With the 2025 football season complete, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff must soon decide whether it will retain Alonzo Hampton as head coach.
UAPB originally signed Hampton to a three-year deal upon hiring him following the 2022 campaign, making this season the last on the initial contract. As of Monday, UAPB has not yet announced whether it will re-sign Hampton.
Hampton said Monday he and athletic director Chris Robinson have discussed his contract situation, but he hasn’t spent much time thinking about it.
“We just go to work every day,” Hampton said. “(Robinson’s) office is right next to mine. We talk. We’re building a program. We’re in a good position. When the time comes, we talked about some things this week. We been talking about stuff all throughout the season. I don’t worry about any of that.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
A UAPB spokesperson told the Commercial on Sunday he did not have a timeline for when a decision would be announced.
UAPB hired Hampton in late December 2022 after firing his predecessor, Doc Gamble, with four games remaining in the 2022 season.
Gamble was midway through his third season when UAPB dismissed him. He finished his tenure with an 8-15 overall record, 5-11 in SWAC play. He led UAPB to a SWAC West Division title in his first season, the abbreviated Spring 2021 campaign, before falling to last in the division that fall. UAPB was 2-5 overall and 0-4 in SWAC play when it dismissed Gamble in 2022.
Through three full seasons, UAPB is 9-26 overall and 5-19 in SWAC play under Hampton. The Golden Lions have improved their win total and their finish in the division standings each season under Hampton. They finished fifth outright this season after finishing tied for fifth last year and sixth the year prior. They had not finished ahead of another team since Spring 2021.
Hampton said he doesn’t worry about things he can’t control, such as whether the school will decide to retain him, but he believes UAPB has improved during his tenure.
“If you ask me if I’m going to be back, I would assume I’m going to be back,” Hampton said. “But again, it’s been a great three years to be able to take the program that was down and out, and then, the way we’ve been able to build it up. … We’ve made a lot of improvements, but hopefully, they want me back.”
In the season before Hampton was hired, UAPB averaged 22.7 points per game, seventh in the SWAC, while allowing 35.9, 11th in the league. The Golden Lions’ offense ranked ninth in total offense, 10th in rushing and seventh in passing. The defense ranked last in total defense and rushing defense and 10th in passing defense.
This year, UAPB averaged 24 points per game, seventh in the SWAC, while allowing 33.3, eighth. The offense ranks sixth in total offense, seventh in rushing and seventh in passing. The defense ranks 11th in total defense, last in rushing and seventh in passing.
Most SWAC teams, including UAPB, have finished their 2025 seasons, though there are three games this week involving SWAC teams with the SWAC Championship Game and Celebration Bowl still to come. Those games could cause minor adjustments to how UAPB ranks statistically.
The bright spots this season included winning the Southern Heritage Classic for the first time and defeating Southern University for the first time since Spring 2021, which was at the time the first win against the Jaguars since 2012. UAPB also had close calls against Grambling State and Florida A&M, losing those games by a combined 7 points.
The negatives came away from home, where Texas Southern, Bethune-Cookman, Prairie View A&M and Alabama State combined to outscored UAPB 182-43.
The Golden Lions have signed several promising young players under Hampton, such as quarterback Garrison Davis, wide receivers Ellis Stewart and D’Avery Robinson, cornerbacks Amyrion Mingo, Zach Williams and Zay Stribling, and others.
There is always a chance players will leave via the transfer portal, but that risk increases exponentially if UAPB doesn’t retain the coaching staff which recruited them.
Of note, UAPB hired a new chancellor this year, Anthony Graham. He replaced Laurence B. Alexander, who was the chancellor when Hampton was hired. Robinson was the athletic director who hired Hampton, so Hampton’s immediate supervisor has not changed.
Hampton acknowledged it is up to the school to decide whether he will coach UAPB in 2026, but he made his intentions clear.
“My plan is to be back here being the head coach of the Golden Lions,” Hampton said. “I love this place. I love what we’re building. But obviously, it was a three-year contract. At the appropriate time, we’ll go from there. But hey, I’m blessed, man, and highly favored.”