Razorbacks to play Arkansas State in football

War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock is shown in a 2014 file photo.
War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock is shown in a 2014 file photo.

— The University of Arkansas and state officials announced Wednesday major changes to the school’s football scheduling in Little Rock, including a ground-breaking game against Arkansas State at War Memorial Stadium.

The Razorbacks and Red Wolves are scheduled to play their first-ever football game Sept. 6, 2025. The scheduling of the game comes less than a year after Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek removed a decades-old all-sports scheduling ban against all teams from the state.

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Playing Arkansas State is part of several modifications to the Razorbacks' agreement with the the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, which oversees the stadium.

The changes include bringing the Missouri games to campus to prevent the Razorbacks from having only two on-campus conference games in 2021 and ’23, years in which Arkansas is the designated home team in its Southwest Classic series against Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas.

In exchange, War Memorial Stadium will receive more nonconference games in the coming years, including a first-ever game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Oct. 23.

Other future games scheduled to be played in Little Rock include season-opening games against Western Carolina on Sept. 2, 2023, and UAPB on Aug. 31, 2024.

“We are grateful to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and War Memorial Stadium for working with us to be able to host some historic in-state matchups at War Memorial Stadium, while also allowing us to host Southeastern Conference games on our campus,” Yurachek said in a statement announcing the change. “The Razorback program belongs to our entire state and as we have shown in many of our sports, it is important that we continue to maintain a presence in Central Arkansas. It is also essential we provide our coaching staff the opportunity to showcase our campus during SEC games to potential student-athletes.”

Arkansas has also added a Sept. 14, 2024, game against Alabama-Birmingham in Fayetteville. That game replaces a previously scheduled game against Kent State, which was moved to Sept. 9, 2023.

The Razorbacks' new agreement with War Memorial Stadium removes some conditions in previous agreements between the parties, including revenue and attendance benchmarks for each game. A requirement for Arkansas to play its spring football game in Little Rock in 2022 and 2024 was also removed.

Last year the SEC rejected the Razorbacks' request to play a spring football game in Little Rock, citing league rules related to off-campus practices. Arkansas' 2020 spring game was canceled after the outbreak of covid-19.

Prior to last season, Arkansas had played at least one football game in Little Rock every season since 1932, including every year at War Memorial Stadium since its opening in 1948.

Before improved infrastructure eased travel to Fayetteville, games in Little Rock were seen as vital to the Razorbacks' accessibility and popularity throughout the state. In some seasons Arkansas played as many as four football games in Little Rock.

But War Memorial's wear — coupled with hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to the Razorbacks' on-campus stadium in Fayetteville — has led to a decreased presence in Little Rock since the turn of the century. Since 2000 the Razorbacks have modified multiple agreements with the stadium to lengthen the amount of years they play there, but decrease the number of overall games.

With four games over five seasons, the new agreement actually adds to the number of games Arkansas is scheduled to play in Little Rock. The Razorbacks were scheduled to play three games there over a five-year span previously.

Since 2018 the stadium has completed more than $2.1 million in renovations. The upgrades include new field turf, enhanced WiFi connectivity, new speakers and renovations to the locker rooms for the visiting team and game officials.

The upgrades were paid for through a $2.5 million grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC) and $340,000 in governor’s discretionary funds, according to the War Memorial Stadium Commission.

When the Razorbacks played their last game at the stadium in 2019, War Memorial officials were in the early stages of designing a 3,221-square foot home locker room that would cost between $700,000 and $950,000.

"We look forward to showcasing an improved venue and to welcoming people from across the state and beyond to historic War Memorial Stadium," said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Parks Department.

In addition to Arkansas, the 2025 schedule for Arkansas State also includes a home game against Iowa State. The Red Wolves were contracted to play at Texas A&M that year, but will move that game to accommodate the one against the Razorbacks.

"I'm happy the two FBS university football teams in our great state of Arkansas will have an opportunity to participate in a regional matchup at War Memorial Stadium in our capital city of Little Rock," Arkansas State athletics director Terry Mohajir said in a statement.

"As an athletics director, you're always trying to provide an opportunity for your students and university community to experience an exciting atmosphere. I appreciate Hunter's willingness to provide those experiences for his school as well."

Bob Holt contributed

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