Bob Holt, who wrote about the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Arkansas Democrat and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for 43 years, died Wednesday night after collapsing at the site where the Hogs lost Saturday to Holt’s alma mater, the University of Missouri had.

He collapsed after postgame interviews and was hospitalized until his death in Columbia, stunning his newspaper’s newsroom and thousands of avid sports readers. He was 65 years old.

“It’s a great loss for us as a newsroom and as a company,” said publisher Eliza Hussman Gaines Arkansas business in a telephone interview. “It is also a great loss to our readers who have come to know and love him and appreciate his love of the Razorbacks. It’s a very sad day.”

Editor-in-Chief Alyson Hoge said Holt started at the Arkansas Democrat in 1981. “He’s an institution and so today we’re just trying to deal with (losing him).

“They had done interviews after the game and he stayed behind to talk to the players,” she said. “He was the last person to go to the press box and as someone looked for him, emergency workers tried to revive him. Bob was a graduate of the University of Missouri, and I thought it was remarkable that he was there doing what he had loved to do for more than 40 years.”

The Democrat-Gazette published a full obituary Thursday morning, a tribute to Bill Bowden that Hoge said likely would have embarrassed Holt.

Wally Hall, managing editor of sports, said Holt is one of the hardest-working reporters in the Southeastern Conference. “He was always the first to arrive at a game and the last to leave. …

“Three or four years ago, Nick Saban walked in at SEC football media days and gave his opening statement. He said, “I guess we’ll answer questions now and then go straight to Bob.”

“He was already on his feet.”

Holt was born on September 21, 1959 in Saginaw, Michigan. He grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, starting in fourth grade.

The Democrat hired him a month after he graduated from college in 1981 and employed him until the end. For several years he was based in Dallas and covered the Cowboys and their then-new owner, Arkansan Jerry Jones. Accolades over his long career included being named Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association for four years and being inducted into the Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2022.

Razorbacks basketball coach John Calipari brought up Holt at a press conference Tuesday night, saying he prayed a rosary for the persistent reporter.

“I attended Mass at St Hugh’s this morning and celebrated communion for him yesterday and today. I would just say… I don’t know if my prayers are helping, I know they aren’t hurting, and I say to everyone, just pray a nice prayer for Bob Holt, one of the good ones in this profession,” Calipari said. “In the truest sense of the word you think of a good man, that’s him. Therefore, it is a sad day for all Arkansas fans and our state.”