Calipari Doesn't Want Hogs to Forget Longtime Fans in New Policy

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Hidden amongst the circus of coach John Calipari's return to his former home court in Lexington is something that will have a much bigger long-term impact. Details on athletic director Hunter Yurachek's reseating plan for Bud Walton Arena. You can read an in-depth breakdown of the changes here and the full letter from Yurachek and Razorback Foundation executive director Ryan White here.
Details aside, the crash course is that prices are going up because of the impending House v. NCAA settlement that would require the university to come up with roughly $22 million. Hogs coach John Calipari spoke about the changes.
"We just can’t forget about those people who have been there," Calipari said. "Who had their father there, their grandfather there, that have been big supporters of this program. I think the administration has got that and they know it."
Calipari also said that the administration has guaranteed him that if you have a seat, you will have a seat. You'll just have to move around a little bit.
That's not entirely true. Even the some of the top-tier donors who currently give $20,000 will see their number of available tickets fall from 18 to potentially 10. There also is an ominous footnote where "ticket maximums are not guaranteed." Even the newly added Broyles-Matthews Diamond tier for donations over $40,000 will only get 14 seats. Calipari has been through this before.
"It’s painful," Calipari said. "To be honest, it’s painful. And again, three different places — UMass, I think we did it at Kentucky and I believe we did it at Memphis at some point because we moved, though, from the Pyramid to the FedEx Forum. So yeah, that’s all part of athletics and the changing environment."
Kentucky recently changed its season-ticket pricing ahead new coach Mark Pope's first year, but according to a UK press release, 80% ticket holders saw an increase of 5% or less, much different from the UA asking holders in some cases to pay a multiple to keep similar seating with fewer total tickets. It is important to note that the overall cost for season tickets is much higher at Kentucky, but the base tier remained unchanged in the latest price hike. You can view the difference between the prices here.
The last time the Wildcats increased ticket prices under Calipari was before the 2019-2020 season pre-NIL.
Arkansas will face No. 12 Kentucky inside Rupp Arena 8 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.