Woodhall's Success Off The Track, Including A New Apparel Company And Huge Social Media Presence, Made Turning Pro His Best Choice

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Hunter Woodhall is blazing trails again. 

The double-amputee sprinter from the University of Arkansas announced Saturday that he is turning professional. 

Woodhall will make his pro debut Sunday in the third American Track League meet on his home track at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. 

The move comes as Woodhall has lined up contract offers while the NCAA's Name, Image and Likeness proposals have stalled. 

"The NCAA, actually, in a lot of ways forced me out," Woodhall said. "With the Name, Image and Likeness vote being pushed, they went back and said all of the things that we said are going to be OK, we're going to no longer be OK with that. 

"The things that they were asking me to do to stay in the NCAA and be a part of the season was not worth the four meets that I was going to be able to run."

Last summer during the pandemic, after the NCAA shut down the spring outdoor track season, Woodhall started an apparel company with partners Jonathan Montgomery and Matt Horner called Giant Hoodies. Woodhall serves as the marketing and brand manager.

The company, Woodhall said, has sold nearly 100,000 units already and is to be featured Feb. 11 on an upcoming Good Morning America program. 

Instagram posts that Woodhall made last summer about the apparel infringed on NCAA rules even though the company has nothing to do with the University of Arkansas, or track and field, specifically. 

It might not have been such a problem if his social media footprint wasn't so big. Woodhall has 224,000 Instagram followers and the YouTube channel that documents his relationship with University of Texas long jumper Tara Davis has 210,000 subscribers. 

Woodhall's social accounts overall are approaching 3 million followers, he said. 

Woodhall worked with University of Arkansas compliance officers to find ways to stay eligibile, but ultimately he decided it was time to move on. 

He said he will wear a University of Arkansas uniform for the final time Sunday and that he has contract offers that he may sign in early March. 

Woodhall turns 22 next month and he expects to complete a degree in Marketing with minors in Communications and Finance, in May. 

“He has our full support," Arkansas men's head coach Chris Bucknam said in a university statement. "And we plan on keeping in our program as a student assistant. He will continue to train with Coach Case so that he can continue to work on his dream of running in the Paralympics.

“I’m conflicted on this because I hate to lose him. For him, he just had to make the decision he had to make. We just wish him the best.”

Woodhall made history by signing a letter-of-intent with the University of Arkansas, where he became the most prominent double-amputee to compete in the NCAA system. 

The summer before his senior year at Syracuse High in Utah, at age 17, Woodhall earned a silver medal (200 meters) and bronze medal (400 meters) at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janiero. 

Woodhall was born with fibular hemimelia, a condition that prevented his fibula bones from forming. His legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. DYESTAT STORY

Woodhall overcame those odds to become part of an SEC Championship team and became a four-time All-American in his time with the Razorbacks. 

His overall influence on the sport is a work in progress. 

"I hope it opens people's eyes to whatever situation they're in," said of his success on the track, where he has run 46.22 seconds for 400 meters.

"Hey man, if this is your goal and this is something you want to do, find a way to get it done. For me, obviously, I could not have done this by myself. Having a team of people and a support group that was willing to back me and stick their neck out for me made all the difference and that's the reason I'm here today and I am taking this next step."