Arkansas–Texas A&M football rivalry

Southwest Classic

Arkansas Razorbacks Texas A&M Aggies
First meeting	October 31, 1903 Texas A&M, 6–0
Latest meeting	September 28, 2024 Texas A&M, 21–17
Next meeting	October 18, 2025
Trophy	Southwest Classic Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	81
All-time series	Arkansas leads, 42–36–3[1]
Largest victory	Texas A&M, 58–10 (2012)
Longest win streak	Arkansas, 9 (1958–1966) Texas A&M, 9 (2012–2020)
Current win streak	Texas A&M, 3 (2022–present)

The Arkansas–Texas A&M football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies, which started in 1903. Between 1992 and 2008, the schools did not play each other when Arkansas left the Southwest Conference to join the Southeastern Conference. The rivalry was renewed as a neutral-site out-of-conference contest (and branded as The Southwest Classic) in 2009; in 2012 it once again became a conference rivalry when Texas A&M also joined the Southeastern Conference. Arkansas leads the series 42–36–3.^[2][3]

Arkansas and Texas A&M first played each other in 1903, and would play each other three times from 1903 to 1912, all as non-conference matchups.

Arkansas and Texas A&M would not meet on the field again until 1927, notwithstanding that both schools became charter members of the Southwest Conference twelve years earlier in 1915. The schools played annually from 1927 to 1930, but would not meet again until 1934. From 1934 to 1991, the two teams played annually as conference members. The annual matchup ceased in 1991 when Arkansas left the conference to join the Southeastern Conference.

On March 10, 2008, officials from both schools announced the series would recommence on October 3, 2009, under the name "Southwest Classic." The annual location for the game was announced as Cowboys Stadium (now called AT&T Stadium), located in Arlington. The attendance for the stadium was initially expected to be in the 80,000 range. Depending on ticket demand, temporary seating can be added to the stadium to increase the capacity up to 100,000 seats for the game. The tickets were said to be split 50/50 between the two schools.^{[by whom?]} The initial agreement between the two schools allowed the game to be played for at least 10 years, followed by 5 consecutive, 4-year rollover options, allowing the game to potentially be played for a total of 30 consecutive seasons.

The rivalry once again became a conference matchup when Texas A&M joined the SEC on July 1, 2012, and became a member of the West Division of the conference alongside Arkansas.^[4][5][6] However, for Texas A&M's first two seasons in the SEC the series was played as a home-and-home series at the schools' campuses (Texas A&M hosted in 2012 and Arkansas hosted in 2013); the series resumed neutral-site play in AT&T Stadium for the 2014 season until at least 2024.^[7] Multiple athletic directors at Texas A&M have expressed a desire to move away from playing the game at AT&T Stadium, and on July 20, 2020, it was reported that the game would be played at Kyle Field due to precautions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a return trip potentially being played at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in 2021.^[8][9] That return trip to Fayetteville did not happen, and the series resumed being played in Arlington in 2021.

After joining the SEC in 2012, A&M went on a 9-game winning streak, which was its longest in the series and first winning streak of more than 2 games in the series for the Aggies since 1938–1943. Arkansas broke the streak in 2021 and improved its record against A&M in Arlington to 4–6.^[10]

Starting in 2025, the game will no longer be a neutral-site game played in Arlington. Further, due to the expansion of the SEC in 2024, which eliminated divisions, the two teams will no longer meet on an annual basis, as both teams are not protected opponents of each other in conference scheduling.^[11]

