COLLEGE ATHLETICS

First Razorback Raffle goes live

FAYETTEVILLE — The first Razorback Raffle, an online initiative to raise money for University of Arkansas student-athletes, went online on Tuesday after many months in the making.

The 50/50 style raffle, announced by the Razorback Foundation, will be held in conjunction with Arkansas sporting events, starting with this weekend’s series between the fifth-ranked Arkansas baseball team and the defending College World Series champion, No. 14 Tennessee, at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The jackpot winner will receive half of the net proceeds raised by the sales of tickets and the other half will be contributed to the Razorback Foundation to support Arkansas athletics.

Raffle tickets went on sale Tuesday morning and by noon the jackpot had reached $8,900. The raffle winner is guaranteed at least $5,000, according to the foundation.

A news release stated “the raffle will be the first of numerous contests that will be scheduled for Razorback football, basketball and baseball games as well as select other events.”

The first raffle jackpot will be chosen by a certified random number generator after the sixth inning and announced during the eighth inning of the final game of the Tennessee-Arkansas baseball series on Saturday.

Participants must be in the state of Arkansas at the time of purchase and must attest to being 18 years or older, according to the Razorback Foundation.

University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek has been a strident supporter of a raffle, stating at a House hearing that Razorbacks athletics could generate revenues “north of seven figures” with drawings.

The raffle will be administered by Bump, a Canadian company that bills itself as “North America’s leading digital raffle partner.”

— Tom Murphy

FOOTBALL

Brown released from scholarship at UA

FAYETTEVILLE — Wide receiver signee Jace Brown has been released from his scholarship agreement with University of Arkansas football team, a team spokesperson told WholeHogSports on Tuesday.

Brown, rated a 3-star in Arkansas’ 2025 recruiting class by 247Sports, was a high school teammate of former Arkansas quarterback Madden Iamaleava. The pair transferred from Warren (Calif.) High School to Long Beach Polytechnic High School ahead of their senior seasons and were denied eligibility at their new school by the California Interscholastic Federation.

Brown and Iamaleava were both committed to UCLA before flipping to Arkansas on the first day of the early signing period on Dec. 4.

Iamaleava enrolled early and went through spring practices with the Razorbacks. Brown did not and was set to arrive on campus this summer.

After running the third-team offense for most of Arkansas’ spring practice slate, Iamaleava transferred to UCLA during the spring portal window to join his older brother, former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Per multiple reports, Madden Iamaleava is in a legal dispute with Arkansas Edge, the Razorbacks’ NIL collective, which is seeking to enforce the buyout clause of his NIL deal. His deal reportedly included a provision that would require him to pay 50% of the money remaining on the agreement and he was due $400,000 in remaining payments, which amounts to a $200,000 buyout.

Asked in April whether Iamaleava’s departure from Arkansas would impact Brown’s signing, Coach Sam Pittman said, “It could. We’ll see. It certainly could.”

— Christina Long

TRACK AND FIELD

Meet of Champs takes place at Harding

The 2025 Meet of Champions is set to kick off at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Ted Loyd Track and Field Complex at Harding University in Searcy.

The girls pole vault, long jump and discus and the boys triple jump, shot put and high jump will begin at 11 a.m., followed by each division’s 3,200-meter relay at noon. The remaining field events are slated to start at 1 p.m. before the rest of the running showcases unfold, beginning at 2:30 p.m. with the 800-meter relay.

The meet will use a rolling schedule because some races may require more than one heat.

Also, the Arkansas High School Heptathlon and Decathlon will be held on May 21-22 in Fayetteville.

— Erick Taylor

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