Why Arkansas is not playing on Black Friday this year

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Black Friday will look a little different this year for Razorback fans with the matchup against Missouri on a Saturday.

Since Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992, the team has played on Black Friday 27 out of those 33 years. Most of those games were played against LSU in the Battle for the Golden Boot.

However, in 2014, the LSU game was moved to earlier in the season and Missouri was the last team on the Razorbacks’ schedule. The two play for the Battle Line Rivalry trophy.

All but one game against Missouri has been played on a Friday. The lone game was in 2020 during a pandemic-altered schedule.

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29 Nov 1996: Jeremy Flowers of the Arkansas Razorback sacks quarterback Herb Tyler of the Louisiana State Tigers at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. Louisiana State won the game 17-7. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/Allsport

LITTLE ROCK, AR – NOVEMBER 28: Nathan Dick #10 of the Arkansas Razorbacks gets tackled by Kelvin Sheppard #11 and Tramaine Johnson #47 of the LSU Tigers at War Memorial Stadium on November 28, 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 31-30. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

BATON ROUGE, LA – NOVEMBER 29: Zach Mettenberger #8 of the LSU Tigers is sacked by Trey Flowers #86 of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Tiger Stadium on November 29, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – NOVEMBER 27: Russell Hansbrough #32 of the Missouri Tigers runs the ball and is tackled by Tevin Beanum #97 of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium Stadium on November 27, 2015 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 28-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – NOVEMBER 26: De”u2019Vion Warren #10 of the Arkansas Razorbacks runs the ball during a game against the Missouri Tigers at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 26, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 34-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

After the 2023 season, the SEC’s long contract with CBS came to an end. Every Black Friday game Arkansas has played as an SEC member was on that channel.

Beginning in 2024, ESPN and ABC had exclusive rights to SEC football games. In the 2024 schedule, two SEC games were scheduled for Black Friday, but none of them were the Battle Line Rivalry.

The two are the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, a rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech.

This season, Arkansas and Missouri will face off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 30 on the SEC Network.