Trustees vote to put most games in Fayetteville

Friday, February 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- University of Arkansas trustees today voted to move most of its home football games to its Fayetteville campus. The Razorbacks will still play in Little Rock, but the vote dimmed hopes for an expanded War Memorial Stadium.

The board voted 9-1 to give Little Rock just two games each in 11 of the next 15 seasons while maintaining the current practice of giving central Arkansas three games a year in the other four years, including next season. Athletic Director Frank Broyles said the change will mean a slight increase in revenues for the athletic department, which will host campus games in a stadium being expanded from 49,000 seats to 70,000. College teams can schedule 12 games a year in six of the next 20 years and Arkansas will likely choose to play its three Little Rock games in those years.

However, the vote crimped plans for expanding the Little Rock stadium from 53,000 seats to 64,000. The vote came shortly after the board deadlocked 5-5 on a proposal to give Little Rock three games each in nine of the next 15 years and two in the other six years. "I'm thrilled," Broyles said. He said that despite the controversy that had pitted other parts of the state against northwest Arkansas, the board "gives us a chance to unify the state."

Gov. Mike Huckabee, who did not attend the meeting, said he was satisfied that the issue had gotten a full hearing. "It doesn't matter at this point whether people agree with it or not," Huckabee said. "I'm going to support the Razorbacks wherever they play."

The board also turned down an amendment that would have given Little Rock an extra game if the NCAA had approved a permanent 12 games annually for major college football teams. That question failed 6-4. The day's proceeding "gravely disappointed" the War Memorial Stadium Commission, its chairman said. "By playing only two games a year at War Memorial Stadium for 11 years, we will not be able to proceed with the stadium expansion plans presented to the board last month," Louis Schaufele said. "In our minds, a great Arkansas tradition has been severly diminished."

Huckabee said it was unlikely that the Little Rock stadium would be improved. "I don't think there is going to be the likelihoood of an expansion now in Little Rock, because without a long-term three-game committment that's won't happen," he said.

There had been some discussion previously that the university would move all home games to Fayetteville, but the idea was not offered to the board today. Maintaining some presence at Little Rock was seen as a compromise. "Everybody is going to get what they want," said Ned Purtle, a trustee from Hope. "One thing you are getting is the assurance that there will be games for the next 15 years at War Memorial Stadium." "This thing is about finance. It is about tradition and it is about the students. With this, we give the students one moregame."

The chancellor of the Fayetteville campus, John A. White, had said that freshmen retention rates suffered because only three games per year were being played on the campus. "We believe this decision is in the best interest of forging a stronger Razorback athletic program, not just in football, but in all the other men's and women's athletic programs, which football revenues support," White said after today's vote. "We want to assure everybody in the state that the Razorbacks belong to them, and that the shift in the home game schedule" will only help the school and the athletic program, White said.

The plan approved was offered by trustee Gary George. Only Bill Clark voted against it -- after offering his own plan. "I think the tradition and fan support in southern and eastern Arkansas dictate that we not forget them. I felt like it was best to keep as many three-game years here (in Little Rock). I thought the proposal that I had was a pretty good compromise," Clark said.

The school for 52 years has split the games evenly between Little Rock and Fayetteville. The compromise that Clark offered today would have given Fayetteville 69 games over the next 15 years and Little Rock 39 games.

Before the first vote, trustees said they were trying to make the best decision for both the state and for its flagship university. "Our decision today is not Little Rock or Fayetteville but the best thing for the university over time," said Frances Crawford, who favored keeping the most games at Little Rock. "I sincerely believe that the Razorbacks and the universityn eeds a venue in the central part of the state to retain their ties to the statewide fan base and support in the future," she said.

Stanley Reed, a board member from Marianna, said the Razorbacks football team was "the great common denominator in this state." "It separates the divisions between the rich and poor. The haves and the have-nots. The old and the young," he said. But, he said, the university should hold more football games on campus if it wishes to sincerely pursue its dream of a national championship in football. "If feel if we are going to accomplish our goals, pushing us to the next millennium, that we need more games on campus," he said before voting against the 69-39 split.

The Razorbacks have played at least one game at Little Rock for most of its history -- and three games in the capital city in all but one year since 1948. Broyles said the improved Fayetteville stadium would bring in more money for the athletic department, attract better recruits and perhaps lead to a national title.

Huckabee and others said before the vote that having games at Little Rock unites the state, making Arkansas' flagship university accessible to folks "from Eureka Springs to Eudora." In every year since 1932, Arkansas has split its home games between its Fayetteville campus and Little Rock. Convenience was a key; until last year, there was no four-lane road into Fayetteville from the rest of the state.

Since 1948, Little Rock and Fayetteville each have hosted at least three Razorback games, except there were only two at Little Rock in 1954 and at Fayetteville in 1985. In 106 years of Razorback football, at least one game has been played at Little Rock in 83 years.

Both Razorback Stadium and War Memorial Stadium are small by Southeastern Conference and national standards. Even with improvements at both sites, they would still be among the SEC's smaller venues. Arkansas' continued practice of splitting home games between two stadiums makes it an oddity in major college football. No other team that finished in The Associated Press Top 25 last year played such a split home schedule, even those not located in major population centers.

Most recently, Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State abandoned the practice of splitting games between their campuses and their states' largest cities. In announcing his intention to move at least one game to Fayetteville, Broyles said last April that additional money was needed to compete in the SEC. Some programs pull in $20 million from football, but Arkansas was taking in less than $10 million, he said. Also, the Southeastern Conference limits the number of Little Rock games to which the University of Arkansas can invite football recruits.