FAYETTEVILLE — CBS released it’s broadcast schedule for the 2018 college football season Wednesday, but hasn’t specified a game for the Friday after Thanksgiving.
That’s right, Arkansas fans, the annual tradition of a game on that date may not be in the cards this year for the Razorbacks.
The CBS release usually coincides each year with the SEC’s spring meetings and the past four years has included the network’s intention to broadcast the Arkansas-Missouri game.
Not this year, at least right now.
“We will have additional TV details come out in coming weeks and I believe that Friday game would be announced between now and media days,” SEC director of communication Chuck Dunlap said in an e-mail.
Since the Hogs entered the league in 1992, they have played on the Friday after Thanksgiving 20 of the last 22 seasons. The first time they moved the LSU game to that date was in 1996.
Arkansas and LSU played on that date every year from 1996-2008. The network talked Alabama coach Nick Saban into moving the Iron Bowl game with Auburn to that date for two years, but he didn’t like it and the Hogs-Tigers were back there for the 2011-13 seasons.
Then the network wanted LSU-Texas A&M on the final weekend of the season as Missouri moved into the Razorbacks’ permanent East opponent and the game moved to the final week of the season.
Arkansas and Missouri have played on the Friday date the last four years. There are some who believe that matchup is still under consideration for the national television date that does have some value in exposure to the program, which is why Frank Broyles lobbied to get it for the Hogs back in the mid-90’s.
With the delay, it is safe to assume CBS and the SEC are at the very least exploring options.
Here are the other games for that final weekend:
• Ole Miss at Mississippi State (Thanksgiving Day)
• Arkansas at Missouri
• Auburn at Alabama
• Florida at Florida State
• Georgia Tech at Georgia
• Kentucky at Louisville
• LSU at Texas A&M
• South Carolina at Clemson
• Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Out of the eight possible matchups, we can eliminate the Iron Bowl because neither Saban or Gus Malzahn wants the change in their regular schedule. Both detest any change of routine and have enough clout to avoid moving the game.
Everything else is wide open at this point. LSU-Texas A&M is a likely candidate and there is the possibility of ESPN putting an SEC matchup on Friday night.
The Arkansas-Missouri game has drawn an annual average TV audience of more than 2.9 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch.
