FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn is no stranger to the type of format his team will be part of this weekend in Houston.
The No. 5 Razorbacks are scheduled to play three games in three days against three different teams at Minute Maid Park as part of the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. Arkansas is scheduled to play against Oklahoma on Friday at 3 p.m., Texas on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Baylor on Sunday at 7 p.m.
“I think we’re just looking forward to getting outside of Fayetteville, playing some outside competition,” Arkansas first baseman Cole Austin said. “There’s going to be three really good teams we’re facing."
It is the third time the Razorbacks will participate in the Shriners Classic. They played in the classic in 2012 and 2016, and have a 5-1 all-time record in the event.
The Shriners Classic gives Arkansas the chance to play games against multiple quality opponents at the same site and on the same weekend, a format that could resemble an NCAA regional later in the year. It is a scheduling philosophy that Van Horn has had throughout much of his 18 seasons as the Razorbacks’ head coach, but has leaned on increasingly more in recent years.
This is the eighth time in nine seasons Arkansas has played in a similarly-styled event that includes at least three other teams. In addition to the Shriners Classic, other events have included:
• The Coca-Cola Classic in Surprise, Ariz., in 2013 when Arkansas played Arizona State (twice), Gonzaga and Pacific at the spring training facility for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.
• A 2014 event in Berkeley, Calif., that included games against California (twice), Tulane and San Francisco.
• A 2015 event in Mobile, Ala., that included games against Central Florida, Maryland and South Alabama.
• The inaugural Frisco Classic in 2017 that included games against Arizona, Nebraska and Oklahoma State at the Texas Rangers’ Class AA ballpark in Frisco, Texas.
• The 2018 Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego that included games against San Diego State, San Diego and Cal Poly. Arkansas also played a neutral-site game against Arizona in San Diego during the trip.
Last season was the first since 2011 that Arkansas didn’t play in such an event. Instead, the Razorbacks played three games at Southern Cal.
“I like to go on the road,” Van Horn said. “I like to play in a tournament if possible, or you know if it’s a three-game series like last year against USC, that’s fine as well. (We’ve) definitely got to get on the road at least one time before we play conference. We just feel like it’s very important.
“I know there are some teams in certain parts of the country that just sit home as much as they can, and I get it, you know, it’s cheaper that way. You make a little bit more money that way, but does your team really gain the experience they’re going to need to be able to go on the road and beat somebody in the league?”
Scheduling marquee weekend series against high-profile teams is difficult this time of year, Van Horn said, because many teams don’t want to play a return series. The Razorbacks’ series against USC in 2018 and 2019 was rare for the program.
Previously, Arkansas hadn’t played such a series since it concluded one with San Diego State in 2013. The Razorbacks also played home-and-home games with Cal in 2009 and 2010.
“We will pretty much go anywhere as long as we can get you back, but I don’t want to go anywhere early in the season that’s not real south, if at all possible, just to make sure we get (the games) in,” Van Horn said.
“So, yeah, it’s difficult sometimes. Usually you’re going to have to play in a tournament setting.”
Arkansas is scheduled to play in events the next three years in Texas - in Arlington at the Rangers’ new Globe Life Field in 2021 and 2023, and in the 2022 Round Rock Classic at the Houston Astros’ Class AAA stadium near Austin.
Like Minute Maid Park, Globe Life Field will have a retractable roof that will ensure games are played.
Van Horn has said the Razorbacks will play Texas and TCU both years in Arlington, as well as Texas Tech there in 2021 and Oklahoma State in 2023. He said Arkansas’ games there next year will be on the first weekend of the season.
The 2022 Round Rock field has yet to be announced, but will include teams from the Pac-12, Big Ten and a mid-major conference, said Nathan Wooldridge, a spokesman for the event.