Southwest Classic future

Future of the Southwest Classic

This weekend the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies will meet for the 68th time on the gridiron in what is now known as The Southwest Classic. When this game was put together by Jerry Jones, Jeff Long, and Bill Byrne 4 years ago it was thought that this game could become one of the top non conference rivalries in the country. The two teams had not met in 18 years, but having been old Southwest Conference Rivals for seven decades gave this rivalry big potential, especially with it being played at Cowboys Stadium. With A&M now joining the SEC how will this impact the rivalry?

Most Hog and Aggies fans will never admit that their top rival is one another. Both schools will tell you that the teasippers from TU are a big reason both schools are in the SEC today. The A&M-Texas Rivalry has been one of the top instate rivalries in the country for decades and that is well known, but younger generations might not realize how big the Arkansas-Texas Rivalry once was. The Hog fans hate for Texas is deep and many still older fans consider the Longhorns Arkansas' biggest rivalry. Don't let the hatred for Texas fool you though, A&M and Arkansas also have a great rivalry.

Arkansas leads the series 40-24-3, but there have been some memorable games on both ends. Hog fans will point to the 1975 game where the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies came to Little Rock to play the 8-2 Arkansas Razorbacks. A&M was 10-0 and would've been playing for a National Championship with a win. The Aggies entered the 75 game allowing only 7 points per game, but Frank Broyles had his team ready and the Hogs whipped the Aggies 31-6 to claim the Southwest Conference Championship and a trip to the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M fans will point to the 1985 game that helped secure the Southwest Conference Championship for the Aggies.
Arkansas was ranked #9, but the Aggies defense was stiff all day as Kip Corrington and Darrell Austin intercepted the Hogs twice and Domingo Bryant recovered two fumbles giving A&M a 10-6 victory.

When Arkansas left the SWC in 1991 the Hogs and Aggies had been the only 2 teams to win the Southwest Conference Championship from 1985-1991. These two programs had a combined 30 SWC Championships and were without a doubt 2 of the 3 best progams in the league along with Texas.

Today the rivalry has taken on a new meaning. Neither Arkansas or A&M have won conference championships in the last decade, but it is obvious that both programs are headed in the right direction. The two teams combined for 19 wins a season ago and both ended the year ranked in the top 20. This year's game features a matchup between two top 20 teams and both programs have legit shots at BCS appearances if they finish the season strong. This game is likely a BCS elimination game for one of the two teams involved. Mike Sherman and Bobby Petrino both seem committed to their respective programs, so expect the Southwest Classic to be a matchup of top 25 teams for many years to come.

I attended this game in 2009 and had a fantastic time meeting up with Hog and Aggie fans.  The 2 groups of fans seemed to get along very well with each other and there was a respect there for both athletic program.  The venue, Cowboy Stadium, is amazing and certainly a somewhere every football fan should visit.  There were slightly more Aggie fans at the game than Razorbacks, probably 55% Aggies and 45% Hogs.  Driving around Dallas that week it was obvious that this was the biggest game in town. 

While this game was originally signed on for 10 years to be played at Cowboy Stadium, this might have to become a home and home series at each school's campus starting next season. Arkansas' commitment to playing two games a year(1 SEC, 1 non SEC) in Little Rock means that Fayetteville would lose a SEC game each season. Athletic Director Jeff Long's RSVP program to help build better facilities on campus can't afford to anger those in Northwest Arkansas by giving those fans only two SEC games a year in Fayetteville.

The issue then becomes how does Long and the Arkansas program keep 3 SEC games in Fayetteville and still get money and exposure in Arlington's Cowboy Stadium? Jerry Jones wants his alma mater to play at his stadium, so he would likely be willing to pay good money to get another out of conference game for the Hogs in Dallas. Arkansas does have a series with TCU scheduled in the next few years. Certainly Jones, TCU, and Arkansas could come to an agreement to have a series at Jerry World. If not then there are plenty of other options for the Hogs. Texas Tech or Oklahoma State would seem like natural options as both programs would love to get exposure in DFW as well, but what if the Hogs thought outside the box a little. How about an Arkansas Challenge to the country each year in Dallas? Arkansas could put together a 10 year deal with Jones to play the big boys of college football. Every school in the nation wants exposure in Texas and would love to play in a state of the art season. Imagine Hog fans a game each year against schools like Notre Dame, Oregon, Florida State, Michigan, and Southern Cal. This would be a huge money maker for all involved and would be a fantastic recruiting tool for Arkansas.

As for A&M and Jerry World the Aggies also have options. A&M could do something similar to what the Hogs would do. LSU has shown they are willing to play in Dallas, so why not an annual A&M-LSU game in Dallas? If not then the Aggies could pickup some old rivals from the Big XII.

Saturday will once again bring an end to a great chapter in Texas A&M and Arkansas Football as both schools meet the final time as non conference rivals. If this game continues in Dallas then it will become one of the top neutral site rivalries in the country. If this moves to a home and home rivalry, then the passion behind the game won't end and both schools are certain to keep their programs playing in Arlington for many years to come.

Matt Barber
Dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/#!/dixiefriedsport