Arkansas will host regional
FAYETTEVILLE — The NCAA regional is returning to Baum Stadium for the first time since 2010.
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus was announced as one of 16 regional host sites Sunday shortly after the Razorbacks’ 4-2 loss to LSU in the SEC Tournament championship game. The Razorbacks will learn their opening-game opponent, as well as the two other regional teams, during the NCAA’s tournament selection show today at 11 a.m. (ESPN2).
Arkansas is one of four SEC schools selected to host a regional. Others are LSU, Florida and Kentucky. The ACC led all conferences with five host sites: North Carolina, Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Wake Forest.
Other host schools are Oregon State, Texas Tech, TCU, Stanford, Long Beach State, Southern Miss and Houston.
“I’m excited for our fans to be able to stay home and watch us play and hopefully we’ll play well,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said.
Tickets for the Fayetteville Regional went on sale at 9 p.m. Sunday on the Razorbacks’ website. About 6,200 tickets were pre-sold to season-ticket holders last week and 200 tickets are allotted for each visiting team, according to a regional host manual posted on the NCAA website.
The Baum Stadium seating capacity is 10,737 and the stadium’s record attendance is 12,167 for a super regional game against Missouri State in June 2015.
National seeds — the tournament’s top eight teams — were not announced Sunday,
but Arkansas (42-17) is not expected to earn that distinction because of an RPI outside the top 10. National seeds are guaranteed to host a super regional if they advance past the regional round.
Super regional matchups are determined by pairing winners from regional sites hosted by national seeds against sites hosted by non-national seeds.
“We probably would have had to have won this tournament [to be a national seed] because that would have knocked off two national seeds on back to back days,” said Van Horn, referencing Arkansas’ victory over Florida and loss to LSU, both expected to be national seeds.
It is the sixth time Arkansas has hosted a regional at Baum Stadium, but first since the Razorbacks beat Washington State for the regional championship seven years ago. Arkansas won its home regional in 2004, but failed to advance as a host team in 1999, 2006 and 2007.
Arkansas played a super regional at Baum Stadium two years ago when national seed Missouri State was unable to host because of a scheduling conflict at its home stadium.