A historical marker commemorating Black soldiers who fought for the Union in Arkansas during the Civil War was dedicated Saturday in the presence of several descendants of Union fighters at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little Rock.
Arkansas
Razorbacks NIL Raffle Bill Hits Minor Snag, Still On Track For Baseball Season
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The 95th General Assembly is now in session in Little Rock. Arkansas fans will be watching closely the movement of House Bill 1044, which would allow the University of Arkansas and other state schools to set up a 50/50 raffle to support NIL. Read the full bill here.
Schools are scrambling to stash away as much money as possible both in terms of the foundation fundraising, as evidenced by athletic director Hunter Yurachek’s recent Bud Walton “reseating” announcement. The Hogs are also looking to beef up NIL.
Schools across the state would be able to run a hybrid 50/50 raffle at athletic events that would allow fans at the game and people online with an Arkansas IP address to participate in a raffle pool in which half of the funds will go to a lucky winner and the other half to NIL efforts. The structure is similar to a promotion run by Florida Victorious during football season, the NIL arm of the Florida Gators.
The bill, filed initially in November, is still in the House Rules Committee and is sitting on the deferred bills list. There are minor changes to the language bill, due to potential legal concerns.
“There’s no substantial changes,” lead sponsor RJ Hawk (R-Bryant) said. “It’s just making sure that this thing, if it were ever to get challenged in a court that it would hold up. We’re just making sure all our I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.”
Despite the minor hold-up, Hawk remains optimistic that not only will the pass the rules committee and the legislature, Fans will be able to still see the benefits of the bill this baseball season.
“As long as we can get it out [of the rules committee] in the month of February,” Hawk said. “We’ll be good to go.”
There is confidence that not only will the bill will pass, but also that schools will be ready to hit the ground running once they get the final green light because of the emergency clause attached to the bill. The clause allows the bill to go into effect immediately after the governor’s signature instead of the traditional 91 days after the end of the legislative session.
“From my understanding not just the UA [will be ready to go],” Hawk said. “All parties involved [will be ready] that the minute this becomes law they’re they’re ready to roll. I can’t speak for them as far as where they are in the process, but based on my conversations it seems like that once this becomes law, they’ll be ready to rock and roll.”
If the bill passes the House Rules Committee, it will go to full floor vote in the House before heading off to the senate. Hawk expects no changes between the bill passed in the House and the Senate. The Senate bill’s sponsor is Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy).
The House Rules Committee meets every Wednesday in Little Rock. The Razorbacks start its baseball season 3 p.m. Feb. 14 against Washington State.
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Arkansas
Top 25 Arkansas high school girls basketball rankings (2/24/2025)
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It was all but assured it would happen, and winter weather did end up forcing about two-thirds of the state — from mostly central Arkansas up through north Arkansas — to push games to this week.
While all 25 squads from last week nearly held on to their exact spot from the previous week — which would have been the first time this season that occurred — the only changes are some shifting in the Top 10. There was a major headliner as there is a new No. 1 for the first time since the rankings dropped during the first week of January.
Class 5A and 6A will wrap up their regular seasons this week, and Class 1A-4A will play regional tournaments as we are right around the corner from tipping off state tournaments.
See the full Top 25 below.
February 24, 2025
Last week: 2
They did not play last week, but the Cardinals enter this week as the new top-ranked squad. They’ll finish the regular season with a three-game slate that includes Russellville, No. 12 Mountain Home and Van Buren.
Last week: 1
Trailing for the majority of the contest, the Wampus Cats kept finding ways to claw their way back in it but ultimately came up short as Little Rock Central snapped their 21-game win streak. They take on Jonesboro and Bryant this week looking to wrap up the 6A-Central outright title.
Last week: 3
The Eagles sealed their second consecutive 5A-East conference title and head to the final week of the regular season on a 19-game win streak. They are at home for both games this week — against Batesville and No. 23 Marion.
