Beginning next year, the University of Arkansas will only play one football game at War Memorial, according to Harry King with the Arkansas News Bureau. Next year’s game will be against Georgia and held Oct. 18. The new contract with War Memorial and the university runs through 2018, when, I’ll not so boldly predict, it won’t be renewed.
UPDATE: The Hogs will play two SEC games and three non-conference games at War Memorial over the next five years. A UA/War Memorial Stadium Commission news conference is livestreaming here.
UA Athletic Director Jeff Long said he doesn’t know who the Razorbacks will play at War Memorial after next season because the SEC hasn’t released schedules beyond 2014.
War Memorial Stadium Commission Chair Kevin Crass said the commission hadn’t talked about renewing the contract after 2018. The stadium will receive $400,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 for the game that it’s losing. The university currently pays the stadium commission $75,000 per game. In 2017 and 2018, the university won’t pay the stadium anything.
Long said the change didn’t have to do with money. Rather, he said, it was about strategic scheduling considerations.