LITTLE ROCK -- On the eve of his firing, Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson threatened to destroy the university's reputation with "troops and tanks" reminiscent of the state's 1957 desegregation crisis, its athletic director said in a memo released Friday.

According to notes compiled after a Feb. 28 meeting with the coach and Chancellor John A. White, Athletic Director Frank Broyles said Richardson remarked that "he didn't really want to hurt the university, but he may have to."

The university fired Richardson on March 1, four days after Richardson said for a second time that he wanted to be bought out, criticized fans and reporters and said he was treated differently because he is black.

Last May, Broyles praised Richardson's job performance.

"Once again, I am pleased at the overall direction of the University of Arkansas basketball program," Broyles wrote in Richardson's evaluation. "Your planning and supervision in coordinating the basketball program have been very positive."

The university released the documents Friday, saying it was also providing them to Richardson's lawyer, civil rights attorney John Walker, who had asked for them. Walker has said Richardson might take legal action in an attempt to fight his dismissal, which was upheld by the UA System president Thursday.

In a 1995 letter to a former chancellor, Broyles said Richardson was behaving erratically and feared a Woody Hayes- or Bob Knight-type episode.

Broyles' account of the Feb. 28 meeting tracks closely with White's, which was previously released. Walker said Richardson used the military reference as an example of what the coach was trying to avoid if he ultimately was fired.

Federal troops were dispatched to Little Rock in September 1957 to ensure that nine black students could attend Central High School. The images of white crowds hectoring school children has stuck with the state.

"He (Richardson) said it would be 1957 all over again. There would be troops and tanks on campus. The university would be virtually destroyed," Broyles said.

"The university will be ruined with troops and tanks keeping peace and order from the marches he will have here," Broyles wrote in his memo, paraphrasing Richardson.

In a Sept. 25, 2000, letter to Broyles that also was released Friday, Richardson said there had been times when the line of communication was not what it should have been, but that he had the utmost respect for Broyles as a person and athletic director.

Richardson told Broyles he was trying to focus on winning another national championship and that there was no question "that I would need your support in trying to get this mission accomplished."

"Along with that, I fully understand the importance of graduation rates and I certainly am going to work extremely hard in that department. Once again, you are my boss and I will follow your lead to further establish the U of A basketball program and athletic department," Richardson wrote.

Two days later, Broyles wrote back, "In recent months, not a day has gone by that I didn't wish for us to return to our former comfortable relationship and communication. ...

"I agree with you that we can work through whatever we need to do in order for that to happen," Broyles wrote on Sept. 27. "Nolan, you have my complete support and whatever assistance I can provide to achieve the goal of winning another national championship."

"We truly appreciate your commitment to extra efforts toward graduation rates and your willingness to promote the entire department in our goals of national competitiveness in all sports," Broyles responded. "I know (football coach) Houston (Nutt) and the other coaches always appreciate your support."

In the May 31, 2001, evaluation, Broyles praised Richardson for helping a basketball player graduate after his eligibility was completed. He also thanked the coach for attending commencement ceremonies.

"This sends the message that you truly supported his achieving this significant goal," Broyles wrote. The player's name was not released.

The academic staff also reported that Richardson and his assistants "have made increased and intensified efforts in encouraging class attendance and study hall attendance, stressing the value of receiving a degree," Broyles wrote.

He said he appreciated Richardson's efforts to improve the Razorback schedule and attending booster meetings and taking part in a television show dedicated to Razorback basketball.

In a 1995 letter to then-Chancellor Dan Ferritor, Broyles expressed concern that Richardson's "occasionally erratic behavior" was becoming more frequent and more severe.

"In fact it seems to develop into a mean-spirited, insulting monologue," Broyles wrote. "My sincere fear is that, in the near future, we could have a Woody Hayes or Bobby Knight episode in the making."

Hayes was fired as Ohio State football coach after striking a Clemson player who made an interception in the 1978 Gator Bowl.

By the time Broyles' letter was written, Knight had thrown a chair across the floor during a 1985 game with Purdue and appeared to kick his son during a 1993 game against Notre Dame. Indiana fired Knight in 2000.

Broyles wrote to Ferritor that minor annoyances were setting Richardson off. Richardson complained during part of 1995 that his team was not getting the respect it was due after winning the 1994 national championship and finishing as runner-up the following year.