FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Just after sunrise Friday, the Southeastern Conference delivered its annual summer jolt to college basketball fans with the release of the 2025-26 men’s basketball league schedule.
For Arkansas, the announcement was more than a list of dates and destinations and it starts the clocking ticking on expectation.
In his second season, coach John Calipari will guide Arkansas through a gauntlet of classic rivalries and new-look showdowns. The Razorbacks will face LSU, Missouri, and Auburn twice each on a home-and-home basis. It’s a scheduling quirk that both honors long-standing SEC tradition and introduces fresh intrigue.
The rest of the league, from Kentucky to Texas, will hit Fayetteville just once, a format that places a premium on every home-court advantage.
Arkansas’ home slate reads like a who’s who of college basketball: Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt all make the trip to Bud Walton Arena.
Road games at Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma round out a schedule that doesn’t have many breaks.
SEC play tips off January 3 and stretches to the first week of March, a two-month stretch that can be brutal.
For Arkansas fans, the highlight may be the continuation of two of the SEC’s most contentious home-and-home series against LSU and Missouri.
The Razorbacks and Tigers have met at least twice a season since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991, missing the double-dip only twice in over three decades.
Arkansas holds a 40-32 edge in those matchups, making LSU the Razorbacks’ most frequent SEC opponent.
Missouri, meanwhile, has faced Arkansas home-and-home every year since joining the league in 2012, with the Hogs claiming wins in eight of the last 10 meetings.
It’s the addition of Auburn to the home-and-home list that stands out this year. The last time these two programs met twice in the regular season was 2017-18, a split series that saw each side defend its home court.
“Auburn is one of those programs you can’t sleep on,” said Calipari earlier this spring. “They play with toughness, and we know every trip to Auburn is a fight.”
If there’s an undercurrent running through this schedule, it’s the sense of renewal.
“It’s a new day in Fayetteville,” he told local reporters. “We have the pieces, the passion, and now, the schedule to prove ourselves. Every night in this league is a war, and that’s exactly how we want it.”
On the heels of a Sweet 16 run, with ESPN’s “Way Too Early” rankings placing Arkansas firmly in the national conversation for 2025-26. That raises expectations, too.
The roster, with a top-tier recruiting class and key transfers, is built for SEC battles being long, athletic, and unafraid of the moment.
As history shows, the home crowd could be Arkansas’ biggest weapon. The Razorbacks are 23-6 all-time versus Auburn in Fayetteville, 25-8 against LSU, and 47-22 versus Texas at home. It’s tough for opponents to escape Bud Walton Arena with a win.
The schedule also offers a nod to nostalgia.
When Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC in 2024, it reignited an old rivalry dating back to the old Southwest Conference days plus a potentially really big new one.
Arkansas will see Texas in Fayetteville and travel to Norman for its first meeting there since 2011.
“The Texas game always means a little more,” said Arkansas alum and former NBA standout Joe Kleine. “It’s about pride. It’s about history. When those teams meet, the energy is different.”
For all the focus on rivalries and marquee games, the SEC’s new 16-team format ensures there are no easy nights.
Alabama, fresh off a run to the NCAA Tournament, hosts Arkansas in a matchup that could have major postseason implications. Road trips to Florida and Ole Miss promise to be more than challenging especially with former Hogs’ point guard Boogie Fland transferring to the Gators.
The SEC Tournament, set for Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in March, looms as both a proving ground and a potential launching pad for a deep NCAA run.
