Welcome to the Golden Cardinal Scavenger Hunt!
Did you know that the original mascot for the University of Arkansas was a Cardinal? Although we are Razorbacks today, this history of the Arkansas Cardinals has not been forgotten. To commemorate our history, we’ve hidden a two pound Golden Cardinal on campus!
Each day of A-Week, a riddle will be published that will slowly lead you to the hiding spot of our Golden Cardinal. You’ll have five days to try and find our Golden Cardinal before anyone else!
The finder of the Golden Cardinal will be able to keep the Golden Cardinal and win a prize package worth over $500. The 2025 prize package will include $100 Dining Dollars, $150 worth of Razorback merchandise from the Campus Bookstore, Signed Basketball by Razorback Basketball Coach, John Calipari, and a Flat Screen TV!
Here are the rules!
●Participation in the Golden Cardinal Search is limited to University of Arkansas first-year students. Non first-year students, faculty, and staff are ineligible to participate.
● The Golden Cardinal will be hidden on University of Arkansas property and will not move. All five daily clues pertain to a single location where the Golden Cardinal is located.
● The contest participant who locates the Golden Cardinal by August 15 at 5:00 pm and returns it to the Student Engagement Office in Union A640, is the potential winner of the prize.
● No clues, nor the hiding place, require entry onto private property.
● A new clue will be published in Arkansas News, A-Week website, and social media beginning Monday, August 11, and ending with the final clue on Friday, August 15, unless the Cardinal is found before then.
● Clues will be published on https://aweek.uark.edu each day at or around 9:00 am.
● The contest ends at 5:00 pm on August 15, 2025.
● The Cardinal must be returned to Student Engagement Office by 5:00 pm on Monday, August 18 in ARKU A640 or the prize will be forfeited.
● The contest ends when the Cardinal is found.
● The person returning the Cardinal must provide a valid UARK ID Card and proof of fall 2025 enrollment.
● Participants who engage in unsportsmanlike, disruptive, or abusive behavior will be disqualified at the discretion of the Office of Transition Programs & Initiatives.
● Anyone who damages, destroys, or trespasses on public or private property will be disqualified from the contest.
THE 2025 GOLDEN CARDINAL HAS BEEN FOUND, WEDNESDAY, 8/13 AT 10:00AM
Clue 1: Monday August 11th
Welcome to campus, keep an eye out as you enter;
Our Golden Cardinal is waiting right in A center.
From learning- to game day, so much is waiting-
Stay tuned for more clues, they get quite captivating!
Clue 2: Tuesday, August 12th
You might find our Cardinal where youth surrounds
Not by the high school but there may be playgrounds
Look high and low with no stone unturned!
Give something back and money can be earned.
Clue 3: Wednesday August 13th
Come one, come all, take a peek “inside”;
Maybe take some friends on a quick ride!
Although these trees and plants help me be discrete,
I feel extra secure surrounded by concrete.
Clue 4: Thursday August 14th
Don’t wait until nightfall to begin your search,
You will not find it up in a perch.
Check the deep depths where sun barely shines;
Make sure you’re permitted, or you will get some fines.
Clue 5: Friday, August 15th
Still haven’t found it? Go get your eyes checked.
But make sure there’s parking or your day will be wrecked!
Our little Cardinal hasn’t been found
Perhaps you should check where you drive around and around.
Winners of the 2025 Golden Cardinal Search are Andrea Sikora (left) and Katie Tucker (right). The Golden Cardinal was hidden in the bottom of the Garland Garage in the bottom of a tree.
