Arkansas Razorbacks

And now finally – to one of my alma maters…. Arkansas.

Few college teams have an identity as fierce — or as unique — as the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Their badge, a charging wild hog bristling with tusks and fury, is one of the most recognisable in American sport. The razorback hog is a descendant of feral pigs brought by early settlers, lean and aggressive, able to survive in the harsh backwoods of Arkansas. In 1909, after an upset win over LSU, coach Hugo Bezdek told reporters that his squad had played “like a wild band of razorback hogs.” The old “Cardinals” nickname, taken from the team’s red jerseys, was dropped, and Arkansas had a new identity: the Razorbacks.

he true wild boar—often referred to as the European or Russian boar—is not native to the United States. Their domesticated ancestors were first introduced to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Some historians believe wild boars arrived later with Hernando de Soto, who reportedly brought thirteen hogs on his 1539 expedition. Although later historians have cast doubt on this story – either way – they got there somehow and it was clearly European settlers that introduced them.

Many of the domestic pigs brought by these settlers escaped and adapted to the wild, establishing breeding grounds in the hills and even roaming town streets. Over time, these feral pigs interbred with wild boars, creating the hybrid population now commonly referred to as “wild boars.” Settlers trapped these hogs in large pens and sold them at market—a practice that persisted into the twentieth century. However, the Great Depression prompted many farmers to abandon rural life for urban stability.

Today, feral hogs are found in over fifty counties across Arkansas, a lasting legacy of centuries of adaptation and interbreeding.

The university itself was a product of a sweeping national reform. Established in 1871 under the Morrill Land-Grant Act, Arkansas Industrial University (later renamed the University of Arkansas) was built to provide practical education in agriculture and mechanical arts. Its most iconic building, Old Main, completed in 1875, still stands watch over campus. With its red-brick towers and stately halls, college tour kinds still lower their voices in respect at such an old building – the amusement of many incoming European students.

The Razorbacks’ home is Fayetteville, a city with roots stretching back to early pioneers in the Ozark Mountains. Originally known as Washington Courthouse when it was founded in the 1820s, it was later renamed for Fayetteville, Tennessee, itself honouring the Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette. Fayetteville became an important regional centre, scarred by battles during the Civil War but rebuilt into a thriving town. In April 1863, Confederate forces under General William L. Cabell attacked Union troops in the Battle of Fayetteville, fighting on College Hill where the university now stands. Union defenders held firm, securing control of northwest Arkansas for the remainder of the war. Earlier, the larger Battle of Pea Ridge (March 1862), fought just north of the city, had already shaped the fate of the region, keeping Missouri in Union hands. By war’s end, Fayetteville lay battered, its courthouse destroyed, its people scattered. Old Main’s construction a decade later symbolised a community rising from ashes into education and renewal.

Another chapter in the university’s story came from Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Based in nearby Bentonville, Walton built the world’s largest retailer from humble Arkansas beginnings. His family and company have poured millions into the University of Arkansas, funding scholarships, research into technology like RFID, and entire colleges, such as the Sam M. Walton College of Business. Just as Old Main symbolised the land-grant vision, Walmart’s support has made the Razorbacks’ home institution a flagship not only for the state but for the wider South.

On the field, the Razorbacks have built a proud tradition. They claimed a share of the 1964 national championship, have won 13 conference titles, and regularly send players into the NFL. Their fans, the Hog Callers, have made “Woo Pig Sooie!” one of the loudest and most distinctive chants in American sport, shaking stadiums across the South.

Amongst their was Darren McFadden. The explosive running back twice finished as Heisman runner-up in the 2000s before heading to the NFL as a first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders. He joined a long line of Razorbacks who carried that Fayetteville fire into the pros, including Steve Atwater, Dan Hampton, and Joe Ferguson.

The Razorback logo itself — that snarling, leaping hog — perfectly reflects the program’s identity: toughness, speed, defiance, and survival. In a state without a major professional franchise, the Razorbacks are more than just a team; they are the beating heart of Arkansas. Fayetteville’s population doubles on gameday as people from all over the state drive in for the tailgating, festivities, marching bands and gameday. ‘Tusk’ the mascot is a Russian boar that is paraded around the field on gameday while cheerleaders do backflips from the top of his carriage.

It is hard to find a more genuine college football experience.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are a living symbol of their state’s history: born from a land-grant vision of education, fortified by Walton family philanthropy, forged on Fayetteville’s battlefields, redefined by a wild hog’s charge, and kept alive by fans whose call drowns out any stadium speaker.