminded coach, he values every player on his roster, from the inactive to the stars, in the same light as people. “I value people, and that’s the most important to me,” Mote said. “And that’s to make them feel loved, to make them realize that they do have value, and their value isn’t dependent on what side of the ball they are on or what position they play.” Among the coaching staff Mote will lead, there are several new faces, as well as new positions for current coaches. Luke Tribble, who served as co-defensive coordinator as well as coordinating special teams and assisting with the defensive backs last season, will become the team’s defensive coordinator. Tribble said that he is looking forward to next season and the challenge it will bring. “I’m very excited about next season,” Tribble said. “I’m excited to have a new challenge for myself, but the job is still the same, and that’s to do my role to the best I
Photo provided by Sports Information
Former defensive coordinator Roddy Mote takes position of head coach for the Bison football team. can, to give our players the best chance of success possible.” On the offensive side of the ball, Will Francis will stay on for a second season as the quarterbacks and fullbacks coach. A former basketball star for Harding, several of the new staff members were at Harding when he was a student. Francis said that it’s been fun reconnecting with some of his old friendships as they look to continue to run the flexbone offense. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with our staff,” Francis said. “Several of the new coaches were in school here at Harding the same time I was. I’m excited to get to work with them.”