FAYETTEVILLE — Conference USA realignment will be reflected on Arkansas’ 2025 football schedule.
Missouri State accepted an invitation to join C-USA on Friday. The Bears’ first football game as a new member of the conference is scheduled for Aug. 30, 2025, against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
Missouri State’s move means Arkansas has 12 games scheduled against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in 2025 instead of 11 FBS games and a game against a Football Championship Subdivision team.
Missouri State plays now as an FCS member in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears have served as Arkansas’ annual FCS opponent five times since 2000, most recently in 2022 when the Razorbacks rallied to beat Bobby Petrino’s final Missouri State team 38-27.
Petrino, the former Arkansas head coach, is now the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.
Missouri State has had consecutive losing seasons since Petrino led the program to the FCS Playoffs in the spring season of 2021. Ryan Beard, a former Petrino assistant, now coaches the Bears.
The Razorbacks last played a schedule without an FCS opponent in 2020 when the SEC mandated a 10-game schedule of only conference games. Before 2020, Arkansas’ last season without an FCS opponent was 2004 when the Razorbacks played an 11-game schedule.
In 2025, Arkansas also has non-SEC games scheduled against Arkansas State at War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 6, at Memphis on Sept. 20 and at home against Notre Dame on Sept. 27.
The Razorbacks’ 2025 SEC opponents are expected to be the same as the 2024 season with playing sites flipped, meaning Arkansas will host Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Missouri, and will play games at Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas. The schedule will be finalized later this year.
