Gonzaga, Arkansas set date for late-October exhibition showdown

Back in June, it was reported that Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs would travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on John Calipari and the Razorbacks, and now we finally have a date for this exhibition showdown.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Gonzaga will play Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, Oct. 24, just nine days before opening the season officially against Purdue in Las Vegas on Nov. 2.

College basketball programs are now allowed up to three exhibition games per season, and Gonzaga's trip to Arkansas is the only reported exhibition for the team as of this writing.

Hall of Fame History

While Gonzaga and Arkansas don't have a ton of history as programs, the two head coaches certainly do. Calipari was one of three Hall of Famers to speak at Few's induction ceremony in mid-August, alongside former Gonzaga point guard John Stockton and Duke forward Grant Hill.

Few and Calipari have squared off six times in their careers, four while Cal was at Memphis and twice when he was at Kentucky. This will be the first battle since Cal took over at Arkansas in 2024-25, although as an exhibition it won't officially count in the standings.

Source: This season's exhibition game between Arkansas and Gonzaga will be played on October 24th at Bud Walton Arena.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 31, 2026

Gonzaga is 2-4 against Calipari-led teams, going 0-4 against Memphis but 2-0 against Kentucky, winning at the Spokane Arena in 2022-23 and on the road at Rupp in 2023-24 - Cal's final year before being replaced by Mark Pope in Lexington.

The most recent game between Gonzaga and Arkansas is one fans would like to forget. It came in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 1 seed Zags fell to No. 4 Arkansas, 74-68, ending one of the strongest seasons in program history prematurely - and sending star players Chet Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard off to the NBA.

Gonzaga beat Arkansas in the Maui Invitational, 91-81, in 2013, in the only other matchup between these two programs since Few took over in 1999.

Prepping for Gonzaga's Gauntlet

Arkansas will be a fantastic tune-up for Gonzaga ahead of what is yet another excellent, challenging non-conference slate. With 32 total games allowed and 16 in the Pac-12 schedule, Gonzaga has worked hard to build a very strong 16 game non-con.

That includes confirmed matchups against Purdue (Nov. 2 in Las Vegas), LSU (Nov. 14 at Spokane Arena), UCLA (Dec. 5 in Anaheim), Creighton (Dec. 12), Michigan State (Dec. 19 in Palm Springs), and Duke (Feb. 20 in Detroit).

Mar 14, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Zags will also play in the Players Era Festival for the second year in a row, drawing a first-round matchup against Kansas State on Nov. 24 in Las Vegas, with a round-two showdown on Nov. 26 against either Alabama or Baylor.

Facing a loaded Arkansas team that features star freshmen Jordan Smith Jr, JJ Andrews, and Miika Muurinen, in a hostile road environment, is a great way for this new Zag roster to coalesce before the season gets underway a little over a week later.

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