SWAC Football Championship Game

Last updated
SWAC Championship Game
Southwestern Athletic Conference logo.svg
Sport College football
Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference
Current stadium Bragg Memorial Stadium (2023)
Current location Tallahassee, Florida (2023)
Played1999–present
Last contestDecember 2, 2023
Current champion Florida A&M
Most championships Grambling State (8)
TV partner(s) ESPN [1]
Official website SWAC Football
Sponsors
HealthSouth (1999–2002)
Jeep (2003)
Dodge (2004)
Farmers Insurance (2009–2012)
Toyota (2013–2018)
Cricket Wireless (2019–present)
Host stadiums
Legion Field (1999–2012)
NRG Stadium (2013–2017)
Jack Spinks Stadium (2018–2019)
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (2021–2022)
Bragg Memorial Stadium (2023)
Host locations
Birmingham, Alabama (1999–2012)
Houston, Texas (2013–2017)
Lorman, Mississippi (2018–2019)
Jackson, Mississippi (2021–2022)
Tallahassee, Florida (2023)
2022 season matchup
Southern vs. Jackson State
(Jackson State 43-24)
2023 season matchup
Prairie View vs. Florida A&M
(December 2, 2023)

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. [2]

Contents

The game was held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1999 through 2012, and moved to NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for the 2013 through 2017 playings. Since 2018, the game has been played at a campus site, hosted by the participant with the higher ranking, with the exception of the 2021 spring game when the championship moved to its third neutral location at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

Following the 1998 season, the SWAC announced that the league would be split into two divisions with the divisional winners meeting in a championship game. [3] [4] At the time of the announcement, a site for the game had not been selected but the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the Astrodome in Houston, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile and Legion Field in Birmingham were each mentioned as potential locations for the event. [3] [4] Additionally, expansion of the league to twelve teams was also under consideration with Tennessee State, Florida A&M, Tuskegee and Morris Brown mentioned as possible additions. [3] [4] In February 1999, a championship game was officially approved by the SWAC Council of Presidents. [5] Officials also stated the winner of the championship game would advance to play in the Heritage Bowl against an opponent from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). [5]

The following May, SWAC officials announced the league offices would move from New Orleans to Birmingham and that the championship game would be played at Legion Field. [6] [7] Birmingham was selected over New Orleans, Houston, Baton Rouge and Memphis as the city guaranteed both free office space to house the league headquarters and free access to Legion Field to host the game. [6] The inaugural game was played on December 11, with Southern defeating Jackson State 31–30 before 47,621 fans at Legion Field. [8] The following week, Southern lost to Hampton in the Heritage Bowl; however, the meeting would be the only one for the SWAC champion following the championship game. In January 2000 the NCAA ruled schools cannot compete in two postseason games, effectively ending participation in the Heritage Bowl by the SWAC champion. [9] With the SWAC left unable to compete, the Heritage Bowl folded in February 2000. [10]

In July 2010, commissioner Duer Sharp announced the SWAC was interested in participating in the Legacy Bowl against the MEAC to determine the annual black college football national championship. [11] Although a decision regarding the contest was postponed to 2011, SWAC participation in the event would potentially end the annual championship game in Birmingham. [11] [12] Ultimately, the SWAC championship game was retained, and in May 2013, SWAC officials announced a move from Legion Field to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas starting with the December 2013 playing. [13]

Grambling State Tigers football players raise the trophy after the 2016 championship game SWAC Championship GSU vs. Alcorn 24.jpg
Grambling State Tigers football players raise the trophy after the 2016 championship game

In June 2017, the SWAC announced that it would end its football championship game following that season's contest, and would send its regular season champion to the Celebration Bowl from 2018 onward. [14] In June 2018, the league reversed course, announcing that a championship game would be played in Birmingham. [15] In November 2018, the league further advised that the championship game would be played at the “SWAC institution with the highest ranking.” [16] The December 2018 game was held at Jack Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi, home field of the Alcorn State Braves; the December 2019 game returned to the same venue. [17] The championship game for the 2020 season, held in the spring of 2021, was moved to a neutral site, Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Subsequent games have been held at campus sites.

