FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas and Brigham Young University on Thursday announced a two-game football series that will pit the programs against each other for the first time.
The Razorbacks will travel to Provo, Utah, to open the series Oct. 15, 2022, at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Cougars will make the return trip Sept. 23, 2023. BYU is one of six FBS teams currently competing as an independent, along with Notre Dame, Army, Liberty, Massachusetts and New Mexico State.
The game will satisfy the SEC requirement of its members playing at least one Power 5 opponent on its nonconference schedule each year, a mandate that was started in 2016. The SEC confirmed games against Notre Dame, BYU and Army meet the conference's criteria.
The Razorbacks had to receive a waiver from the SEC for its series against Colorado State, a non-Power 5 program, in 2018-19 after Michigan backed out of a series scheduled for those seasons in the summer of 2016 at a cost of $2 million.
Arkansas will become the third SEC team to play BYU on the road, following appearances by Mississippi State (2000 and 2016) and an upcoming game by Missouri in 2020. Missouri beat BYU 20-16 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 14, 2015, in the first game of that two-game series.
BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe touted the return trip to Fayetteville for Cougar fans in a news release about the series Thursday.
"I've been on the beautiful campus at the University of Arkansas and seen their state-of-the-art facilities," Holmoe said. "It will be a road trip BYU fans will not want to miss. I look forward to the Razorbacks and Cougars battling for the first time when we host Arkansas in Provo in 2022."
The Razorbacks' trend of opening their marquee series on the road will continue. Arkansas opened recent two-game sets against Texas (2008-2021), Texas Tech (2014-15), TCU (2015-16) and Colorado State (2018-19) on the road.
Arkansas will open a two-game marquee nonconference set at Notre Dame on Sept. 12, 2020. Two weeks ago, the Razorbacks announced a two-game series against Oklahoma State that will also open on the road in Stillwater, Okla., on Sept. 28, 2024.
These games against BYU will be played in consecutive years, which is a departure from some of the Razorbacks' recent marquee nonconference series.
The Texas series, which opened with a 52-10 victory for the No. 7 Longhorns in 2008, will have a 13-year gap before Texas plays at Arkansas on Sept. 11, 2021.
Notre Dame is scheduled to play its return game at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Oct. 4, 2025, five years after the opener. Oklahoma State's return game is set for Sept. 11, 2027, three years after the game at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Sports on 11/02/2018