By Rick Fahr

Why not wade off into a hot-button sports issue?

Famously, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks have not scheduled in-state schools in football (or other sports, for that matter). That policy, according to Athletic Director Jeff Long, will continue.

The argument against the Hogs playing, say, Arkansas State University or University of Central Arkansas, is that the university on The Hill has nothing to gain and everything to lose should one of the upstarts actually sneak past the state’s premier program on a given Saturday. Plus, as long as the Razorbacks remain above any in-state frays, they will keep their perception — and, reality — as Arkansas’ powerhouse program. There is no doubt that the Hogs enjoy fans from every nook and cranny of the state. If there’s one thing Arkansans can agree on, it’s eternal hope for a Razorback win.

The argument for such a game is that it would draw huge interest and could actually provide tangible benefits (more on that in a moment). Many dominant programs play intrastate games. Louisiana State University often schedules its state’s directional schools (some aren’t directional anymore, though; University of Louisiana-Monroe, for example). Don’t think for a second that the smaller programs look at their chance against the Big Dog as just another game. It’s their bowl game, and that makes for a great atmosphere. Plus, many of these early season games involve a payoff of some sort. The top-25 team pays the mid-tier team hundreds of thousands of dollars to play, ostensibly for the beating on the way. The smaller schools use that revenue to keep their programs alive and kicking. At least if this sort of game involves two schools from the same state, that money stays home, instead of going across a border.

What if, instead of kicking off the season against some cupcake from Missouri or Oklahoma, the Razorbacks participated in a double-header event at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock?

Think about it — UA, ASU, UCA and one other school, perhaps UAPB or a rotation of the state’s other collegiate programs, meet for a daylong celebration of Arkansas football. Proceeds from the event(s) stay in the state and could go to a worthy cause. Upgrading War Memorial sounds like a worthwhile project. Handing the money to Children’s Hospital doesn’t sound half bad. If the schools want to be greedy — which would be in the current-day true spirit of collegiate athletics — divide the proceeds amongst the schools, based on enrollment or some other metric.

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

Arkansas isn’t alone in this circumstance, and sometimes folks without whistles want to get involved.

A recent legislative measure in South Carolina would have forced the South Carolina Gamecocks to continue to schedule an annual game with Clemson, no matter what conference schedules dictate. Come high water or the Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks and Tigers were gonna play, some legislators said.

The bill ultimately went away, but a similar idea has floated around the rarified air of our state Capitol from time to time.

Though such a measure has never gotten serious consideration (oxymoron when talking about our General Assembly?), as ASU and UCA gain momentum and begin to grow out from under the shadow of the Pig, a legislative mandate might not sound as implausible as it does now.

There are a couple precedents for this type of thing. In 1987, the basketball Razorbacks defeated ASU in the NIT tournament, 67-64 in overtime. In 2005 at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, ASU’s Lady Indians rolled over the Lady Razorbacks, 98-84, in a game that wasn’t that close.

Each of those games created a statewide buzz, one that could easily replicate itself every year.

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Rick Fahr is publisher of the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway. His e-mail is rick.fahr@thecabin.net.