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.
The Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team represents Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana. The school's team currently competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They currently play their home games at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. They made their first ever appearance to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2024.
The 2014 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2014 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament started on campus sites for the first three rounds, with the Final 4 and championship game being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The tournament began on Tuesday, March 18 and ended on Thursday, April 3. Minnesota won this tournament after being the third Big Ten team in a row to make the NIT Finals.
The 2013–14 Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team represented Grambling State University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by second-year head coach Joseph Price, played their home games at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center and were members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 5–24, 3–15 in SWAC play, to finish in last place. They were ineligible for postseason play due to Academic Progress Rate (APR) penalties. However, the SWAC received a waiver to allow Grambling State's teams under APR penalties to still participate in the SWAC tournament where they advanced to the quarterfinals, losing to Texas Southern.
The 2014 SWAC men's basketball tournament took place March 11–15 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The 2014–15 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by third-year head coach Mike Davis, played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena and were members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–13, 16–2 in SWAC play to be SWAC regular season champions. They defeated Alcorn State, Prairie View A&M, and Southern to become champions of the SWAC tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a 15 seed, they lost in the second round to Arizona.
The 2016 SWAC men's basketball tournament is the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The tournament will be held from March 8–12, 2016 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas The champion will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA tournament.
The 2016–17 Alcorn State Braves basketball team represented Alcorn State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by second year head coach Montez Robinson, played their home games at the Davey Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 18–14, 13–5 in SWAC play to finish in second place.
The 2016–17 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by fifth year head coach Mike Davis, played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston, Texas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 16–2 in SWAC play to win the regular season SWAC championship. They defeated Alabama State, Grambling State, and Alcorn State to be champions of the SWAC tournament. They earned the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to North Carolina.
The 2017 SWAC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Tournament first-round games were played at the campus of the higher seeded team on March 7. The remainder of the tournament was held on March 10 and 11, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Texas Southern, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Alcorn State lost to Texas Southern in the championship game, but was ineligible for NCAA postseason play due to APR violations. Had Alcorn State beaten Texas Southern, Texas Southern would have still received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament because of its first place finish in the regular season.
Donte Jackson is an American college basketball coach, currently head coach for the Grambling State Tigers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In 2024, he led the Tigers to their first SWAC tournament championship in program history and their first ever NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The 2017–18 Alcorn State Braves basketball team represented Alcorn State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by third-year head coach Montez Robinson, played their home games at the Davey Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 11–21, 7–11 in SWAC play to finish in eighth place. Due to Grambling State's ineligibility, they received the No. 7 seed in the SWAC tournament where they lost in the quarterfinals to Prairie View A&M.
The 2017–18 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by sixth-year head coach Mike Davis, played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston, Texas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 16–20, 12–6 in SWAC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. Due to Grambling State's Academic Progress Rate violations and subsequent postseason ineligibility, they received the No. 3 seed in the SWAC tournament where they defeated Alabama State, Prairie View A&M and Arkansas–Pine Bluff to become SWAC Tournament champions. They received the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated North Carolina Central in the First Four before losing in the first round to Xavier.
The 2018 SWAC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southwestern Athletic Conference for the 2017–18 season. Tournament first round games were played at the campus of the higher seeded team on March 6. The remainder of the tournament was held on March 9 and 10, 2018 at the Delmar Fieldhouse in Houston.
The 2018–19 Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball team represents Prairie View A&M University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by third-year head coach Byron Smith, play their home games at the William Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22-13, to finish in 1st place. In the SWAC Tournament, they defeated Alcorn State, Grambling State, and Texas Southern to win the SWAC championship. Therefore, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a 16th seed. However, they lost to fellow 16th seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four.
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 2021–22 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers are led by fourth-year head coach Johnny Jones and played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston, Texas, as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 19–13, 13–5 in SWAC play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed, they defeated Jackson State, Grambling State, and Alcorn State to win the SWAC tournament. They received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region, where they defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the First Four before losing in the first round to eventual national champion Kansas.
The 2022–23 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by fifth-year head coach Johnny Jones, played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston, Texas, as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The 2023–24 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by sixth-year head coach Johnny Jones, play their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena located in Houston, Texas, as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 12–6 in SWAC play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament, they defeated Jackson State in the quarterfinals, and Alabama A&M in the semifinals, before losing to Grambling State in the championship. They received an invitation to the CIT, where they lost to Tarleton in the first round.
The 2023–24 Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team represented Grambling State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by seventh-year head coach Donte Jackson, played their home games at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 21–15, 14–4 in SWAC play, to win the regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the SWAC tournament, they defeated Alabama State, Bethune–Cookman and Texas Southern to win the SWAC tournament championship; as a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. As a No. 16 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated Montana State in the First Four, before losing to Purdue in the first round.
