Subscribe for free for 30 days! NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas fans’ first glimpse of the Eric Musselman era will come with a sense of nostalgia.
The Razorbacks will play their annual Red-White game at Barnhill Arena, their home from 1958-93, at on Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. The event is free to attend.
It is believed to be the first time Arkansas will play on the court since the Red-White game before the 1993-94 season, as Bud Walton Arena wasn’t quite ready before its debut against Murray State. The last regular-season game at Barnhill was an 88-75 win over LSU on March 3, 1993.
“I just felt like a traditional Red and White game, that’s kind of been done in the past and (wanted) to do something new and different,” Musselman said. “This might be the only time that we play basketball back here, so it’s kind of a neat thing.”
This idea has been in the works for a while, but it took some time to work out the logistics. Now the home of Arkansas’ volleyball and gymnastics programs, Barnhill will need a face lift to get ready for basketball.
Tape will be used for all of the necessary lines and they’ll have to bring in some portable baskets, but “it will look good,” Musselman assured, and it’ll still be a full-blown scrimmage.
“There will probably be some baskets that aren’t anchored down, so we’re not going to be doing tomahawk dunks,” Musselman said. “But we’re going to play a game and it’s going to be competitive because we’re going to use it as an evaluation tool.”
Players will be divided to make up a “Team Eddie” and “Team Nolan” - an homage to Arkansas’ legendary coaches who won 89.6 percent of the games played in the building over its final 18 seasons.
Eddie Sutton was 120-8 in Barnhill during his 11-year tenure, while Nolan Richardson was 78-15 at home during the first seven years of his tenure before the team moved to Bud Walton Arena.
“I had a great talk with Coach Richardson the other day,” Musselman said. “I wanted to make sure that he thought it was a good idea, and he certainly did.”
Musselman added that the Razorbacks will start inviting former players to attend the Red-White game as early as next week.
The son of a former college and NBA coach, Musselman is a huge basketball fan and very familiar with Barnhill Arena. He was 13 years old when Sutton and “The Triplets” - Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph - reached the 1978 Final Four.
“I remember the cover of Sports illustrated,” Musselman said. “There’s no question…somebody my age that loves basketball, you’re going to know who those three guys are for sure.”
It is unclear how many fans Arkansas will be able to fit inside Barnhill Arena. During its final three seasons as the basketball team’s home, it averaged more than 9,400 fans.
Reconfigured for the other sports, a big screen now blocks the seats behind the west baseline. A spokesperson for the UA said seating will be first come, first served general admission seating. The last two Red-White games have had estimated attendances of 5,000 and 7,500.
More details will likely come out as the date gets closer.
“It’s not just about people that have seen games here in the past,” Musselman said. “It’s also about some people that have never seen a basketball game in here.
“To me, it’s going to be a great night. It’s going to be different, it’s unique. We want to have fun.”