Team selection

When the game was initially proposed, the teams playing in the championship game was to include those with the best record against seven conference opponents from each division. [18] However in August 1999 league officials changed the rule. For the inaugural contest, participation in the championship game was based on the record against the four divisional opponents only, not all conference teams. [18] [19] This format was dropped by the SWAC following the 1999 championship game in favor of the original proposal based on all league games, not only the divisional opponents. [20]

Divisions

Since the SWAC split into divisions and began conducting a conference championship game, the divisions have only ever been realigned once. In 2021, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman joined the SWAC and were placed into the Eastern Division, and Alcorn State was moved to the Western Division to maintain an equal number of teams in both divisions. [21]

Results

SeasonEastern DivisionWestern DivisionSiteAttnd.MVPTVRef.
1999 Jackson State 30 Southern 31 Legion Field
Birmingham, AL 		47,621 WR Michael Hayes, Southern BET [8]
2000 Alabama A&M 6 Grambling State 1434,687 DB Calvin Spears, Grambling State [22]
2001 Alabama State 31 Grambling State 3838,487 RB Kendrick Shanklin, Grambling State [23] [24]
2002 Alabama A&M 19 Grambling State 3123,727 QB Bruce Eugene, Grambling State [25]
2003 Alabama State 9 Southern 2031,617 QB Quincy Richard, Southern MBC Network [26] [27]
2004 Alabama State 40 Southern 35 22,327 QB Tarvaris Jackson, Alabama State BET [28] [29]
2005 Alabama A&M 6 Grambling State 4520,612 QB Bruce Eugene, Grambling State ESPN Classic [30] [31]
2006 Alabama A&M 22 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 13 30,213 LB Johnny Baldwin, Alabama A&M ESPNU [32] [33]
2007 Jackson State 42 Grambling State 31 43,206 QB Jimmy Oliver, Jackson State ESPN Classic [34]
2008 Jackson State 9 Grambling State 4125,873 QB Greg Dillion, Grambling State [35]
2009 Alabama A&M 24 Prairie View A&M 3020,218 QB K. J. Black, Prairie View A&M [36]
2010 Alabama State 6 Texas Southern †1122,350 LB Dejuan Fulghum, Texas Southern [37] [38]
2011 Alabama A&M 15 Grambling State 1623,476 LB Cliff Exama, Grambling State ESPNU [39]
2012 Jackson State 21 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 2432,480 WR Willie Young, Arkansas–Pine Bluff [40]
2013 Jackson State 27 Southern 34 NRG Stadium
Houston, TX 		38,985 QB Dray Joseph & DB Anthony Balancier, Southern [41]
2014 Alcorn State 38 Southern 24 38,969 QB John Gibbs Jr. & LB William Thomas II, Alcorn State [42]
2015 Alcorn State 49 Grambling State 21 40,352 RB Darryan Ragsdale & DB Warren Gatewood, Alcorn State [43]
2016 Alcorn State 20 Grambling State 2724,917 RB Martez Carter & LB De'Arius Christmas, Grambling State [44]
2017 Alcorn State 32 Grambling State 4024,610 QB Devante Kincade & LB De’Andre Hogues, Grambling State [45] [46]
2018 Alcorn State 37 Southern 28 Jack Spinks Stadium
Lorman, MS 		20,652 QB Noah Johnson & LB Brelion Hollis, Alcorn State [47] [48]
2019 Alcorn State 39 Southern 24 22,365 WR LeCharles Pringle & DB Juwan Taylor, Alcorn State [49]
2020 ‡ Alabama A&M 40 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 33 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Jackson, MS 		17,248 QB, Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M ESPN2 [50]
2021 Jackson State 27 Prairie View A&M 10 50,128 RB Peyton Pickett and LB James Houston, Jackson State [51]
2022 Jackson State 43 Southern 24 53,754 QB Shedeur Sanders and LB Aubrey Miller Jr., Jackson State [52]
2023 Florida A&M 35 Prairie View A&M 14 Bragg Memorial Stadium
Tallahassee, FL 		14,628 RB Terrell Jennings and DB Javan Morgan, Florida A&M [53]
Total11 Wins66713 Wins†659 

† Texas Southern vacated its 2010 Championship victory, along with all its 2006 to 2010 wins, to avoid the NCAA imposing an athletics Death Penalty. [54]
‡ The 2020 season spanned the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, with the championship game played on May 1, 2021.

Results by team

Updated for December 2022; 23 editions played, 46 total appearances.

AppearancesWinsLossesSchoolPctSeasons
1082 Grambling State .8002000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017
835 Southern .3751999, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
734 Jackson State .4291999, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022
725 Alabama A&M .2862000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2020
642 Alcorn State .6672014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
413 Alabama State .2502001, 2003, 2004, 2010
312 Arkansas–Pine Bluff .3332006, 2012, 2020
312 Prairie View A&M .5002009, 2021, 2023
110 Florida A&M 1.0002023
100 Texas Southern —2010†
000 Bethune–Cookman — 
000 Mississippi Valley State — 
5024†25Total— 

Championship years appear in bold type.
† Texas Southern vacated its 2010 championship game victory. [54]

Previous SWAC champions

Prior to splitting into divisions and using a postseason championship game to decide its overall champion, the SWAC determined its champions by winning-percentage against conference opponents in regular season play.

