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.
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 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 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 2012 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by seventh-year head coach Rick Comegy and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished with an overall record of seven wins and five losses and lost to Arkansas–Pine Bluff in the SWAC Championship Game.
The 2013 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by eighth year head coach Rick Comegy and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the SWAC East Division. Jackson State returned as the defending East Division Champs. The Tigers finished the season with an 8–4 record, as East Division Champions and with a loss against Southern in the SWAC Championship Game.
The 2014 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by first-year head coach Harold Jackson and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 3–6 in SWAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division.
The 2015 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by second-year head coach Harold Jackson for the first five games of the season before he was fired. Wide receivers coach Derrick McCall was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. They played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 3–6 in SWAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division.
The 2016 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by first-year head coach Tony Hughes. They played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–8 overall and 3–6 in SWAC play to tie for third place in the East Division.
The 2016–17 Jackson State Tigers basketball team represented Jackson State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by fourth-year head coach Wayne Brent, played their home games at the Williams Assembly Center in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 10–8 in SWAC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the No. 6 seed in the SWAC tournament, they lost to Southern in the quarterfinals.
The 2017 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team represented Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Rick Comegy in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Delta Devils compiled an overall record of 2–9 and a mark of 1–8 in conference play, placing last out of five teams in the SWAC's East Division. Mississippi Valley State played home games at Rice–Totten Stadium in Itta Bena, Mississippi.
The 2018 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by second-year head coach Tony Hughes and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2018–19 Jackson State Tigers basketball team represented Jackson State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by sixth-year head coach Wayne Brent, and played their home games at the Williams Assembly Center in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 13–19 overall, 10–8 in SWAC play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the SWAC tournament, they were upset by No. 6 seed Alabama State in the quarterfinals.
The 2020 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by Pro Football Hall of Famer and first-year head coach Deion Sanders and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2021 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, and competed in the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They were led by second-year head coach Deion Sanders.
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 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State 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 third-year head coach Deion Sanders, the Tigers played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson State won their second straight SWAC East Division championship and their second straight SWAC title under Sanders leadership, finishing the regular season undefeated, 12–0. The Tigers played MEAC champion North Carolina Central in the 2022 Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, and lost. Sanders resigned as the team's head coach after winning the SWAC championship on December 3, 2022 to become the head coach at Colorado.
The 2022 SWAC Championship Game was a college football game played on December 3, 2022, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the 24th edition of the SWAC Championship Game and determined the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) for the 2022 season. The game began at 3:00 p.m. CST on ESPN2. The game featured the Jackson State Tigers, the East Division champions, and the Southern Jaguars, the West Division champions. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket and by beverage corporation PepsiCo, the game was officially known as the 2022 Cricket SWAC Football Championship presented by Pepsi. The winner of the game received a bid to the Celebration Bowl to face the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the North Carolina Central Eagles.
