The Arkansas basketball program and John Calipari are filling out their nonconference schedule for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. Another date just got finalized, as Arkansas athletics noted:
“Two iconic programs will face off in an iconic venue when the Arkansas Razorbacks face the Indiana Hoosiers in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17, 2026 (Tuesday), as part of the Bad Boy Mowers Series – New York. Game time, TV designation and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
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“This matchup represents what the Bad Boy Series is all about,” said Lindsey Keller, VP of Marketing at Bad Boy Mowers. “It features two teams from different conferences getting to compete, and where better to have it than Madison Square Garden?”
“Razorback mentor John Calipari has played in Madison Square Garden 28 times as a collegiate head coach and is 16-12 all-time in the historic arena. He first played in the Garden in the 1991 NIT Final Four while serving as head coach at UMass. His last outing at MSG came in his first season with the Razorbacks when Arkansas defeated then #14 Michigan, 89-87, as part of the Jimmy V Classic (Dec. 10, 2014).”
The creation of this Indiana game in New York is a continuation of a very clear scheduling approach under John Calipari. The head Hog wants Arkansas to get a taste of neutral-site basketball against brand-name opponents not only to prepare the team for the NCAA Tournament (which is played exclusively at neutral sites), but also to get television money which goes into the NIL budget for the school, and the national exposure which keeps Arkansas front and center in the national discussion of major college hoops.
There will always be a subset of fans which want more on-campus games. Neutral-site games not included in a home-and-home future arrangement represent a loss of a home date on the season schedule, but when you consider that home games against smaller schools involve the power conference school (such as Arkansas) cutting a check to that smaller school, these neutral-site games have the opposite effect: They bring money in as opposed to pushing it out. Being competitive in NIL and also having attractive games which get the attention of recruits, not just fans, is a clear strategy which, to be fair to John Calipari, has not hurt Arkansas at all in recruiting. Just the opposite: Cal is bringing in elite recruiting classes, having used this aggressive scheduling approach.
This is working. There’s no reason to discontinue it or slow it down.
Also: Arkansas should beat the brakes off Indiana.
