John Calipari makes no secret about his scheduling philosophy. It is impossible to ignore what he does and why he does it. He doesn’t try to hide his method or purpose. Arkansas basketball fans might not like the lack of high-end home games or the fact that Arkansas plays what essentially amount to “road neutral” games, games which are technically neutral-site battles but essentially road games because they are in the home region of the opponent. Consider Arkansas basketball’s 2026 nonconference schedule:
Nov. 8: vs. Virginia (in Washington, D.C.)
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Nov. 10: Robert Morris
Nov. 13: Central Arkansas
Nov. 17: vs. Indiana (in New York)
Nov. 26: vs. Michigan State (in Detroit)
Dec. 1: at North Carolina
Dec. 5: Oral Roberts
Dec. 19: vs. Arizona (in Phoenix)
Dec. 22: Central Michigan
Dec. 29: Texas-Rio Grande Valley
Virginia, Michigan State, and Arizona are all “road neutral” games. Those games will have partisan crowds for the Cavaliers, Spartans and Wildcats. They won’t be in the home gymnasiums of those three opponents, but they will be easy-commute games with packed houses for those three teams. Arkansas doesn’t have one high-end home game on the schedule. This might leave Hog fans with a sour taste, but we can all appreciate what Calipari is trying to do, on multiple fronts.
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First and foremost, Calipari wants his eight freshmen and his very young team to be challenged. Playing these road neutral games is a great way to prepare for hostile environments while also having the neutral-arena experience which models the NCAA Tournament. If Arkansas wins just three of the five big noncon games on the slate (Virginia, MSU, Arizona, Indiana in New York, and at North Carolina), it will be a clear success.
What Calipari also does with these games is get Arkansas basketball on television. These are made-for-TV games which give the Hogs a lot of national exposure and sell the program.
Connected to the TV angle is that Arkansas collects money for these games. By not playing at home, UA achieves additional cost savings. The payouts for these games from the TV networks are substantial. that helps fund Calipari’s NIL operation at Arkansas. We have seen how well Arkansas recruits. A robust NIL structure, helped by the “road neutral” games Calipari often plays, makes that recruiting success possible.
Arkansas is going to be well-prepared for SEC play and the NCAA Tournament as a result of this brutal and travel-filled nonconference schedule. There is a method to John Calipari’s madness. If it works, there’s no reason for it to not continue.
