Tuesday’s news the War Memorial Stadium Commission had agreed to reduce the number of University of Arkansas football games it will host during the next three years may have surprised some, but it should have come as no great shock. Something like this has been coming for a while now.
agreed to reduce from two to one the number of games played annually at War Memorial through 2016. In exchange, the UA has agreed to play one game in War Memorial in each of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and pay $1.2 million to the stadium commission during that time frame. Of those fi ve games through 2018, two will be Southeastern Conference games.
For the UA, the move makes sense. The former contract’s requirement the Razorbacks play two home games in Little Rock (one of which had to be an SEC game) would have cost the school far more than the $1.2 million.
Here’s why: NCAA football teams are allowed 12 regular season games a year. SEC member schools play eight conference games: four at home and four on the road. That leaves four games to schedule against nonconference opponents.
Most Division I schools schedule at least one road game a season with major conference opponents, reserving three games to schedule as home games against mid-level or lower division competition, giving them seven home games a year. That’s typically what Arkansas does.
However, Arkansas also has a contract to play its annual conference game with Texas A&M in Dallas, costing the Razorbacks one “home” conference game every other year. That arrangement is scheduled to last at least a decade.
With those special circumstances, playing two games a year away from Fayetteville — with one being a big-draw conference game — puts Arkansas at a disadvantage. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville has roughly 20,000 more seats than War Memorial, so more tickets can be sold in Fayetteville. Also, Arkansas controls all concession and parking revenue for on-campus games.
When the Razorbacks play in Little Rock, it must also pay rent and doesn’t control all the ancillary revenue. And, the team has to travel 200 miles to boot.
Still, the tradition of the Razorbacks playing in Little Rock extends more than 50 years, and thousands of Arkansas fans cherish memories of great victories and wonderful times at War Memorial. The fact many of the football program’s most loyal and generous boosters live in central Arkansas also must be considered in the equation.
Financial considerations, however, must take precedence. The enormous cost of running a top-flight athletic department without dipping into taxpayer or tuition dollars requires the UA maximize its ability to make money through the sale of tickets, concessions, luxury suites, etc. Playing more games in Fayetteville (and fewer in Little Rock) makes the math work out better.
The compromise reached by the UA and the stadium commission extends the Razorbacks’ commitment to play in Little Rock past the end of the current contract, thereby keeping the tradition alive. But it also solves some hairy scheduling issues over the next several years.
Now, if someone can just figure out how to win a conference game again, things will really be looking up for the Razorbacks.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 11/27/2013