Arkansas victories

Texas A&M victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 October 31, 1903 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 6–0 2 October 29, 1910 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 5–0 3 October 26, 1912 Dallas, Texas Texas A&M 27–0 4 October 15, 1927 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 40–6 5 October 27, 1928 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 27–12 6 October 26, 1929 College Station, Texas Arkansas 14–13 7 October 18, 1930 Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas 13–0 8 November 3, 1934 College Station, Texas Tie 7–7 9 November 2, 1935 Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas 14–7 10 October 31, 1936 College Station, Texas Arkansas 18–0 11 October 30, 1937 Fayetteville, Arkansas #20 Arkansas 26–13 12 October 29, 1938 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 13–7 13 November 4, 1939 Fayetteville, Arkansas #5 Texas A&M 27–0 14 November 2, 1940 College Station, Texas #5 Texas A&M 17–0 15 November 1, 1941 Little Rock, Arkansas #5 Texas A&M 7–0 16 October 31, 1942 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 41–0 17 October 30, 1943 Fayetteville, Arkansas #19 Texas A&M 13–0 18 November 4, 1944 College Station, Texas Arkansas 7–6 19 November 3, 1945 Fayetteville, Arkansas Texas A&M 34–0 20 November 2, 1946 College Station, Texas Arkansas 7–0 21 November 1, 1947 Fayetteville, Arkansas Tie 21–21 22 October 30, 1948 College Station, Texas Arkansas 28–6 23 October 29, 1949 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 27–6 24 November 4, 1950 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 42–13 25 November 3, 1951 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 33–21 26 November 1, 1952 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 31–12 27 October 31, 1953 Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas 41–14 28 October 30, 1954 College Station, Texas #4 Arkansas 14–7 29 October 29, 1955 Fayetteville, Arkansas Tie 7–7 30 November 3, 1956 College Station, Texas #5 Texas A&M 27–0 31 November 2, 1957 Fayetteville, Arkansas Texas A&M 7–6 32 November 1, 1958 College Station, Texas Arkansas 21–8 33 October 31, 1959 Fayetteville, Arkansas #17 Arkansas 12–7 34 October 29, 1960 College Station, Texas #12 Arkansas 7–3 35 November 4, 1961 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 15–8 36 November 3, 1962 College Station, Texas #8 Arkansas 17–7 37 November 2, 1963 Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas 21–7 38 October 31, 1964 College Station, Texas #4 Arkansas 17–0 39 October 30, 1965 Little Rock, Arkansas #2 Arkansas 31–0 40 October 29, 1966 College Station, Texas #9 Arkansas 34–0 41 November 4, 1967 Fayetteville, Arkansas Texas A&M 33–21 No. Date Location Winner Score 42 November 2, 1968 College Station, Texas #17 Arkansas 25–22 43 November 1, 1969 Fayetteville, Arkansas #4 Arkansas 35–13 44 October 31, 1970 College Station, Texas #8 Arkansas 45–6 45 October 30, 1971 Little Rock, Arkansas Texas A&M 17–9 46 November 4, 1972 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 10–7 47 November 3, 1973 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 14–10 48 November 2, 1974 College Station, Texas #8 Texas A&M 20–10 49 December 6, 1975 Little Rock, Arkansas #18 Arkansas 31–6 50 November 13, 1976 Little Rock, Arkansas #16 Texas A&M 31–10 51 November 12, 1977 College Station, Texas #8 Arkansas 26–20 52 November 18, 1978 Little Rock, Arkansas #13 Arkansas 26–7 53 November 17, 1979 College Station, Texas #8 Arkansas 22–10 54 November 15, 1980 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 27–24 55 November 14, 1981 College Station, Texas #16 Arkansas 10–7 56 November 13, 1982 Little Rock, Arkansas #10 Arkansas 35–0 57 November 12, 1983 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 36–23 58 November 17, 1984 Fayetteville, Arkansas Arkansas 28–0 59 November 16, 1985 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 10–6 60 November 15, 1986 Little Rock, Arkansas #17 Arkansas 14–10 61 November 14, 1987 College Station, Texas #19 Texas A&M 14–0 62 November 12, 1988 Fayetteville, Arkansas #11 Arkansas 25–20 63 November 24, 1989 College Station, Texas #9 Arkansas 23–22 64 November 17, 1990 Fayetteville, Arkansas Texas A&M 20–16 65 November 16, 1991 College Station, Texas #13 Texas A&M 13–3 66 October 3, 2009 Arlington, Texas Arkansas 47–19 67 October 9, 2010 Arlington, Texas #11 Arkansas 24–17 68 October 1, 2011 Arlington, Texas #18 Arkansas 42–38 69 September 29, 2012 College Station, Texas Texas A&M 58–10 70 September 28, 2013 Fayetteville, Arkansas #10 Texas A&M 45–33 71 October 18, 2014 Arlington, Texas #6 Texas A&M 35–28OT 72 September 26, 2015 Arlington, Texas #14 Texas A&M 28–21OT 73 September 24, 2016 Arlington, Texas #10 Texas A&M 45–24 74 September 23, 2017 Arlington, Texas Texas A&M 50–43OT 75 September 29, 2018 Arlington, Texas Texas A&M 24–17 76 September 28, 2019 Arlington, Texas #23 Texas A&M 31–27 77 October 31, 2020 College Station, Texas #8 Texas A&M 42–31 78 September 25, 2021 Arlington, Texas #16 Arkansas 20–10 79 September 24, 2022 Arlington, Texas #23 Texas A&M 23–21 80 September 30, 2023 Arlington, Texas Texas A&M 34–22 81 September 28, 2024 Arlington, Texas #24 Texas A&M 21–17 Series: Arkansas leads 42–36–3[1]

State	City	Games	Arkansas victories	Texas A&M victories	Ties	Years played
Arkansas	Fayetteville	21	12	7	2	1910, 1928, 1937–73, 1980, 1984–90, 2013
	Little Rock	12	9	3	0	1930–35, 1941, 1953, 1963–86
	Total	33	21	10	2	-
Texas	College Station	34	17	16	1	1903, 1927–91, 2012, 2020
	Arlington	13	4	9	0	2009–present
	Dallas	1	0	1	0	1912
	Total	48	21	26	1	-
Series total		81	42	36	3	-

Texas A&M 6 – Arkansas 0

In the first ever meeting, and only the 43rd game ever played by Arkansas^[12] and the 42nd ever played by Texas A&M,^[13] the Aggies won 6–0. The Aggies were coached by J. E. Platt and the Razorbacks were coached (in his only season as a head coach) by D. A. McDaniel.

