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 all 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.
The Grambling State Tigers are the college football team representing the Grambling State University. The Tigers play in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
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 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team is the college football team representing the Prairie View A&M University. The Panthers play in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). From 1989 to 1998, Prairie View A&M lost 80 straight games, the longest losing streak in NCAA history.
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. As of the 2019 season, the game is sponsored by Cricket Wireless.
The Celebration Bowl is a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)—the two prominent conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in NCAA Division I. It serves as the de facto national championship of black college football. The game is held annually in Atlanta on the third weekend of December, and has been played at the Georgia Dome and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It is currently the only active bowl game to feature teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The 2015 Celebration Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 19, 2015 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The inaugural Celebration Bowl game pitted the North Carolina A&T Aggies, co-champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the Alcorn State Braves, champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The event was the finale of the 2015 FCS football season for both conferences as their champions abstain from the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs.
The 2018 Southern Jaguars football team represented Southern University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Jaguars were led by sixth-year head coach Dawson Odums and played their home games at Ace W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2018 Grambling State Tigers football team represents Grambling State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers are led by fifth-year head coach Broderick Fobbs and play their home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST. It was the first game of the 2018–19 bowl season, and the only bowl to feature FCS teams. It was the fourth edition of the Celebration Bowl and the final game of the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season for the participating teams. The Air Force Reserve resumed its role as the title sponsor after a one-year absence.
The 2019 Southern Jaguars football team represents Southern University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Jaguars are led by seventh-year head coach Dawson Odums and play their home games at Ace W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The 2019–20 Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball team represented Prairie View A&M University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by fourth-year head coach Byron Smith, played their home games at the William Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 14–4 in SWAC play to be regular season SWAC champions. They defeated Alabama A&M in the quarterfinals of the SWAC Tournament and were set to take on Jackson State in the semifinal before the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the SWAC Tournament cancelled, they were awarded the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was also cancelled.
The 1974 Alcorn A&M Braves football team was an American football team that represented Alcorn State University in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during 1974 NCAA Division II football season. In their 11th season under head coach Marino Casem, Alcorn compiled an 9–2 record, won the SWAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 282 to 161.
The 1975 Grambling Tigers football team represented Grambling State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1975 NCAA Division II football season. In its 33rd season under head coach Eddie Robinson, Grambling compiled a 10–2 record, initially tied for the SWAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 324 to 153 on the field. The team was recognized as the 1975 black college football national co-champion and was ranked No. 4 by the Associated Press and No. 2 by the United Press International in the final 1975 NCAA College Division football rankings.
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 2020–21 Jackson State Tigers basketball team represented Jackson State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by eighth-year head coach Wayne Brent, played their home games at the Williams Assembly Center in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2021 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with television coverage on ABC. It was the highest attended and 6th edition of the Celebration Bowl, and was the only one of the 2021–22 bowl games to feature FCS teams. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket Wireless, the game was officially known as the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
The 2021–22 Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball team represents Prairie View A&M University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by sixth-year head coach Byron Smith, play their home games at the William Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Spring 2021 SWAC Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the 22nd SWAC Championship Game and determined the 2020 champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket, the game was officially known as the Spring 2021 Cricket SWAC Football Championship.