In 1933 Langston appeared to win the title outright with a 4-0 conference record after the regular season, while Wiley finished 4-1, and Prairie View A&M finished 3-1. Langston was invited to the Prairie View Bowl, which was won by Prairie View. The Panthers subsequently declared themselves SWAC champions even though their claim was based on a postseason game. The SWAC seems to acknowledge both schools' claims to the title in the conference's football media guide, [55] although some other sources [56] including Michael Hurd's Black College Football, 1892–1992: One Hundred Years of History, Education, and Pride (1993) also list Wiley as an additional co-champion, apparently since all three schools had 4-1 records against conference opponents if the postseason game is incorporated into the regular season conference standings.

Prairie View vacated [56] its 1941 championship. [57] No championship was awarded in 1943 due to World War II. [56] Grambling State vacated its 1975 championship [58] due to a violation of SWAC rules for scheduling opponents. [59]

YearChampion(s)
1921 Wiley
1922 Paul Quinn
1923 Wiley
1924 Paul Quinn
1925 Bishop
1926 Samuel Huston
1927 Wiley
1928 Wiley
1929 Wiley
1930 Wiley
1931 Prairie View A&M
1932 Wiley
1933 Langston
Prairie View A&M
1934 Texas College
1935 Texas College
1936 Langston
Texas College
1937 Langston
Southern
1938 Langston
Southern
1939 Langston
1940 Langston
Southern
1941 Prairie View A&M (vacated)
1942 Texas College
1943(no championship awarded)
1944 Langston
Texas College
Wiley
1945 Wiley
1946 Southern
1947 Southern
1948 Southern
1949 Langston
Southern
1950 Southern
1951 Prairie View A&M
1952 Prairie View A&M
1953 Prairie View A&M
1954 Prairie View A&M
1955 Southern
1956 Texas Southern
Wiley
1957 Wiley
1958 Prairie View A&M
1959 Southern
1960 Grambling State
Prairie View A&M
Southern
1961 Jackson State
1962 Jackson State
1963 Prairie View A&M
1964 Prairie View A&M
1965 Grambling State
1966 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Grambling State
Southern
Texas Southern
1967 Grambling State
1968 Alcorn State
Grambling State
Texas Southern
1969 Alcorn State
1970 Alcorn State
1971 Grambling State
1972 Grambling State
Jackson State
1973 Grambling State
Jackson State
1974 Alcorn State
Grambling State
1975 Grambling State (vacated)
Jackson State
Southern
1976 Alcorn State
1977 Grambling State
1978 Grambling State
1979 Alcorn State
Grambling State
1980 Grambling State
Jackson State
1981 Jackson State
1982 Jackson State
1983 Grambling State
1984 Alcorn State
1985 Grambling State
Jackson State
1986 Jackson State
1987 Jackson State
1988 Jackson State
1989 Grambling State
1990 Jackson State
1991 Alabama State
1992 Alcorn State
1993 Southern
1994 Alcorn State
Grambling State
1995 Jackson State
1996 Jackson State
1997 Southern
1998 Southern

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  2. ↑ "SWAC FB Championship Game". swac.org. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
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  10. ↑ Staff Reporters (February 11, 2000). "Heritage Bowl discontinued". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 9D.
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  46. ↑ "Grambling St. Wins Back-To-Back Swac Championships".
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  50. ↑ "No. 22 Alabama A&M Wins First SWAC Football Championship in 15 Years with 40-33 Win over No. 25 UAPB". May 2021.
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  53. ↑ "FAMU Defeats Prairie View A&M To Win First SWAC Football Championship". www.famu.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  54. 1 2 Eder, Steve (October 9, 2012). "Texas Southern is penalized by the NCAA". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
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  56. 1 2 3 "2010 GSU FB Media Guide" (PDF).
  57. ↑ "The Afro American - Google News Archive Search".
  58. ↑ http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/image/v2%3A138F0D9908AC8D5F%40EANX-NB-13B0F7C92BC6DE4C%402442760-13B04A0A446F624B%4038-13B12F961B6A1100%40?p=EANX-NB
  59. ↑ http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/image/v2%3A138FFE8785E79426%40EANX-NB-13F67832504C071F%402442743-13F63B6D2549FB64%4026-13F7275F669CD788%40?p=EANX-NB

Bibliography

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