Our View: Red Wolves, Hogs should battle

Social media has been abuzz this week after a bill was filed in the state legislature proposing the Red Wolves play the Hogs in a one-time benefit football game, with a portion of profits going to a charity.

The bill, presented by Andy Mayberry and Harold Copenhaver, encourages economic activity and statewide interest in intra-collegiate activities and increased community and philanthropic support. According to the bill, the game would be played on neutral ground, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Along with the bill, the two representatives created a website, www.arkansasasubenefit.com, which allows Arkansans to vote on whether the game should be played, and if so, which charity should receive the profits.

Although the Arkansas Children’s Hospital is in the lead by a large margin, those that follow include The Arkansas Veteran’s Home, War Memorial Stadium, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Little Rock Zoo.

Not only would profits go to an in-state charity, voted on by Arkansans, but it would finally soothe the push for the two teams to play each other after many years of contention.

Not only would the game proceeds go toward a philanthropic cause, but it would ultimately benefit ASU’s players by allowing them to prove themselves worthy of their instate rivals at UA.

Right now, there is a strong message that says our football team isn’t good enough to play the Hogs. This is unfair to our football team members, and it doesn’t accurately represent their strength and ability as Red Wolves.

U of A has played several of our opponents in the Sunbelt Conference, including the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), which beat U of A this season, after which the Red Wolves beat ULM. If the Hogs can play other Sunbelt teams, why not play us and keep the money, UA pays these teams to pay, instate.

Several may argue we are not at the level needed to compete with the Hogs. However, this isn’t true. In 2004-05, the Lady Red Wolves basketball team played the Lady Razorbacks in an NIT matchup at the end of season, and ASU won.  
Several states have in-state games comparable to an ASU - UA matchup.

LSU plays the University of Louisiana-Lafayette regularly; Middle Tennessee has played the University of Tennessee for years and Iowa University regularly plays Iowa State.

It’s time for ASU and U of A to finally compete on the football field.

The benefits for ASU could be endless, and it’s disheartening that it takes a play from the Legislature to finally make this idea a real possibility.

Although this bill proposes the game as a one-time event, we hope that if it is passed, it will lead to an annual event that the Red Wolves, and Hog fans, can look forward to each year – a win-win for all of us.


“Our View” is written by the editorial staff. The opinions are not necessarily reflective of the student body, faculty or administration of Arkansas State University.