Last week: 4
The Wildcats were hardly pushed in their previous two contests, but they have a very challenging week ahead as they head to play a fifth-ranked Fort Smith Northside team with redemption on its mind before hosting crosstown foe and No. 6 Springdale on Senior Night.
Last week: 5
Fort Smith Northside hardly broke a sweat in a Monday rout of Fort Smith Southside in its lone game of the week. The team will wrap up the regular season with Rogers Heritage and No. 4 Springdale Har-Ber.
Last week: 6
The previous time the Red Dogs played a rescheduled game, they had one of their poorest showings of the season, but they were not about to let that happen again as they slipped past rival Fayetteville on Saturday. Leading the 6A-West race by a single game, they look to secure the title with final regular-season games against No. 17 Bentonville and No. 4 Springdale Har-Ber.
Last week: 8
The defending Class 6A state champion notched its biggest win of the season over top-ranked Conway at Buzz Bolding Arena on Friday night. With the 6A-Central’s No. 2 state tournament seed appearing to be their fate, the Tigers take on Little Rock Southwest and Jonesboro this week.
Last week: 7
North Little Rock did not play last week. The Charging Wildcats wrap up the regular season this week with Bryant and Cabot.
Last week: 9
After finishing conference play with an early-week win over Heber Springs, the Bruins completed the first unblemished regular season in school history with a sportsmanship rule-invoking triumph over Class 5A Hot Springs Lakeside. They will be the 4A-5 North’s top seed in this week’ 4A-3 Regional Tournament in Clinton.
Last week: 10
Vilonia’s Saturday win over Parkview not only all but sealed an outright 5A-Central championship, but the star backcourt duo of senior Sidni Middleton and junior Maddie Mannion hit career milestones, surpassing 1,600 and 1,000 points, respectively. The Eagles now aim to finish league play unblemished with this week’s favorable three-game slate before making another state final run.
Last week: 11
The team did not play last week. Currently tied for the 5A-Central’s No. 2 seed with Beebe, Little Rock Christian has the Badgers, Mount St. Mary, Maumelle and Jacksonville remaining on the regular-season schedule.
Last week: 12
They have had a few recent close calls, but the Bombers were not affected by the Alma game being moved to Saturday as they handled the Airedales in their final game of the season at The Hangar. They will get as good of a test, twice, before making a state tournament run as they head to play top-ranked Farmington and No. 18 Greenwood.
Last week: 13
The Leopards earned a share of the 4A-7 conference title after wrapping up the regular season with a win over Magnolia to increase their current win streak to eight. Their sights are now set on the 4A-4 Regional Tournament, where they will be their conference’s top seed.
Last week: 14
A convincing win over Camden Fairview secured the Scrapperettes as a co-4A-7 regular-season conference champion. They will be their conference’s No. 2 seed in this week’s 4A-4 Regional Tournament in Monticello.
Last week: 15
Dover did not play last week. The Pirates will be the No. 1 seed in this week’s 3A-3 Regional Tournament at Bald Knob.
Last week: 16
Although it was a much more competitive matchup this time, the Blazers fell short against No. 3 Greene County Tech on Friday. They will finish the regular season with crucial Top 25 matchups against No. 23 Marion and No. 24 Nettleton as they look to wrap up the 5A-East’s No. 2 seed.
Last week: 17
The Tigers needed to handle their business last week, and they did with convincing wins over Rogers and crosstown rival Bentonville West. Their best-case postseason scenario is the 6A-West’s No. 4 seed as they look to secure it this week against No. 6 Springdale and No. 19 Fayetteville.
Last week: 18
Greenwood did not play last week. The final regular-season three-game slate includes matchups with Siloam Springs, Russellville and No. 12 Mountain Home.
Last week: 19
It certainly was not for a lack of effort, but the Purple Dogs fell short in another tight finish with Springdale. The talented young squad currently holds the 6A-West’s No. 5 state tournament seed, but it could move up to fourth with victories over Fort Smith Southside and No. 17 Bentonville.
