Date, details announced for KU’s exhibition at Arkansas

photo by: Nick Krug

Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Kansas head coach Bill Self have a joint meeting with an official after a double technical foul during the first half, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Kansas and Arkansas men’s basketball teams finalized details on Wednesday of their forthcoming exhibition at the Razorbacks’ home venue.

The teams will face off at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Oct. 25 and will play for charity, as KU donates proceeds to the Overland Park-based Fore the Kids Foundation, which promotes children’s mental health. Arkansas will support the Arkansas Children’s Hospitals.

The tipoff time and broadcast information have not yet been announced. Tickets for the general public go on sale next Wednesday.

“We are excited to be able to go play at Arkansas in an exhibition game and help raise money for a great cause, as the proceeds will go to mental health charities,” KU coach Bill Self said in a press release. “This game will give us a good idea to see where our team is before the season starts. We wanted to play on the road to give us an opportunity to experience what our first road contest will be like as opposed to experiencing it for the first time in the regular season.”

John Calipari, the longtime Kentucky coach who moved to Arkansas in the offseason, added in a release: “It is great for our program to be able to play these high-profile charity games. Not only is it an entertaining and valuable tool for the teams and fans but it also raises a lot of money for great causes. We are proud to be affiliated with CareSource and help Arkansas Children’s Hospitals.”

Calipari, who worked as an assistant at KU under Ted Owens and Larry Brown for several years in the 1980s, further described Kansas as “near and dear to my heart.”

“Not only is it where I got my start in the coaching profession but, more importantly, it is where I met my wife, Ellen,” he said.

Both teams played charity exhibitions last season, with KU traveling to Illinois for a game centered on helping the island of Maui recover from wildfires, while Arkansas and Purdue played to aid tornado relief efforts.

KU leads the all-time series against Arkansas 8-6, most recently losing to the Razorbacks in the 2023 NCAA Tournament when Self was unable to coach due to health issues. Self and Calipari have split the results of 12 matchups during their careers, including a pair of national title games.

It will be a busy weekend for KU fans in late October, as the exhibition is a day before KU takes on Kansas State in the football Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan.

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