Sam Pittman explains what makes Arkansas unique in the SEC landscape

Arkansas is doing its best to position itself in the SEC under Sam Pittman for this season as well as the next one upon the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. In order to do, though, Pittman believes the Razorbacks have something that none of the other programs in the Southeastern Conference, present or future, have at their disposal.

Pittman discussed Arkansas’ unique position as one of the only schools to have their state essentially to themselves while at SEC Media Days. He said the lack of other athletic programs in Arkansas creates a larger fanbase for them that they don’t have to divide and share with another school.

“In our state? The Razorbacks are it,” Pittman said. “We’re it in the state of Arkansas. I think that’s very unique.”

“I think you grow up as a baby and there’s not any split. You’re a ‘Hog,” explained Pittman. “I think that’s a very, very unique situation that we have. The passion is very unique in the state.”

With that in mind, Pittman believes that will continue to give Arkansas a distinct advantage in the conference moving forward, especially whenever they hit the road.

“I think it’ll make us, if it makes sense, more powerful,” said Pittman. “We’ll be able to travel easier. Hopefully, when we go into an opponent’s arena, we’re able to take a lot of people in there.”

Within the context of the SEC, Arkansas is one of the only schools that essentially has a state to itself. As far as intra-league battles within the state, Texas will join Alabama (Alabama and Auburn) and Tennessee (Tennessee and Vanderbilt) and Mississippi (Ole Miss and Mississippi State) with a pair of programs within their borders with Texas and Texas A&M.

From there, four more schools have in-state competition that’s outside of the conference with Georgia and Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Louisville, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and South Carolina and Clemson. That’s not even to mention Florida which has to share interest with Florida State, Miami, and, to a lesser degree, UCF.

As a whole, Missouri and LSU are the only two schools that don’t have true collegiate competition in their state. However, both of those teams also have professional football teams to share their state with.

In the end, that makes Arkansas different from the rest of the league and is something that he hopes will put them over the edge in ways that they want to be successful.