Winter Storm to Test SEC Protocols, Local Ability to Plan for Worst Case Scenario

It's going to be down right miserable across much of the SEC this weekend.

Throughout much of the footprint, ice and extended freezing temperatures are going to cause havoc with safety precautions and scheduling in regard to the weekend slate of college basketball games.

And while ice isn't expected in Northwest Arkansas, the Canada level temperatures and projection of well over two feet of snow this weekend in Fayetteville is going to make things dicy in regard to the Arkansas vs. LSU men's basketball game.

As of Thursday morning, forecasts project temperatures to drop below freezing in the early morning hours later tonight and not get above that mark until Tuesday afternoon. Saturday temperatures are expected to fall to around 4° and then dip further Sunday to -6°.

While most view the snow that is supposed to start falling Friday night and remain relatively constant through Sunday evening, catapulting once shocking projections of 15 inches to a now unthinkable 31 inches, as the biggest concern in regard to whether the game can be played, there is an even more devastating possibility in play.

With temperatures dipping to such dangerously cold levels, water pipes in arenas get pushed to their maximum. On numerous occasions, pipes have burst, flooding locker room areas, or, in worst case scenarios, the actual basketball courts.

In fact, this has played out recently in Arkansas. In 2022, shortly after Christmas, freezing temperatures in Little Rock caused a ruptured water coil to burst at the Jack Stephens Center at what was referred to then as Arkansas-Little Rock.

The Trojans' home floor was a total loss. To make matters more stressful, UALR had an upcoming game in two days with Tennessee-Martin that needed a solution quickly.

While their floor was ripped up come game day and out of commission for the next several months, crews over at Simmons Bank Arena scrambled to call back enough people to pull off a double-header of men's and women's games.

University officials estimated it was going to cost between $10,000-$50,000 per game, but Simmons Bank was the only option they were willing to consider even though attendance at most Trojans games could have easily fit well in what was once referred to as "Smalltel Arena" over at North Little Rock.

Still, as a venue more suited to handle television broadcasts, UALR opted to take the financial hit and play in the cavernous arena. It meant neither team would get to practice on the court until game day, but at least the Trojans were able to make it work.

"Fortunately, we had enough dates in-between [events] to make it all happen," Simmons Bank Arena general manager Wesley Holmes told Little Rock's KATV at the time. "Once events start stacking up on each other, that can get challenging."

As for the Arkansas Razorbacks, if the -6° weather becomes too much and Nolan Richardson court finds itself also covered in a few inches of water, the remote location of the university will make getting through the rest of the season much more difficult.

In a pinch where a game had to be played the next day, Barnhill Arena, the former home of the Razorbacks, could be used, although figuring out ticketing would be a nightmare.

Arkansas basketball set a Barnhilll Arena record of 9,596 for a game against Kentucky in 1993. That's almost exactly half the capacity of Bud Walton Arena.

There's also the fact Barnhill hasn't hosted basketball in three decades. The arena has had minor modifications that make it unlikely that many Razorbacks fans could pack out Barnhill once more.

Theoretically it can squeeze in 9,000 fans next week if needed, but that hasn't come close to being tested. The most recent gauge is the old school record of 7,147 in 2024, which was reached multiple times by the gymnastics program as a capacity crowd.

The lack of maximum space is what spawned the move of the program to Bud Walton Arena where crowds immediately topped 10,000 with the extra available room. It would be difficult to figure out how to play more than one or two games at Barnhill considering tickets already sold for Bud Walton.

It's very likely Arkansas home games would have to also be played at Simmons Bank Arena for the rest of the season. It would be highly inconvenient for the athletes and coaching staff to travel so far for each home game, but there aren't other options for handling similar crowds.

Of course, that will create a lot of issues also because many of the season ticket holders live in Northwest Arkansas and it virtually eliminates the student section, but if Bud Walton isn't functional following a weather disaster, there may not be any other way to make it happen.

While that's all hypothetical, there are still certain problems that must be addressed. With so much snow expected, there's the very real problem of getting LSU to the arena.

Even if the Tigers stay at The Graduate, which is the nearby hotel former Auburn player Johni Broome made famous by making fun of on their stay a couple of years ago, it's not an easy drive to Bud Walton Arena through the sometimes steep roads.

There's also the issue of getting LSU's team in and out of the area. If the Tigers try to leave right after the game Saturday night, it's going to be very late. Temperatures will be below 10°, which means possible treacherous conditions when it comes to getting to one of the nearby airports.

Plus, neither airport is probably ready to handle that much snow. By game's end, it's expected to have piled up to around 28 inches.

There's a small chance XNA can handle that, but, of the two airports, it definitely requires the longest drive (25.3 miles) for the high chance the LSU players are going to be stuck in the airport for a couple of days.

As far as official guidance from the SEC goes, we reached out to Razorbacks Communications multiple times about this and they didn't comment. Best we can find is it appears if two of the three officials can get to the game, each team has the minimum number of players to compete and the host school can provide enough electricity needed to provide proper lighting and run a basic level scoreboard, teams can play.

The home team's athletics administrators are also supposed to provide the SEC offices with updates on projected and actual weather conditions also. The only other official looking information on the matter appears to do with any non-game activities.

For instance, if the University of Arkansas closes down from a school activities perspective, which can include cancelling classes, then it is required that the athletics director, not the team coach, decide whether to allow events such as practice or film sessions to take place.

It is also up to the athletics director, in this case Hunter Yurachek, to ensure that no assistant coaches, nor players, feel like they are being punished in any way if they feel unsafe about coming to any non-game events. If an assistant or team member chooses to miss the event for fear of safety, it must be treated as if he were actually there.

Unofficially, reports across social media indicate the last snow game was also against LSU when the Hogs wore pink uniforms back in 2023. Arkansas won the game, 60-40, and Devo Davis led the Razorbacks with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting along with six rebounds.

A 21 TO 2 RUN pic.twitter.com/MGnvIa8HLD
— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) January 25, 2023

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