For programs like the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, life in Division 1 college sports is a tricky balancing act.
Fielding a team means paying for coaches, facilities, travel and other costs.
But unlike universities in the so-called “Power Five” conferences – the Big 12, ACC, SEC, PAC-12 and Big 10 – UAPB doesn’t receive tens of millions of dollars every year from television networks for the rights to broadcast men’s football and basketball.
Instead they travel to play those schools – with their palatial facilities, high-tech strength programs and more highly recruited players – in exchange for a likely loss and a payout that keeps the program going.
That’s how one ends up with a schedule like the last year’s Golden Lions.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Between Nov. 13 and Dec. 29, the men’s basketball team traveled to Honolulu, Seattle, Lubbock, East Lansing, Brooklyn, Ames, Blacksburg, Stillwater, Columbia (Mo.), Lincoln (Neb.), Athens (Ohio) and Cincinnati. It took on prestige programs like Michigan State, Cincinnati and Missouri.
By the time they opened Southwest Athletic Conference play Jan. 4 against a team with comparable resources in Mississippi Valley State, the Golden Lions had a record of 2-12. They finished 8-25.
“We were raising a lot more money than we are this year,” head coach George Ivory said. “A lot of times the last couple years, there wasn’t the chance to have home games.”
The Golden Lions are changing that this season, with a non-conference schedule that features three home games and a home exhibition.
“We wanted to have more home games in the fall, [and] stop being on the road so much,” Ivory said. “The past couple of years we’ve led the SWAC in home attendance, so we wanted to give the fans something to look forward to.”
The Lions host Champion Baptist College of Hot Springs in an exhibition one week from Friday. Three days later they kick off the season with a road game at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Nov. 11. They host regular season non-conference games against Ecclesia College of Springdale on Nov. 14, Blue Mountain College on Nov. 21 and the University of Tennessee at Martin on Dec. 1.
With the exception of Oklahoma State, the Power 5 schools that dotted last season’s schedule have been replaced with more manageable games against mid-major schools. UAPB will travel to take on Siena, Central Michigan and the University of New Mexico, among others.
“There’s still fundraising games we’re playing, they’re just not the Power 5 schools,” Ivory said. “Some schools, they pay us pretty good, even with them being mid-majors.”
The schedule could help the team as it integrates seven new players to the lineup, including four from junior college and three high-schoolers.
Ivory expects this year’s team to be deeper, run often, trap frequently and shoot well. It’s knowledge he gained on a recent trip: the Lions toured Canada for a four-game exhibition in August.
When the season starts, they won’t have to travel so far to see what they’re made of.