Hades didn’t freeze over.
The University of Arkansas announced it had amended its contract with War Memorial Stadium, and the new agreement ends after 2025 when the Razorbacks host the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
See, the earth didn’t tremble when you read that.
It’s time for the two FBS teams in Arkansas to play each other.
This has been in the making since Hunter Yurachek became the UA athletic director. He started hearing from members of the board of trustees, powerful boosters, former players and fans who said it was time to enter the 21st century.
So history will be made when the Red Wolves and the Razorbacks meet on Sept. 6, 2025.
For some, the 2025 game in Little Rock won’t come fast enough. For others, it shouldn’t happen at all.
I say move the opening of the Arkansas State Fair to that weekend and make it a celebration of one state.
An antiquated policy that began more than 60 years ago of the Razorbacks not playing in-state teams started changing when Yurachek scheduled schools from within the UA System a couple of years ago in other sports.
It was John Barnhill’s policy. Frank Broyles just enforced it.
Getting ASU in the mix for football was a longer process than most realized.
Yurachek and ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir, who are friends, had some initial talks. The Red Wolves were not standing idly by waiting on this game; they had the same scheduling issues as the Razorbacks.
That’s why this game couldn’t happen until 2025, and the Red Wolves still had to get Texas A&M to agree to a change.
To get this game scheduled, several powerful people were in the loop and wanted it.
Those who were in Barnhill Arena on March 13, 1987, when the UA and ASU met in the NIT basketball tournament will attest that it was the greatest atmosphere in Arkansas history for any event.
Arkansas won in overtime 67-64.
The ASU game is part of an amended agreement between the UA and War Memorial Stadium. The immediate impact is that the first game between Arkansas and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff will be played in the grand old lady this Oct. 23.
It made sense to UAPB Athletic Director Chris Peterson to get even closer to home. UAPB takes the place of the Missouri game, which now will be played in Fayetteville on Nov. 27.
Arkansas playing two conference games off campus this season — the other being Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas — certainly provided motivation. Yurachek said Coach Sam Pittman told him he needed all conference games on campus to keep the playing field as level as possible.
Stacy Hurst — who heads up Arkansas Parks, Heritage and Tourism, which for some reason is responsible for War Memorial Stadium — worked out an agreement with Yurachek, who agreed to drop the mandatory minimum of 47,000 tickets sold to keep the games.
In 2023, Western Carolina will play the Hogs in War Memorial Stadium instead of Missouri. In 2024, UAPB will play the Razorbacks again at WMS.
No offense to Missouri, but covering a historic Arkansas-UAPB game is tons more appealing for yours truly.
This will be the closest anyone has come to replacing the LSU game in Little Rock. What tickets Razorback fans don’t buy, UAPB will.
Attorney Ron Davis, a former UAPB football player, once asked Jeff Long, then the UA AD, to consider not scheduling SWAC schools because that payoff hurt the Golden Lions. Long’s response was catty, but that started a conversation on the board of trustees about playing teams in the UA System.
The next logical step was to play ASU in the 21st century.