Chris Hudgison
Sports Director
Jonesboro, Arkansas
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Chris Hudgison returned to the Natural State in July 2018 as KAIT's Sports Director. He spent the last 4 years in Jackson, Mississippi as WLBT Sports Director. Chris covered Mississippi State in the 2017 Women's Final Four (including Morgan William's shot to beat UConn), the resurgence of Alcorn State football, plus a wild 2014 season when MSU and Ole Miss pigskin were on the national radar.
He previously worked at Region 8 News from 2009 to 2014. He started at KAIT as Weekend Sports Anchor from 2009-2011. Chris was promoted to Sports Director in 2012. During his first stint in Jonesboro, he tracked the rise of the Red Wolves that included the five football coaching changes in five seasons.
Chris calls Columbus, Georgia his hometown. The Columbus State alum started his broadcasting career back in 2003 for WTVM. He worked his way up from production assistant to news photographer to sports reporter.
When he's not working, you can find him spending family time with his wife and son, playing Playstation, and going after Old Man Par on the golf course.
Chris is active in social media. You can follow him at Twitter or on Facebook.
Feel free to email him anytime with story ideas to chudgison@kait8.com
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Southside, Rivercrest, & Marked Tree are this week's nominees.
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Southside moved to 5-0 with a 28-14 victory over Wynne in our Game of the Week. The Southerners are also 2-0 in 5A East play.
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Jacobs also recorded 5 tackles and 4 pass deflections for Detroit in the victory.
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Kickoff is Saturday afternoon at 2:30pm. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Keagan Statler breaks free for the game winning touchdown. The Rebels rally from 11 down in the 4th to beat Gosnell 26 - 25 in the 4A-3 opener.
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Destinee Rogers' pack worked out for over 2 hours at the HPESS. The Red Wolves feature 6 newcomers including Little Rock native Wynter Rogers. A-State returns 8 standouts including Sun Belt award winners Izzy Higginbottom and Lauryn Pendleton.
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The UCA RB rushed for 256 yards and a TD along with a receiving score as the Bears beat Abilene Christian 52-17
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Raynor threw for 233 yards, rushed for 97 yards, and accounted for 5 TD (3 pass, 2 rush) as the Red Wolves beat Southern Miss 44-37.
Highland, Rivercrest, & Marion are the nominees. The poll opens Sunday at 8:00am and closes Tuesday at 8:00am.
Our Game of the Week lived up to the billing. Highland rallied from 11 down in the 4th quarter to beat Gosnell 26-25. The Rebels move to 3-1 overall, 1-0 in 4A-3 play.
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The Red Wolves are off to their best start since 2015.
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The Lady Hurricane is a three-time All-State selection and the 2020 5A State Champion.
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The Red Wolves host the Golden Eagles Saturday at 6:00pm on ESPN+.
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They watched Arkansas workouts on Friday along with having dinner at Mike Neighbors‘ house. The squad will be honored before the 2nd quarter of Saturday’s Arkansas/BYU football game.
Lukas Downs connects with Elijah Romine, 46 yards on the go-ahead touchdown. The Greyhounds beat Walnut Ridge 28-15 to start 4-0.
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The Arkansas State men’s golf commit paced a Brookland squad that captured the team title by 29 shots over Pocahontas. The Lady Bearcats made it a 4A-3 sweep on the links. Kody Redman shot 77 to earn medalist honors.
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You can nominate a boys or girls student-athlete in football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field or wrestling. All Athletes of the Month will also be entered to be named the boys or girls sports Athlete of the Year.
Salem, Rector, and Heber Springs are this week's nominees.
Salem starts the season 4-0, the Greyhounds beat Walnut Ridge 28-15 in the Game of the Week.
Tuesday was headlined by volleyball in Arkansas and tennis in Missouri.
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The Red Wolves host the Sea Wolves Saturday at 6:00pm at Centennial Bank Stadium.
EPC was looking for the game winning touchdown but Jayden Saulsbury ices it with a interception. The Bobcats beat the Warriors 34-30 to start the season 3-0.
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He got the no decision as Los Angeles fell to San Diego 11-8.
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The Boll Weevils beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 58-21 to start 2-0.
Walnut Ridge, Valley View, and Rivercrest are the nominees. Voting starts Sunday at 8:00am and ends Tuesday at 8;00am.
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The Red Wolves committed 4 turnovers and several starters were injured in the loss.
FFN airs Friday at 10:15pm on KAIT, kait8.com, and on the K8 News app.
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They picked up victories over Penn and Prairie View last weekend in Houston. Next up are trips to Illinois and Missouri before Sun Belt play.
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Head coach Sam Pittman said that the star running back has a little bit of swelling in his knee.
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Aviator softball hosts UA Rich Mountain at 1:00pm & 3:00pm at George Kell Field.
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Kickoff is Saturday at 6:00pm at Centennial Bank Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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Austin Reaves had 12 points, 4 rebounds, & 3 assists. Bobby Portis added 7 points and 7 rebounds as USA beat Italy 100-63.
Cade Yates wore #15 to pay homage to Ryan Mallett, he goes up top, Jett Hannaford makes the one handed grab for the touchdown.
Nettleton, Hoxie, Paragould, and Mountain Home are this week's nominees. Voting opens Sunday at 8:00am and closes Tuesday at 8:00am.
Our Game of the Week pitted a pair of 1-0 teams. The lights went out in Gosnell, the Pirates lit up the scoreboard in a 32-18 victory over Brookland.
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Chris and Logan break down the Arkansas State offense, defense, and special teams.
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The pack is back after some team bonding. Hodgson also provided insight on the A-State non-conference slate.
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Davis is a New Orleans mainstay on the roster. Grupe & Merritt made the 53 after impressive training camp preseason performances.
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Arkansas State football has decided on a signal caller for the season opener.
The Bearcats beat Newport and Jonesboro in the kait8.com fan vote.
Arkansas State travels to #19 Oklahoma for the season opener. The Red Wolves and Sooners face off Saturday at 11:00am on ESPN.
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Austin Reaves had 15 points, Bobby Portis added 10 as the United States beat Greece 109-81.
Newport, Jonesboro, and Brookland are this week's nominees.
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Austin Reaves had 12 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds on Saturday. The United States beat New Zealand 99-72 in the Group C opener.
Newport dominated in our Game of the Week, the Greyhounds beat Osceola 42-14.
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Purinton was hired in May 2022 to lead the Red Wolves athletic programs. He hired Bryan Hodgson to be the men’s basketball head coach and tabbed Sujay Lama to lead women’s tennis. Purinton also led the way for A-State renegotiating agreements with multimedia rights holder Learfield along with Adidas.
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The undrafted free agent was with Miami for rookie minicamp and training camp. Blackman played for Arkansas State in 2021 and 2022.
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