Why Arkansas’s annual game against Texas A&M is played in Arlington

ARLINGTON, Texas (KNWA/KFTA) — The Razorbacks and Aggies face off for the 80th time on Saturday in the Southwest Classic. However, Saturday’s game will mark the end of an era in the rivalry.

Arkansas and Texas A&M are at the end of a contract where the game is played in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. But why, were they playing there in the first place?

ARLINGTON, TX – OCTOBER 01: A general view of play between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies at Cowboys Stadium on October 1, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 26: A general view of play between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies during the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 24: Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks players line up before the snap during the Southwest Classic college football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks on September 24, 2022 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 30: A general view as the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks play in the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 30, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

In March of 2008, Arkansas announced it was renewing its rivalry with the Aggies for a decade-long series at the then-new Cowboys Stadium.

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Former Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said in the news release that the location of the game would give the Razorbacks exposure in the recruiting hotbed that is the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

“The series will also allow our university to gain more valuable exposure in the southwest and will boost recruitment of students and student-athletes,” Long said.

For Arkansas, it made sense to have a game at Cowboys Stadium since the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, is a University of Arkansas alum and co-captain of the Razorbacks’ 1964 national championship team.

The state-of-the-art stadium was completed in May 2009, just months before the first scheduled game in the series.

“I would like to thank Jerry Jones and his sons, Stephen and Jerry Jr., for their tireless efforts in putting this all together and allowing Texas A&M to become a small part of the future history of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium,” then-Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman said in the release.

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In August 2012, the contract was extended through the 2024 season after it was announced Texas A&M would move to the Southeastern Conference from the Big 12 Conference.

The 2012 and 2013 games moved to campus sites before returning back to Arlington in 2014.

In 2020, the game was moved to College Station due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned to AT&T Stadium the following year.

At SEC Media Days in August, head coach Sam Pittman was asked about the A&M game and how it takes away a home game every other year by playing it in Arlington and said, “As long as we’re involved in a game in Dallas and the game in Little Rock, we’re going to have home games that are away from our university.”

No plans of extending the contract past 2024 have been mentioned by either school.

The Razorbacks’ game against Texas A&M will be at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday on ESPN.