An exhibition game that has been discussed for nearly two months has finally been added to the 2024-25 Arkansas basketball schedule.
The John Calipari era will unofficially begin when the Razorbacks host Kansas at Bud Walton Arena in a charity exhibition game.
Fans were first tipped off about the matchup when Calipari revealed it was “in the works” during a press conference on July 29. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein then reported on Sept. 4 that the two teams would in fact play in Fayetteville, but no date was set.
That date has now been finalized: Oct. 25. That is the Friday night before the Arkansas football team plays an early game at Mississippi State.
A week after playing the Jayhawks, the Razorbacks will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for another charity exhibition against a Big 12 foe. They’ll be playing TCU in its home city, but the Nov. 1 matchup will technically be at a neutral site — the 14,000-seat Dickies Arena instead of the Horned Frogs’ 6,800-seat Schollmaier Arena.
This marks the fourth time in five years that the UA has taken advantage of the NCAA rule that allows preseason exhibitions against Division I schools as long as the games raise funds for a specific cause.
After hosting Little Rock and North Texas in 2019 and 2021, respectively, the Razorbacks took a major step up in competition by traveling to No. 11 Texas in 2022 and hosting No. 3 Purdue last year. (There were no exhibition games in 2020 because of the pandemic.)
Playing two such games is new to college basketball, as teams were previously limited to only one public exhibition against a Division I opponent. The second preseason contest had to either be a so-called “secret scrimmage” that wasn’t publicized or against a non-DI school.
Context for Arkansas vs Kansas
TCU is a former Southwest Conference rival and has made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but the headliner is welcoming Kansas to Fayetteville for the first time since 1987.
That game 37 years ago proved to be one of Nolan Richardson’s first marquee wins. The second-year coach’s unranked Razorbacks knocked off Larry Brown’s No. 6 Jayhawks 103-86 inside Barnhill Arena, despite 26 points and 17 rebounds from Danny Manning.
More recently, Arkansas and Kansas squared off in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Devo Davis led the Razorbacks to a 72-71 upset in Des Moines, Iowa, and gave a memorable postgame interview alongside Eric Musselman on CBS.
With starters Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris Jr. returning, plus the addition of several high-profile transfers, the Jayhawks are expected to be one of the best teams in the country this season. In fact, they are No. 1 in ESPN’s way-too-early top-25 poll.
If it occupies that spot in the preseason AP Poll when it’s released in mid-October, Kansas would become just the fourth non-conference team Arkansas has played outside of the postseason.
This game obviously won’t count in the record books like the others, but the Razorbacks lost to a John Wooden-coached No. 1 UCLA team on the road in 1973, beat a Michael Jordan-led No. 1 North Carolina team in Pine Bluff in 1984 and 33 years ago lost the epic No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup with UNLV at Barnhill Arena in 1991.
Of course, it’s worth noting that these preseason games aren’t always an indicator of what’s to come during the actual season. Two years ago, the Razorbacks lost to Texas by 30, but eventually reached the Sweet 16. Last year, they knocked off Purdue in overtime, but finished under .500 while the Boilermakers were national runner-up to UConn.
Tickets for Arkansas vs Kansas
Similar to last year’s charity exhibition against Purdue, this game will not be part of the Arkansas basketball season ticket package.
Tickets will be available to Razorback Foundation members on a schedule based on their donation level, which is laid out below, before becoming available to the general public:
- Broyles-Matthews Platinum: Sept. 19 (Thursday) 19 at 9 a.m.
- Broyles-Matthews Gold: Sept. 19 (Thursday) 19 at 2 p.m.
- Broyles-Matthews Silver: Sept. 20 (Friday) at 10 a.m.
- Super Hog / Wild Hog / Tush Hog: Sept. 23 (Monday) at 9 a.m.
- Big Hog / Big Red / Razorback: Sept. 24 (Tuesday) at 9 a.m.
- Current courtside seat holders and suite holders will receive information from the Razorback Ticket Center in the near future on purchasing their seats for this game.
- Tickets will be available to the general public on Sept. 25 (Wednesday) at 9 a.m.
Other Key Dates
Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari also announced several other key dates Wednesday morning.
- Oct. 6: Women’s Clinic – Calipari said registration will open soon and each participant will receive an autographed basketball
- Oct. 9: Pro Day – All 30 NBA teams will be in attendance
- Oct. 12: Tip-Off Tour Event in Hot Springs
- Oct. 13: Tip-Off Tour Event in Pine Bluff
- Calipari said there will be Samaritan’s Feet events at both locations, with the team give away 3,000 pairs of shoes
Complete 2024-25 Arkansas Basketball Schedule
Here is what’s believed be the full schedule for John Calipari’s first season in charge of the Arkansas basketball program:
| Date | Opponent | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 25 | Kansas | Fayetteville, AR | Charity exhibition |
| Fri, Nov 1 | vs. TCU | Fort Worth, TX | Charity exhibition |
| Wed, Nov 6 | Lipscomb | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Nov 9 | vs. Baylor | Dallas, TX | |
| Wed, Nov 13 | Troy | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Mon, Nov 18 | Pacific | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Fri, Nov 22 | Little Rock | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Mon, Nov 25 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Thu, Nov 28 | vs. Illinois | Kansas City, MO | |
| Tue, Dec 3 | @ Miami (FL) | Coral Gables, FL | ACC/SEC Challenge |
| Sat, Dec 7 | Texas-San Antonio | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Tue, Dec 10 | vs. Michigan | New York, NY | Jimmy V Classic |
| Sat, Dec 14 | vs. Central Arkansas | North Little Rock, AR | |
| Sun, Dec 22 | North Carolina A&T | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Mon, Dec 30 | Oakland | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Jan 4 | @ Tennessee* | Knoxville, TN | |
| Tue/Wed, Jan 7/8 | Ole Miss* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Jan 11 | Florida* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Tue/Wed, Jan 14/15 | @ LSU* | Baton Rouge, LA | |
| Sat, Jan 18 | @ Missouri* | Columbia, MO | |
| Tue/Wed, Jan 21/22 | Georgia* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Jan 25 | Oklahoma* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Feb 1 | @ Kentucky* | Lexington, KY | |
| Tue/Wed, Feb 4/5 | @ Texas* | Austin, TX | |
| Sat, Feb 8 | Alabama* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Tue/Wed, Feb 11/12 | LSU* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Feb 15 | @ Texas A&M* | College Station, TX | |
| Tue/Wed, Feb 18/19 | @ Auburn* | Auburn, AL | |
| Sat, Feb 22 | Missouri* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Tue/Wed, Feb 25/26 | Texas* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Sat, Mar 1 | @ South Carolina* | Columbia, SC | |
| Tue/Wed, Mar 4/5 | @ Vanderbilt* | Nashville, TN | |
| Sat, Mar 8 | Mississippi St.* | Fayetteville, AR | |
| Mar 12-16 | vs. TBA | Nashville, TN | SEC Tournament |
***
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