Not often has the University of Arkansas posted a better sports weekend without athletes actually competing in Razorback and Lady Razorback events.

This past weekend former UA greats Stacy Lewis and Tyson Gay did their alma mater proud.

The " former " adjective for Stacy Lewis seems hard to fathom.

After all it was just earlier this month the Lady Razorback 2007 NCAA Golf champion was still competing for Arkansas.

But she's all pro all the time now and $ 167, 000 richer for it.

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With the LPGA US Open for her pro debut, Lewis actually led the tournament in Edina, Minn., going into the final round and even with a finalround 78, still placed third.

Pretty incredible for a rookie.

Now she gets to play in her second pro tournament right by her college home at this week's Northwest Arkansas LPGA Classic at Pinnacle in Rogers.

Gay, a NCAA sprint champion for now former track coach John McDonnell's Razorbacks in 2004 and 2005, set an American record 9. 77 winning his semifinal heat of the 100-meter dash at the U. S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., and then on Sunday night won the final in a wind-aided 9. 68, the fastest time ever recorded for the 100-meter dash.

The excess wind doesn't allow the time to stand as a world record but of course the victory in that final does final does place Gay on the U. S. Olympic team. He's also a shoo-in to be on the U. S. team's 4 x 100 relay squad.

Already bound for Beijing as U. S. Olympians are former Lady Razorbacks Amy Yoder Begley in the 10, 000 meter run and Deena Drossin Kastor in the marathon.

Gay isn't finished yet in Eugene. He and former Razorback teammate Wallace Spearmon of Fayetteville and J-Mee Samuels, the Razorback who just completed his junior year, all are in this week's Olympic Trials 200-meter dash prelims.

Both Samuels and Spearmon ran the 100-meter dash prelims in Eugene but did not make it to the final.

Spearmon will be among the favorites in the 200, his best event.

Samuels has a decision to make after the Trials whether he will bypass his final Razorback season and turn professional or return for his senior year under Chris Bucknam, named the Razorbacks' new coach last Friday.

Bucknam, for 25 years the head track and cross country coach at Northern Iowa, replaces John McDonnell, retiring after 36 years at Arkansas with an unprecedented 42 national championships and 84 conference championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track.

In his press conference, Bucknam wisely seemed a new coach willing to leave his personal stamp at the post office.

Starting with continuing the tenure of longtime field events coach Dick Booth, Bucknam appears determined to embrace the tradition he inherits from John McDonnell rather than refashion it.

" I am not here to reinvent anything, " Bucknam said. " I am not here to put my stamp on this program right away. I hope in four or five years, people will look back and say, ' This guy is doing the right type of things. ' Until that time, I'm here for the athletes on this team. I want them to know that it's all about them next year. I know Coach Booth will help me with that. "

Bucknam said " having Dick by my side" and " John available for counsel" are integral to continuing Arkansas' success which this past season included a SEC cross country-indooroutdoor triple crown.

While Bucknam comes in respecting Razorback tradition, and, we hope, will take a look at sprint coach Kyle White and administrative assistant Danny Green for their roles in the tradition both as McDonnell aides and former Razorback athletes and UA grads, don't presume he's just a caretaker.

Bucknam's triple crownwinning UNI Panthers actually finished ahead of the Razorbacks, 11 th to 17 th, at the NCAA Outdoor meet and were ninth at the NCAA Indoor.

Bryan Compton, the Lady Razorbacks' field events coach under coach Lance Harter, has worked against Bucknam in the Missouri Valley Conference as Bucknam coached the Panthers' women's and men's teams.

" I knew him when I was at Illinois State and Wichita State, " Compton said. " Always tough battles going against them, very wellmotivated and very wellcoached teams. He's a great, great motivator. "

Nate Allen covers University of Arkansas athletics for the Northwest Arkansas Times.