Last week: 20
The Eagles handled Norfork in the semifinal round of the 1A-2 District Tournament. They will face Rural Special in the championship round Monday, with the winner earning the top spot in the Regional Tournament later this week.
Last week: 21
Many expected the Badgers to be one of the top three teams out of the 5A-Central, and they have lived up to that. Currently sitting in third, they have a chance to claim the No. 2 seed with wins this week over No. 11 Little Rock Christian and Parkview.
Last week: 22
The Pointers picked up a crucial Saturday victory over Harrison to clinch the fourth and final 5A-West state tournament seed. Their regular season concludes with Alma and top-ranked Farmington.
Last week: 23
The Patriots are on a three-game win streak after a rollercoaster stretch and still have a prime opportunity to earn the 5A-East’s No. 2 seed. Their final week will be a challenging one, though, as they take on No. 16 Valley View and No. 3 Greene County Tech to finish the regular season.
Last week: 24
The Raiders bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to third-ranked Greene County Tech with a victory over Batesville. It’s a massive week ahead as they try to secure the fourth and final state tournament seed and can do so with a win Monday over No. 25 West Memphis.
Last week: 25
While the Blue Devils have dropped three of their past four contests — all losses to Top 25 opposition — they can take some positivity to this week’s three-game slate after coming up just three points short to No. 3 Greene County Tech last Monday. They start the week with No. 24 Nettleton, followed by Searcy and Paragould.
None
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Arkansas
Looking back: Arkansas Part 2
Looking back: Arkansas Part 2
Here’s a look at some numbers and thoughts that didn’t get into the initial thoughts after last night’s game against Arkansas.
Mark Mitchell
He didn’t play as incredible as his career-high setting performances against Oklahoma or Alabama, but Mark Mitchell produced a team-high 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds to go with three assists.
He also had six of the Tigers’ 18 turnovers, so not all good.
It was the fourth consecutive game that Mitchell has outscored his season average (now 13.7), while his seven rebounds made the performance the third time this season that Mitchell has led the Tigers in both points and rebounds.
Turnovers
Missouri had 18 turnovers, a high through the SEC schedule.
And those extra opportunities led to 30 Arkansas points.
The Tigers had been very good at holding onto the ball recently, they committed only three turnovers against Tennessee, 14 against Texas A&M, 12 against Oklahoma, three against Georgia and eight against Alabama.
The Tigers hadn’t surpassed 15 in a game since the home win against Ole Miss.
But they were a major issue Saturday night, led by Mitchell with six and Tony Perkins with four.
Dennis Gates’ favorite stat to hit on in press conference’s in assist to turnover ratio, and the Tigers had a negative one for the first time since Oklahoma (11 assists to 12 turnovers that game), and the first with more than a one-turnover difference since Texas A&M.
“We had a lot of turnovers to begin the game,” Gates said. “They obviously did a great job. We had five turnovers on the first nine possessions and they built a 10-4 lead. You can’t win on the road like that and we’ve got to do a better job.”
3-point shooting
The Tigers attempted 36 shots from beyond the arc Saturday, a season high. And they made 12 (33.33 percent) which is not terribly far behind their season average (36.9 percent), but Caleb Grill was certainly behind his average at just 2-of-12 (16.67 percent), which dropped him to 43.3 percent for the year as he attempts to reach 50 percent shooting from deep.
He was at 49-of-100 for the season recently, but since then is just 12-of-41 (29.26 percent) as teams have changed how they guard him.
He would have to hit his next 19 attempts consecutively to get to 50 percent for the year.
Defense
Going into Saturday, the Tigers were 15-1 this season when scoring 80 points because Missouri had allowed more than 80 just seven times this season.
After allowing 83 to Memphis, Missouri didn’t allow 80 again until Cal when both teams reached 90. For the most part, when Missouri scores 80 points, its defense responds and holds the opponent to less than 80, there’s only been five Missouri games this season (including Saturday) where both teams scored 80 or more points.
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Arkansas
Little Rock museum dedicates historical marker to Black soldiers who fought for Union in Civil War | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
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