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Texas A&M vs. Arkansas Southwest Classic Matchup 'Could be a Challenge Moving Forward'

With impending changes to league scheduling upon the Aggies and the rest of the SEC, Texas A&M's annual matchup against the Razorbacks in AT&T Stadium could be seeing its last iteration this season.

Matt Guzman

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One particular week Texas A&M Aggies fans tend to look forward to during the football season doesn't look like much to the rest of the football world.

It isn't opening night or the annual end-of-year matchup against LSU near Thanksgiving, but rather the Aggies' trip to Arlington, where they play Arkansas in AT&T Stadium. 

Since the series was coined the Southwest Classic in 2008, both schools have met in Arlington a total of 11 times. From the span of 2009-11, the Razorbacks took three straight games before the Aggies joined the SEC to make it a conference matchup. 

After a home-and-home for the first two seasons of Texas A&M's conference membership, the game continued to be played in Arlington, and the Aggies have since dominated — likely the reason many fans look forward to the game. 

Despite a loss in 2021, the Aggies have won 10 of the past 11 matchups, including a nine-game win streak from 2012-2020. However, now that changes are imminent in the SEC, conference scheduling could look a lot different and the annual matchup may no longer be on the docket for either school.

“If we do play A&M in 2024, what the league has agreed to is that it will be A&M’s home game," Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek told Whole Hog Sports. "[It would be] the Aggies’ year to serve as host, and would be played at AT&T Stadium to fulfill that last year of the contract.”

The contract in question has tied the game to the venue until 2024, meaning there will be a Southwest Classic game this season, but if neither team is slated to play one another with the arrivals of Texas and Oklahoma, contract extensions would be unnecessary.  

“I think playing a game there every year is going to be a challenge moving forward,” Yurachek added. 

Last year, the annual matchup saw the Aggies resume their winning ways against the Razorbacks, taking the game 23-21 for one of their two conference victories, and this year coach Jimbo Fisher's squad will look to do it again.  

Losing the Southwest Classic may not be the end of the world for Aggie fans, but it is a matchup that's become a staple in Texas A&M's fall schedule. It would be strange not to see the Cowboys' logos all over the stadium, but then again, perhaps an annual rivalry with Texas could make up for it.

This year's Southwest Classic is set for Saturday, Sept. 30 at AT&T Center in Arlington. 

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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