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Bobby Petrino is returning to the Ozarks.

The former Arkansas coach is the next head coach at Missouri State, an FCS program in Springfield, Mo., the school officially announced Wednesday morning.

It will be Petrino’s first job since being fired by Louisville during the 2018 season and the fourth school at which he’s been a head coach.

In addition to the proximity - Springfield is about 2.5 hours northeast of Fayetteville - the hire is even more interesting because Missouri State is currently scheduled to be Arkansas’ FCS opponent in what would be Petrino’s third season. The Bears will visit Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Sept. 17, 2022.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Petrino’s deal with Missouri State is a five-year contract with an annual salary of $250,000.

Petrino was the Razorbacks’ head coach from 2008-11, compiling a 34-17 record that included 21 wins over his final two seasons. That included a trip to the Sugar Bowl following the 2010 season, Arkansas’ lone BCS bowl appearance, and a win in the Cotton Bowl following the 2011 season.

Despite having a preseason top-10 team returning in 2012, he was fired in April after a motorcycle accident led to revelations about his personal life, which he then lied about to then-athletics director Jeff Long.

With him during his April 1 accident was Jessica Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player with whom he was having an affair. On top of the infidelity, Petrino hired Dorrell as a student-athlete development coordinator over more qualified candidates.

He returned to coaching in 2013 as the head coach at Western Kentucky. He led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 record, which helped him land another Power Five job - at Louisville, where he went 41-9 from 2003-06 before making the jump to the NFL.

In his second stint, the Cardinals won nine games twice and eight games twice in Petrino’s first four seasons. During that stretch, quarterback Lamar Jackson won the 2016 Heisman Trophy and was a two-time ACC Player of the Year.

However, following Jackson’s departure into the NFL, Louisville spiraled to a two-win season in which it was considered one of the worst teams in the country by advanced metrics - even worse than the 2-10 Razorbacks in Chad Morris’ first season. Petrino was fired after 10 games.

Even with that season, Petrino’s career record is 119-56, giving him an impressive .680 winning percentage.

This will be his first time coaching at the FCS level since he was at Idaho from 1989-91, serving as the quarterbacks coach (1989) and offensive coordinator (1990-91) under Vandals head coach John L. Smith.