Arkansas 26 – Texas A&M 13

After the introduction of the AP Poll in the 1936 season, the first ranking in the series came just the next year, with defending conference champions Arkansas being ranked No. 20 prior to the matchup. Arkansas won 26–13, in the two teams' second meeting in Fayetteville as conference foes.

Texas A&M 27 – Arkansas 0

In 1939, after winning the game 27–0, the Aggies went on to an overall record of 11–0 and named the college football national champions in the Associated Press writers' poll for the 1939 college football season.

Arkansas 17 – Texas A&M 0

In 1964, after winning the game 17–0 in College Station, Texas, the Razorbacks went on to an overall record of 11–0 and won the college football national championship by beating Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Aggies were coached (in his final season) by Hank Foldberg, and Arkansas was coached by Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles. This game marked the beginning of a streak of three straight scoreless games in the series for the Aggies.

Arkansas 31 – Texas A&M 6

In 1975, Texas A&M was undefeated at 10–0 and ranked No. 2 in the nation coming into the regular season finale at No. 18 Arkansas. The game was played in Little Rock at War Memorial Stadium in front of a national audience, broadcast on ABC. If the Aggies won, they would clinch the Southwest Conference championship outright, and would have a chance to win a national championship in the 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic. But it wasn't to be, as the Razorbacks defeated Texas A&M 31–6, forcing a three-way tie for the SWC crown between Arkansas, Texas, and Texas A&M, sending the Razorbacks to the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas would beat Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic, 31–10, finishing the season 10–2 and ranked No. 7 in the AP poll. Meanwhile, the Aggies would stumble in a Liberty Bowl loss to USC, 20–0, and also finish the season with a 10–2 record and No. 11 ranking in the AP poll.

Arkansas 27 – Texas A&M 24

The 1980 contest won by Arkansas 27–24 was Texas A&M's 800th game ever played by the program.^[14] Arkansas was led by head coach Lou Holtz in his fourth year with the team, and went on to an overall record of 7–5 (3–5 in conference) for the season. The Aggies were led by Tom Wilson in his next to last season with the team, and finished the year 4–7 (3–5 in conference).

Arkansas 14 – Texas A&M 10

In 1986, the No. 7 Aggies were the defending Southwest Conference champions when they rolled into Little Rock to face No. 17 Arkansas in front of a sell out crowd at War Memorial Stadium. The Razorbacks would jump out to an early 7–0 lead, but Texas A&M would tie the game with a touchdown of their own, and the teams would be tied at halftime, 7–7, due to a missed A&M field goal. Arkansas would take back the lead in the 3rd quarter on a Greg Thomas touchdown run. The Razorback defense played great all game long, holding the Aggies to a field goal in the second half. On fourth down from inside the Arkansas fifteen yard line, Arkansas's defense tipped away an Aggie pass into the end zone in the closing seconds of the game, securing the victory for the Razorbacks. Both teams would finish the season 9–3 after bowl losses.

Texas A&M 13 – Arkansas 3

In the last Southwest Conference meeting on November 16, 1991, at Kyle Field, Texas A&M won 13–3 in a game nationally televised by ESPN. The Razorbacks came out in the wishbone formation on offense, but the Aggie defense held the Hogs to only 121 yards of total offense.^[15] After the season, the Razorbacks went on to leave the Southwest Conference, and join the Southeastern Conference, thereby ending the yearly in-conference game with the Aggies.

Arkansas 47 – Texas A&M 19

On October 3, 2009, the two teams met for the first time since 1991. The rivalry was originally slated to take place on a yearly basis at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Arkansas came back from a 10–0 deficit in the first quarter to win 47–19.

Arkansas 42 – Texas A&M 38

The Aggies, leading 35–17 at the half, blew their 18-point lead and only scored 3 points in the second half. As Broderick Green charged into the end zone on the final score of the game, Arkansas fans appeared on the Cowboys Stadium video holding a sign saying "Welcome to the SEC" (in recognition of A&M's announcement only six days earlier that it would join Arkansas as a member of the SEC in 2012). Since the "Welcome to the SEC" game, the Aggies have won 12 of the 13 games played as conference rivals.

Texas A&M 58 – Arkansas 10

On September 29, 2012, the Aggies and Razorbacks met on the gridiron as conference rivals for the first time since 1991, with A&M joining Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference. The Aggies won 58–10, which is the largest margin of victory in the series. The game moved from the neutral-site Cowboys Stadium venue of the last three years to Kyle Field as part of a planned home-and-home series with Arkansas for A&M's first two SEC seasons; the 2014 matchup returned to AT&T Stadium.

The 2014 contest returned to AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) after a two-year "home-and-home" schedule the previous two seasons. Both the 2014 and 2015 contests went into overtime. These back-to-back years of overtime were also the first two overtimes between the two schools in the rivalry's history, after overtime was adopted by the NCAA for all games beginning with the bowl games following the 1995 regular season. The 2017 matchup also ended in overtime, with the two teams combining for a series record 93 points. Texas A&M won all three of these overtime matches.

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games