Last season, Arkansas Tech University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University both served notice to the Great American Conference that their football programs are on the rise.
The Wonder Boys finished 7-5 and earned a bid to the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot. It was Arkansas Tech’s first winning season and its first postseason appearance since 2017.
The Bulldogs finished 6-5, including a 5-0 record against their fellow GAC members from Oklahoma. SWOSU celebrated a winning season for the first time since 2015.
Now, as they look to build upon that success, they will test each other in week one of 2026.
Arkansas Tech will host SWOSU for a 7 p.m. Great American Conference game at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 3. Tailgating will begin on Centennial Plaza at 4 p.m.
Game tickets are available at www.arkansastechsports.com/tickets.
“We’re always going to start the game and start our recruiting on the offensive line and the defensive line,” said Roy Thompson, who is beginning his second season as ATU head football coach. “Up front, on the offensive line, we have a lot of guys coming back who played meaningful football last year. We’ve added some guys to that unit, but most of those guys have been in the program, and they know what our focus is. We want to run the football. We want to get 600 pounds on 300 pounds and move some people. On the defensive line, watching those guys over the last couple of weeks, I feel like we have a talented and deep group of guys.
“This is going to be a line of scrimmage game,” continued Thompson. “SWOSU is one of the best rushing teams in the league, so this game will be won on the line of scrimmage.”
Thompson said that avoiding penalties and missed assignments, giving maximum effort on every snap and winning in turnover margin have been additional points of emphasis going into the season opener.
SWOSU might have been the best kept secret in GAC football in 2025. After an 0-2 start, the Bulldogs rallied to win six of their final nine games. Their only losses during that nine-game stretch were setbacks of four points or less against Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University and Ouachita Baptist University.
In other words, Southwestern Oklahoma State was just a handful of plays away from a 9-2 season.
“I’ve been telling guys since the summer…(SWOSU) was the hottest team in the league at the end of the season last year,” said Thompson. “Those guys are talented. Coach (Andrew) Rice has been there for three years, and I think he’s done a good job of implementing his culture. The programs are a little bit alike in that we both want to play the game on the line of scrimmage. This is a challenge that needs to be won on the offensive line and the defensive line. We have to come out and make a statement on how we’re going to play football at Arkansas Tech.”
The Wonder Boys have won their last six meetings with Southwestern Oklahoma State, including a 32-10 win over the Bulldogs in Weatherford, Okla., last season.
“Our kids are going to play hard,” said Thompson. “That’s how we’re going to make our living here at Tech. We’re going to try to represent Arkansas Tech well. We want people to be excited about what we do. We’ve got some talented skill kids on the offensive side of the ball. As much as we focus on the offensive and defensive lines, our skill kids are pretty good. I think those guys are going to make some explosive plays. It’s going to be pretty exciting.”
Live coverage of the ATU-SWOSU game will be available on KCJC 102.3 FM, www.rivervalleyradio.com/river-country and www.arkansastechsports.com.
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.
