By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — It will take some doing for Arkansas football fans to get to the stadiums where they will populate the corner section reserved for visitors.
For the first time in the same year, the Razorbacks will make three of their longest trips to play Southeastern Conference opponents.
To see the Razorbacks against Georgia, Auburn and South Carolina, a fan must have free time on Friday. Good tires or deep pockets are also a must.
According to a recent UA media guide, it’s 839 miles from Fayetteville to Athens on the major roads, 896 miles to Auburn and 1,007 miles to Columbia, S.C. Only Gainesville, Fla., at 1,031 miles is a longer drive from Fayetteville. Driving from Little Rock, subtract about 190 miles.
Not only are those long hauls, neither Athens nor Auburn has commercial air service.
Curious about available airfares, there was a check on what’s available for the particular game weekends. The most important Southeastern Conference game of the year for the Razorbacks is the first one on Sept. 18 at Georgia, and the destination Atlanta airport is about an hour from Athens. Knowing the kickoff is at noon in Athens means it’s possible to fly in on Friday, fly out Saturday evening and spend only one night in a motel.
From Little Rock, a nonstop, round-trip can be had for $686.40 per person, tax included. It’s about $15 cheaper from XNA near Fayetteville, but that includes a 90-minute layover in Memphis on the outbound flight.
Since the kickoffs at Auburn and South Carolina are up in the air, a fan booking in advance must leave on Friday and return on Sunday to be safe.
For Auburn, the destination is Columbus, Ga., and the cost is $502.40 from Fayetteville, with a layover in Atlanta. Add in two nights lodging and a rental car for the drive northwest across the Alabama line.
Columbia, S.C., is doable for $441.80, plus the two nights.
When budgeting, don’t forget meals and game tickets ranging from $45 at South Carolina and Georgia to $65 at Auburn.
If the cost is not prohibitive, the venues are worth seeing. Capacity ranges from 80,000-plus in Columbia to almost 93,000 in Athens, and sellouts are the norm. At Georgia, the ambiance includes the famous hedges surrounding the field and Uga, the English bulldog stationed on the sideline.
But nothing in the SEC can match that moment prior to kickoff at Auburn when a live eagle leaves the second deck and soars over the field before landing near midfield while the band hammers out “War Eagle.”
Arkansas’ ticket request depends on how many fans usually travel, but, so far, Georgia is the biggest seller with 4,355 sold.
For one thing, some fans only travel once per season and Arkansas has not played in Athens since 2005, whereas Auburn and South Carolina are away games every other year.
For another, Georgia is only a week prior to preseason No. 1 Alabama in Fayetteville and is an opportunity for the Razorbacks to demonstrate they can beat a quality opponent on the road.
Despite the cost, the hassle and the fact that all SEC games are on TV, there is a legitimate reason to make any or all of the trips. Fans will want to say, “I was there the day Ryan Mallett …”
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
