The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for most sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly referred to as Division I-AA.
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has been the home stadium of the Jackson State Tigers football team since 1970. Originally known as War Veterans Memorial Stadium, it was later known as Hinds County War Memorial Stadium. It was redesigned and enlarged in 1960 and Ole Miss vs. Arkansas dedicated Mississippi Memorial Stadium in 1961 before a capacity crowd of 46,000. With political support from Ole Miss and Mississippi State and leadership from Ole Miss Athletics Director Warner Alford, Mississippi Memorial Stadium was enlarged to 62,500 in 1981 and on September 26, 1981 Ole Miss and Arkansas again dedicated the facility before 63,522.
Ronald Louis Cooper is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Long Island University (LIU), a position he has held since the 2022 season. Cooper served as the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1993 to 1994, the University of Louisville from 1995 to 1997, and Alabama A&M University from 1998 to 2001. He was also the interim head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) for the final eight games of the 2016 season. Cooper worked one season in the National Football League, as the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Cooper played high school football at Lee High School and college football at Jacksonville State University.
Anthony Andrew Jones is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Elizabeth City State University, a position he has held from 2018 to 2021. He served as head coach at Morehouse College from 1999 to 2001, and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University from 2002 to 2013,. Jones played eight seasons as a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers during the 1980s. He was a member of the Redskins' 1987 Super Bowl championship team.
The Alabama A&M Bulldogs are the college football team representing the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. They play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2000 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University as a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach Doug Williams, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, winning the SWAC West Division title. Grambling State beat Alabama A&M in the SWAC Championship Game to the conference title. The team was also recognized as a black college football national champion. The Tigers offense scored 300 points while the defense allowed 207 points on the season. Grambling State played home games at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana.
The Jackson State Tigers football team represents Jackson State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The SWAC Championship Game, officially the Cricket Wireless SWAC Championship Game, is an American college football game that is held annually on the first Saturday in December by the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine its football champion. The game pits the champion of the Eastern Division against the champion of the Western Division in a game that follows the conclusion of the regular season. From 2015 onward, the winner of the game has represented the SWAC in the Celebration Bowl. Currently, it is the only conference championship game conducted at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. As of the 2019 season, the game is sponsored by Cricket Wireless.
The Pelican Bowl is a defunct, Louisiana-based NCAA Division II bowl game that was intended to match the overall champions or top-seeded co-champions from the then-new Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the long-established Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to determine the black college football national championship in the United States between 1972 and 1975. The game was won by the SWAC opponent in all three editions of the bowl. Due to low attendance, the game folded following the 1975 contest; the concept would be revived from 1991 to 1999 with the Heritage Bowl and again in 2015 with the Celebration Bowl.
The 2011 Alabama State Hornets football team represented Alabama State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Reggie Barlow, the Hornets compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 7–2 in conference play, sharing SWAC East Division title with Alabama A&M and Southern. Alabama A&M advanced to SWAC Football Championship Game by virtue of a head-to-head win over the Alabama State, while Southern was ineligible for postseason play due to low Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. Alabama State played home games at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
The 2011 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Rick Comegy, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 7–2 in conference play, sharing SWAC East Division title with Alabama A&M and Alabaam State. Alabama A&M advanced to SWAC Football Championship Game by virtue of a head-to-head win over the Alabama State, while Southern was ineligible for postseason play due to low Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. The Tigers played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi
The 2011 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University as a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led Doug Williams in the first season of his second stints as head coach and seventh overall after coaching the Tigers from 1998 to 2003. The Tigers finished the season 8–4 overall and 6–3 in SWAC play to win the West Division and defeated Alabama A&M in the SWAC Football Championship Game, 16–15, to become SWAC champions. The team played home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana.
The 2011 Texas Southern Tigers football team represented Texas Southern University a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year interim head coach Kevin Ramsey, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–7 in conference play, placing last out of five team in the SWAC's West Division. Texas Southern played four home games at Delmar Stadium and two at Reliant Stadium.
The 2013 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by 12th-year head coach Anthony Jones and played their home games at Louis Crews Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and finished the season with a 4–8 record.
The 2018 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represents Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs are led by first-year head coach Connell Maynor and play their home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2019 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Connell Maynor, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the SWAC's East Division. The team played its home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.
The 2020 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by third-year head coach Connell Maynor and played their home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. On July 20, 2020, the Southwestern Athletic Conference announced that it would not play fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama A&M University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Connell Maynor, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play placing third in the SWAC's East Division. The team played its home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.
The 2021 SWAC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the 23rd edition of the SWAC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) for the 2021 season. The game began at 3:00 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN2. The game featured the Jackson State Tigers, the East Division champions, and the Prairie View A&M Panthers, the West Division champions. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket and by beverage corporation PepsiCo through their Pepsi Zero Sugar brand, the game was officially known as the 2021 Cricket SWAC Football Championship presented by Pepsi Zero Sugar. The winner of the game received a bid to the Celebration Bowl to face the South Carolina State Bulldogs, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
The 2022 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama A&M University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Connell Maynor, the Bulldogs played their home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.
