Diamond Hogs gave Frisco Classic name appeal

— Arkansas' commitment to play in the inaugural Frisco College Baseball Classic helped open doors for the event to market itself to other top programs.

The Razorbacks committed in early 2014 to play at the Frisco Classic, said Ryan Holloway, the event's president. Arkansas was the first team to affirm it would play in the event.

"We talked to a bunch of teams and had some soft commits, but not until (Arkansas coach) Dave Van Horn called and committed did it become the Frisco Classic," Holloway said. "That's when we literally signed the papers to rent the facility. If we didn't get Arkansas in this first year, we weren't going to do it."

The Razorbacks were a natural draw to play in the event, Holloway said. Frisco is located just more than 300 miles from the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville and North Texas is home to the university's largest out-of-state alumni base.

Ticket sales for the Frisco Classic have been strong thanks in large part to the number of Arkansas fans in Dallas, Fort Worth and the surrounding area. The Greater Dallas Razorback Club even is hosting a get-together before the Razorbacks' game Saturday where Van Horn is scheduled to speak.

"I think we'll have a lot of fans and if we give them something to cheer about they'll get loud," Van Horn said. "We just came off a road trip to Louisiana Tech and we had just as many fans as they did.

"We recruit this state as best we can and we have a lot of alumni in the Metroplex, and I think a lot of them will be represented here this weekend."

Frisco, a booming, modern suburb north of Dallas whose population has grown by more than 400 percent in the past 15 years, has become a sports hub. Minor League Baseball, Major League Soccer and NBA D-League teams have home stadiums in the city, the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision national title game is played there annually, and the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars have built headquarters there.

Holloway is hopeful the annual college baseball event can carve its niche into the city's growing sports culture. The Frisco Classic has branded itself as "The Best Outside of Omaha," in reference to the College World Series.

"We wanted to create the best collegiate tournament possible outside of Omaha," Holloway said. "From a competition standpoint, we wanted to get the best teams that we could get and we wanted to build the best atmosphere we could build.

"We want to try to make it like a bowl game for baseball with gifts and those types of things. Players are getting a swag bag with some shirts, a game ball, some free food - nothing like TVs or anything you'd see at a bowl game, but we're offering them an opportunity to go play at a big event. It's more than just a weekend series of baseball."

In addition to Arkansas, the inaugural event also includes Arizona, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Arizona was national runner-up last season. Oklahoma State also made the College World Series last year and Arkansas is two years removed from playing in Omaha.

"This is better than a (NCAA) regional right here," Van Horn said. "You can play in a regional and you won't get four teams more talented than this a lot of times. Even if you come out of here with a losing record you're still going to get better."

The Frisco field will feature teams from the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 each year, Holloway said. Texas A&M is committed to playing there next season and Mississippi State is scheduled to play in 2019.

The Frisco Classic is modeled after another early-season event in Texas, the six-team Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at MinuteMaid Park in Houston.

"We're not shy at all about saying that we are just straight-up stealing the idea from them," Holloway said. "We wanted to make it a little more intimate with a smaller venue and more intimate with the teams."

Arkansas has played the event in Houston two times and has tentatively agreed to play there again in 2020. Holloway said he is hopeful the Razorbacks will sign on to play in Frisco again with a good experience this weekend.

"From us meeting them at 12:15 in the morning when they rolled into town to having team hosts with them the entire time, we're making it very high-touch, high-feel," Holloway said. "We want Dave Van Horn, before he leaves, saying let's do this whenever they've got another availability. We would take them back every single year."