Arkansas Gridiron Icons podcast: Bill Barden changed everything for Harding Academy
Barden laid the foundation for what has become one of the state's top programs.
By Kyle Sutherland
Before the 1970s, Harding Academy football was not accustomed to great success. That all changed when Bill Barden was hired in 1969 as he laid the foundation for what has become one of the state's top powerhouses, winning three state championships (back-to-back in 1976-77 and another in 1983).
Barden's longtime friend and defensive coordinator, Dennis Rine, helps tell the story of an icon growing up in Pocahontas who first gained a love for baseball, but his passion for football turned into a Hall of Fame career as one of the best to ever walk the sidelines in Arkansas high school football history.
