The Arkansas Razorbacks expect benefits from longtime rival Texas A&M (Courtesy Photo).
By Harold McIlvain II
The Arkansas Razorback football team hasn’t played Texas A&M since 1991 when the Razorbacks left the old Southwest Conference.
But now with a 10-year contract pairing the teams to play at the new state-of-the-art Cowboys Stadium, the Razorbacks are expecting benefits from the Southwest Classic and the old rivalry.
When building the $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium, owner Jerry Jones wanted the facility to be a spectacle.
The Arkansas graduate said he had a vision to create a stadium that would remind him of his former college town.
“My dream when I was building Cowboys Stadium was that it could become Arkansas Razorback Stadium west,” Jones said during a press conference in Northwest Arkansas. “And I think that is what it is. I envision one side of the plaza to look just like Fayetteville, Ark.”
Jones said the facility would show potential recruits a stadium they could play at.
“It’s important that fans know that you are supporting the Razorbacks with a ticket purchase,” Jones said. “But it also shows support to the North Texas area, which is the greatest recruiting area in the country. They have the best football players in the country. North Texas is critical for the future of the Razorbacks.”
And Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said the evidence has shown with more than 20 players currently on the roster.
But Petrino said Arkansas needs to do keep doing a good job in the state that has produced a starting quarterback, a defensive end, a middle linebacker and two safeties for the team.
“It’s an area that we have said would be more of an emphasis (for our staff),” Petrino said. “We are wanting to work hard and get the best players out of there. We have had some success from there in the last recruiting class.”
| Texas natives in recruiting classes at Arkansas: 2010: 2* |
But Petrino said there is more talent to obtain in Texas.
Texas has produced more than 970 college football recruits in the last four years, according to SI.com recruiting writer Andy Staples.
Jones, who was a co-captain of the Razorback football team during the national championship season of 1964, said the Southwest Classic was a needed strategic move to add more players from Texas.
“This is a strategic move for the university and for the fans to support the Razorbacks playing in Dallas, Texas,” Jones said. “Because that’s how you are going to get the attention of some of the finest athletes to come play football in Northwest Arkansas.”
Jones said the NFL connection with the team should help sell recruits who have interest in Arkansas.
“Grandmothers and mothers of high school athletes like to know they will see their son play in Razorback Stadium west,” Jones said. “Kids love to have a connection to the NFL. And there isn’t a mothers and grandmothers that doesn’t envision their son playing in the NFL.”
With Texas schools having spring practices--which Arkansas doesn’t have--players are able to gain more football knowledge and experience over a high school career.
“If the NFL allowed the Cowboys the ability to draw a line around North Texas and let us have just those players, we would win a Super Bowl every year,” Jones said.
However, Arkansas will miss an opportunity for recruits to make official visits during this weekend because of it being a neutral site game, which is critical part of the recruiting process, an Arkansas official said.
Arkansas plans to offset the negative by heavily recruiting the area during the weekend while also getting exposure with the game being televised in primetime.
But the Razorbacks will not benefit from just recruiting visibility. Both Arkansas and Texas A&M are guaranteed $5 million for the game, according to the Southwest Classic contract.
The two schools will also split evenly the use of 16 suites while also receiving staff to manage the game at no cost from Jones, which creates an opportunity for more revenue for the schools.
Jones said he expected the two schools to sell out the 82,000 seat stadium despite tickets starting at $150 and ranging to $300 for club seats. Student tickets for the event is $50, which costs over six times more than a student season package.
As of Thursday afternoon, tickets were still available for the event.
But because of the nature of the rivalry, Petrino said he expected fans to show up in great numbers.
“Ever since I’ve got here, there has been a lot of people who have talked about the rivalry,” Petrino said. “And the Dallas area has been a great source of our fans base. I know to restart the rivalry from the Southwest Conference days is huge for our fans.”
According to the contract, the Razorbacks were given approximately 34,500 tickets that went on sale to the general public in March. Despite having about 37,000 less tickets to sell if it were a Fayetteville, Ark., home game, the Arkansas program expects to make more money.
And the additional money will help the program with funds outside of the yearly Southeastern Conference revenue sharing plan, which distributed $132.5 million last year to the 12 conference schools.
However, Texas A&M has sold more tickets than Arkansas by pricing lower quality stadium locations for $85.
But because of scheduling conflicts, Arkansas had to push another rivalry out of the way with the Texas Longhorns until after 2014 to make way for the Southwest Classic.
And because of having to schedule a bye week so early in the season, the Razorbacks played only one game into the season before taking a week off from the schedule.
“There were some issues with the bye week,” Petrino said. “It was something we couldn’t get around. It’s something you don’t necessarily want early on in the season.”
The clause tacked on the back of this sentence is confusing.
ReplyDelete--The Arkansas graduate said he had a vision to create a stadium that would remind him of the stadium he once played in--for at least a game during the Southwest Classic.
Did you interview him? Or is this from other material? When interviewing hot shots like this, you need to specify.
--“My dream when I was building Cowboys Stadium was that it could become Arkansas Razorback Stadium west,” Jones said. “And I think that is what it is. I envision one side of the plaza to look just like Fayetteville, Ark.”
I know this is a rough draft, but be sure you do better than to just stack quotes from Jones.
Why does he think playing games in NOrth Texas will do anything for the Razorbacks? And does anyone else agree?
Find someone who is not your friend:
--But Matt Jones, who follows recruiting for Hawgs Illustrated, said the results have shown up for Arkansas yet
You need to state that Matt Jones and Jerry Jones aren't related.
Not sure how relevant this is:
--The two schools will also split evenly the use of 16 suites while also receiving staff to manage the game at no cost from Jerry Jones.
Like Prof. Schulte said, you need to differentiate between Jerry Jones and Matt Jones, could confuse the reader.
ReplyDeleteMaybe include an anecdote of an old A & M/Arkansas game, just to give reader a glimpse of why the game holds historical significance.
It might also be advisable to explain how big a spectacle this new stadium is and how the facility might be a draw for recruits, that they can put on the Razorback uniform and play in that stadium.
What year did he graduate?
ReplyDelete--The Arkansas graduate said he had a vision to create a stadium that would remind him of his former college town.
Don't get this. Rephrase?
--And Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said the evidence has shown with more than 20 players currently on the roster.
Good stuff to include. Makes it much more convincing.
--Texas has produced more than 970 college football recruits in the last four years, according to SI.com recruiting writer Andy Staples
Okay, but let's be sure to mention what he gets out of it. What DOES he get out of it? Anything?
--Jones, who was a co-captain of the Razorback football team during the national championship season of 1964, said the Southwest Classic was a needed strategic move to add more players from Texas.
Did he really say "mothers and grandmothers?"If so, you might want to clean this up a bit, as a courtesy.
--nd there isn’t a mothers and grandmothers that doesn’t envision their son playing in the NFL.”
Again with the unnecessary plurals. Is this a symptom of RazorbackS fever?
--“And the Dallas area has been a great source of our fans base.
This stuff at the end seems tacked on:
--But because of scheduling conflicts, Arkansas had to push another rivalry out of the way with the Texas Longhorns until after 2014 to make way for the Southwest Classic.
And because of having to schedule a bye week so early in the season, the Razorbacks played only one game into the season before taking a week off from the schedule.
“There were some issues with the bye week,” Petrino said. “It was something we couldn’t get around. It’s something you don’t necessarily want early on in the season.”
Overall, this is much better. Omitting Matt Jones and including real examples about Texas recruiting makes a world of difference. This reporting is much better.
By the way, I like Oxford's suggestion that you include some historical example to illustrate the rivalry, which I think you could return to lower in the story.