By

Michael Main

January 31, 2025

“Hype” as been a theme throughout this Arkansas basketball season so far. There was, of course, plenty of it coming into the year with a shiny new coach and all the blue-chip players coming to Fayetteville alongside him.

Somehow, it’s persisted even though the team currently sit at 1-6 in SEC play after losing three of its first four conference home games. While program has consistently struggled to fill up the arena, the fans who do show up have been forced to keep enduring overselling, this time in the form of mind-numbing advertising gimmicks meant to generate more revenue for the athletic department. On top of it all, the Arkansas athletic department unveiled a plan this week to overhaul the seating arrangements for basketball season ticket holders. This new system will require fans to pony up a lot more cash if they want to (possibly) keep their current seats or the same number of tickets.

The move will help add a projected $4-6 million to the UA coffers to help cover the $25 million or so that the school will be on the hook for when revenue sharing is implemented. The musical chairs in Bud Walton Arena will certainly help make a dent in that number, but there’s still a long way to go. Further progress could of course be made by plastering sponsorships onto every last corner of the viewing experience inside (and outside) the arena. not mention eventually slapping a corporate name in place of “Bud Walton” itself. Buckle up, folks.