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.
The Jackson State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.
The Grambling State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The Jackson State–Southern football rivalry, often informally called the BoomBox Classic, is a college football rivalry between the Tigers of Jackson State University (JSU) and the Jaguars of Southern University (SU). An annual conference game between two historically black universities in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), its location usually rotates between JSU's Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi and SU's A. W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but it has also been held at larger venues to accommodate the large crowds that the game draws. As of 2023, the Jaguars lead the series 35–33, not including two wins that Southern was ordered to vacate by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The 1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team represented the Mississippi Valley State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Archie Cooley, the Delta Devils played their home games at Magnolia Stadium—now known as Rice–Totten Stadium—in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Mississippi Valley finished the season with an overall record of 9–2 and a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the SWAC. The team qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, losing to Louisiana Tech in the first round. With an offense led by quarterback Willie Totten and wide receiver Jerry Rice, the Delta Devils scored 628 points on the season, averaging more than 57 points per game.
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 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 Alabama 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 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 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 2015 Texas Southern Tigers football team represented Texas Southern University a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Darrell Asberry in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 3–7 with a mark of 2–7 in conference play, placing fourth in the SWAC's West Division. Texas Southern played home games at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
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 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 2019 Grambling State Tigers football team represented Grambling State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by sixth-year head coach Broderick Fobbs and played their home games at Eddie Robinson Stadium in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
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 2020 Texas Southern Tigers football team represented Texas Southern University a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led second-year head coach Clarence McKinney, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 1–2 with an identical mark in conference play, placing fourth teams in the SWAC's West Division. Texas Southern played home games at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
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 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The seventh annual Celebration Bowl, the game featured the Jackson State Tigers, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the North Carolina Central Eagles, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The SWAC and MEAC are the two prominent NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
