When Arkansas Tech University lost back-to-back games in the middle of the 2025 football season to fall to 4-3 overall, the Wonder Boys had two choices: give in or fight on.
They chose the latter, and as a result, Arkansas Tech will play postseason football for the first time since 2017.
The Wonder Boys (7-4) will face the West Texas A&M University Buffaloes (7-4) in the 2025 Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot at noon on Saturday, Dec. 6. The game will be played at Tiger Field at Community National Bank and Trust Stadium in Corsicana, Texas, which has hosted the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot since 2017.
The Wonder Boys made it to the 2025 Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot on the strength of a three-game winning streak from Oct. 25-Nov. 8 that propelled them to just the third seven-win campaign in the last 15 seasons for Arkansas Tech.
“It says a lot about our kids and our coaches,” said Roy Thompson, ATU head football coach, when asked to reflect upon the Wonder Boys’ consecutive wins over Henderson State University, Southern Nazarene University and Oklahoma Baptist University late in the regular season. “The motto of the program is go to work, and that’s exactly what we did. We went back to let’s have one good practice. We did that, and we kept putting together good days. The kids worked really hard and the coaches prepared really well.”
Arkansas Tech will play postseason football for just the 12th time in the 110-season history of its football program.
The Wonder Boys appeared in the Rice Bowl in 1957 and 1958, the Great Southwest Bowl in 1960 and the AIC Bowl in 1968. The Wonder Boys qualified for the NAIA National Playoffs in 1971 and 1994, and they earned a place in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 1999, 2004 and 2009.
Arkansas Tech’s most recent postseason appearances were the 2015 C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, which it won 51-35 over Eastern New Mexico University, and the 2017 Live United Bowl, which it lost to Pittsburg State University 48-31.
Thompson said there are benefits to the bowl appearance that extend beyond playing the game.
“I think it’s huge for our young guys,” said Thompson. “It’s an opportunity for us to continue to practice and give those guys an opportunity to continue to develop. We’re a pretty young football team with a lot of guys coming back next season, so every snap and every rep those guys can get between now and the bowl game are going to be huge…not just for this season, but going forward for our program. It’s also going to help recruiting wise, and the chance to get to eight wins is a big deal, so we’re excited about that opportunity.”
A win over the Buffaloes would give the Wonder Boys their seventh season with eight or more wins since 1971.
Live coverage of the Arkansas Tech-West Texas A&M game will be provided by KCJC 102.3 FM, the EAB Media Group app and www.arkansastechsports.com beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.
Talk to you on the radio.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
