FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas will play its 2012 football game against LSU at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, the school announced Friday.
The game between the two schools has been played in Little Rock the last nine times when the Razorbacks were the home team. Arkansas and LSU haven’t met in Fayetteville since 1992.
The game, currently scheduled for Nov. 24, will likely be moved to Nov. 23 to accommodate a national TV audience, though that determination has yet to be made. The Razorbacks and Tigers have met on the Friday after Thanksgiving 15 times since 1995 with the game televised by CBS.
The 2011 matchup between then-No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Arkansas was the third-most watched regular season football game of the year, according to CBS.
Tickets for the game in Arkansas have been difficult to obtain in recent years, which was one of several reasons cited for the change. Arkansas’ on-campus stadium has a listed capacity of 72,000, while War Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 53,955.
“Playing the LSU game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium directly benefits our program in a number of ways including most importantly providing an additional 20,000 Razorback fans an opportunity to cheer on our team and in this great rivalry game,” Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long said in a release. “By rearranging the rotation and playing the regular season finale in Fayetteville, it will also prevent our team from a competitive disadvantage of traveling three straight weekends in the most crucial part of the season.
“Playing on campus will also allow our football program the recruiting advantage of hosting prospects for a game that has traditionally carried conference and national implications.”
As a result of moving the game against the LSU, Arkansas will face Ole Miss at War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 27. The Razorbacks are under contract to play two games – including one conference game – in Little Rock through the 2016 season.
Arkansas has played Ole Miss 15 times in Little Rock dating back to 1915. The city serves as a midway point between the schools’ campuses and hasn’t hosted the game since 1992.
“For Razorback fans, the Arkansas–Ole Miss game in Little Rock has a long and storied history,” War Memorial Stadium Commission chairman Kevin Crass said in a release. “War Memorial Stadium is excited to host the 2012 matchup, which will mark only the second time the Rebels have visited Little Rock since Arkansas joined the SEC.”
In addition to Ole Miss, Arkansas will play Louisiana-Monroe there on Sept. 8.
The Razorbacks also announced a two-year home-and-home series against Rutgers on Friday. Arkansas will host Rutgers on Sept. 22 in Fayetteville and will travel to the Scarlet Knights’ campus in Piscataway, N.J. on Sept. 21, 2013. The two programs have never met in football.
“It is a constant priority to secure marquee scheduling opportunities for our football program and our fans,”Rutgers athletics director Tim Pernetti said in a release. “This home-and-home series with Arkansas clearly illustrates another enhancement of that strategy. We are excited to have the Razorbacks as the first-ever SEC opponent to play at High Point Solutions Stadium.”
Rutgers will replace Texas A&M as Arkansas’ marquee nonconference game next season. The Razorbacks and Aggies were scheduled to play in a nonconference game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas through the 2018 season, but Texas A&M will become a member of the Southeastern Conference later this year.
Texas A&M has expressed the desire to move that game to the schools’ campuses, while Arkansas wants to keep the game in the Dallas suburb. No time table has been set for a resolution to the dispute.
2012 Arkansas Football Schedule
Sept. 1 – Jacksonville State (Fayetteville)
Sept. 8 – Louisiana-Monroe (Little Rock)
Sept. 15 – Alabama (Fayetteville)
Sept. 22 – Rutgers (Fayetteville)
Sept. 29 – Texas A&M (College Station, Texas or Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas)
Oct. 6 – Auburn (Auburn, Ala.)
Oct. 13 – Kentucky (Fayetteville)
Oct. 20 – Open Week
Oct. 27 – Ole Miss (Little Rock)
Nov. 3 – Tulsa (Fayetteville)
Nov. 10 – South Carolina (Columbia, S.C.)
Nov. 17 – Mississippi State (Starkville, Miss.)
Nov. 24 – LSU (Fayetteville)
You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
That Alabama game early in the season is a big one and will be telling.
It’s basically the same set up as last year. I said it then and I will say it again: If we can beat Bama, it has the chance to be a “special” year. If we lose that one, we have to win every game up until 24 Nov, and hope to beat LSU and get some help. Two really tough stretches with Bama, @A&M and @ Auburn in a four week period and then closing with @SC, @Miss St and vs. LSU. That’s life in the SEC West these days.
Wow, the stretch from Sept. 15 through Oct. 6 is huge. We have a ton on the table in that stretch.
I love LSU in Fayetteville. Makes complete sense, and Long makes a compelling argument. Ole Miss in Little Rock feels right, too.
By the way, looking at the dates, are there no open weeks?
Right there… where it says Oct. 20 Open Week
Unless there is a specific contract provision to the contrary, the A&M game should remain in Arlington.
I can certainly understand why the Aggies would prefer otherwise, but there is no reason to roll over on this issue, unless their entry into the SEC somehow nullifies the contract.
Only way i see Hogs loseing to Alabama this year is intimadation,or a mental Block,other than that if the game is based on Phsycial performace and speed Hogs should carry the day,especialy with Richardson Kirepatrick and Hightower gone,i know Alabama has other good players but not like those three Semi Pros.
I like this schedule. The Ole Miss/LSU location flip makes perfect sense.
Great to hear! It will be ROCKING when the Bayou Bangles step into RRS.
Love it!!! Wish Rutgers was before Bama to allow a more competitive tune up. This schedule is packed with excitement as always!!
Wish they had addressed A&M’s arrogance before allowing them to join the SEC. They still view us as backwoods Arkansas not Arkansas that we are. No complaints with the schedule (Rutgers) especially with the New York market tuned in. Here is hoping LSU comes to Fayetteville to be greeted by a snowstorm and a undefeated Razorback team.
I hope MA uses the Rutger matchup years to go after some of the northeast basketball talent, its loaded up here! Get some prospects and take them to the games and show em the Razorback fans. We could use some more Darrel Walker and Kareem Reid style players from up in this part of the country.