FAYETTEVILLE - Former Southwest Conference teams Arkansas and Texas Tech will be meeting in football again after a 23-year break.
The Razorbacks and Red Raiders have scheduled a home-and-home series in 2014 and 2015, the schools announced Wednesday.
“The addition of Texas Tech gives us a quality nonconference opponent for the first two years when the world of college football changes with the playoffs in 2014,” Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said in a news release. “We anticipate strength of schedule being a factor in deciding which teams are selected and feel adding Texas Tech to our already strong conference schedule puts us in a great position in that regard.
“There is a tremendous amount of excitement around our program, and this is a match up our fans can look forward to.”
Texas Tech, which plays in the Big 12 Conference, is coming onto Arkansas’ schedule the season after the Razorbacks complete a two-game series with Rutgers.
The Razorbacks will play the Red Raiders at Lubbock, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2014. It will be the teams’ first football game since Arkansas’ last SWC season in 1991, when Texas Tech won 38-21 in Lubbock.
Texas Tech will play Arkansas in Fayetteville on Sept. 19, 2015.
Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long said that in addition to strengthening the Razorbacks’ nonconference schedule, playing the Red Raiders will help provide additional exposure for Arkansas in Texas, a prime recruiting area.
“With the landscape of the college football postseason changing, it is imperative that we schedule competitive nonconference match ups that will benefit our program,” Long said in a statement.
Arkansas will have two games in Texas in 2014 because the Razorbacks also are scheduled to play Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington that season.
Arkansas and Texas A&M began a nonconference series at Cowboys Stadium in 2009, but when the Aggies joined the SEC last season, the schools agreed to play their first two SEC games on campus sites. The Aggies will play at Fayetteville in 2013 after the Razorbacks played at College Station, Texas, in 2012.
Arkansas and Texas A&M have agreed to play in Cowboys Stadium from 2014 to 2024.
Arkansas added Rutgers to its schedule as a replacement nonconference team for Texas A&M after the Aggies moved from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC and joined the Razorbacks in the Western Division.
Arkansas also has a series scheduled with TCU, another former SWC rival. The teams will play in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016 and in Fayetteville in 2017.
Arkansas holds a 28-7 series advantage over Texas Tech.
“We are thrilled to begin a home-and-home series with the University of Arkansas,”Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. “Texas Tech and Arkansas had many memorable games while conference foes in the Southwest Conference, so this should be very exciting for the fans.
“We feel like we will be placing ourselves in great position as we kick off the College Football Playoff era in 2014, with a nonconference opponent the caliber of Arkansas and a challenging Big 12 schedule.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 05/30/2013