FAYETTEVILLE -- As a Mississippi State assistant baseball coach from 1994-2008, Tommy Raffo faced the University of Arkansas 45 times.
The Bulldogs held a 23-22 advantage in those SEC West matchups.
"Extremely competitive between Arkansas and Mississippi State," Raffo said. "Great ballgames and a lot of fans at both sites."
Raffo's games against the Razorbacks stopped when he was hired as Arkansas State University's coach on July 1, 2008.
Arkansas' administration had a long-standing policy of not scheduling in-state colleges in any sports.
But Raffo had hope that would change eventually after he got a phone call from Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn.