Hogs Back on ABC in Early Start Time, but That's Where They Were for Years

 Arkansas is on ABC this year and it will be early in the 2024 season. The kickoff times for a few games were announced Thursday and the Razorbacks will be on a national game early. Old-timers like me remember when that was the only way to see a TV game.

The Hogs will play Oklahoma State on ABC on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. It's the first time they've played on the network that was for a long period of time the home to college football since facing Texas Tech in 2014. Their opener on Thursday, Aug. 29, will be at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., and will be available on ESPN+.

Folks under the age of about 35 will think ABC is a newcomer to the world of broadcasting college sports. When I grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, that network was THE home for college sports. Arkansas and Texas played an awful lot of games there after the network got the rights for college fooball starting in 1966. The Big Shootout against the Longhorns was broadcast there in 1969 (they also did the Big Shootout II in 1970, but that came off as the cap pistol follies when the Hogs were blown out by the Longhorns in Austin).

The game win week 3 against Alabama-Birmingham will be at 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Razorback Stadium in the true home opener. The only time those schools have ever played was in 2014 in a 45-17 win over the Blazers on homecoming.

 As the league announced several games Thursday, another one that could affect the Hogs would be the Egg Bowl this year with Ole Miss and Mississippi State playing in Oxford on the day after Thanksgiving at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.

If you've ever paid attention, that's the day the Razorbacks and Missouri have traditionally played on CBS. It was LSU before Missouri came into the league and the SEC (and everybody else) have tried to make a rivalry out of the matchup that's slowly starting to build. The game may still be played on that Friday, but it won't be on the national television network unless it's counting ESPN. I'm not real sure anybody would want to play a night game in Columbia, Mo., on that date with the unpredictable weather.

Arkansas hosts six games inside Razorback Stadium this fall with games against UAB, Tennessee (Oct. 5), LSU (Oct. 19), Ole Miss (Nov. 2), Texas (Nov. 16) and Louisiana Tech (Nov. 23). Don't expect much in the way of TV announcements now or start times until after the Oklahoma State game. The networks and league like to juggle all that on a weekly basis to put the best possible matchups for the most eyeballs.

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