It's driven by the City of Little Rock over concerns about losing Arkansas' annual games

UALR is 60% women, 40% men (USN&WR, 59% in Forbes) -- UALR has removed this ratio from their website. So adding 85 Football scholarships would require 124 women's sports scholarships to be added. This high female to male ratio is typical of a liberal arts school, which UALR is.

It is also a commuter school, which means it would rely more than usual for a college on townees. There are only 9,575 undergraduates, so a fee hike to pay for football would be quite substantial ($300 is required to raise $3m, which is probably the minimum). Capitol costs would require a serious fund raising campaign, might well compete with other school projects.

I am assuming students will have no say in this. With 60% women, who are largely commuting, it seems extremely unlikely it could ever get a campus vote in favor. A poor candidate for football

But here is the real reason, the games played in Little Rock War Memorial Stadium are dwindling. Used to be Louisiana Monroe and LSU would have fans come to Little Rock and stay in town one year and Mississippi State in other years. But those days are done. Georgia was the last SEC game there in 2014. Future just seems to be a FCS school to ride out the end of the contract.

Arkansas, like most P5 schools, realizes an extra $3M with each home game in Fayetteville.This is what killed the Colorado State vs Colorado game. The FCS games have little value which is why Little Rock gets them. Pulling the lucrative LSU and Miss St games back to Fayetteville. They thew a bone of Georgia in 2014 to Little Rock, but the loss of an SEC game has got to be hurting Little Rock's hotels and restaurants.

2008
Sep 6: ULM vs Arkansas
Nov 28: LSU vs Arkansas (SEC)
2009
Sep 5: Missouri State vs Arkansas
Nov 21: Mississippi State vs Arkansas (SEC)
2010
Sep 11: ULM vs Arkansas
Nov 27: LSU vs Arkansas (SEC)
2011
Sep 10: New Mexico vs Arkansas
Nov 19: Mississippi State vs Arkansas (SEC)
2012
Sep 8: ULM vs Arkansas
Nov 23: LSU vs Arkansas (SEC)
2013
Sep 8: Samford vs Arkansas
Nov 23: Mississippi State vs Arkansas (SEC)


2014
Oct 18: Georgia vs Arkansas (SEC)
2015
Sep 12: Toledo vs Arkansas
2016
Oct 1: Alcorn State vs Arkansas
2017
Aug 31: Florida A&M vs Arkansas
2018
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
2019
Sep 14: Portland State vs Arkansas // location not settled, may be in Fayetteville

2020 onward no games in Little Rock

The City is pushing the school, but the math doesn't work.