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Southwestern Athletic Conference
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Southwestern Athletic Conference
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 SWAC is considered the premier HBCU conference and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni affiliated with professional sports teams, particularly in football. On the gridiron, the conference has been the biggest draw on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of the NCAA, leading the nation in average home attendance every year except one since FCS has been in existence. In 1994, the SWAC fell just 40,000 fans short of becoming the first non-Football Bowl Subdivision conference to attract one million fans to its home games.
In 1920, athletic officials from six Texas HBCUs — C. H. Fuller of Bishop College, Red Randolph and C. H. Patterson of Paul Quinn College, E. G. Evans, H. J. Evans and H. J. Starns of Prairie View A&M, D. C. Fuller of Texas College and G. Whitte Jordan of Wiley College, now Wiley University — met in Houston to discuss common interests. At this meeting, they agreed to form a new league, the SWAC.[citation needed]
Paul Quinn became the first of the original members to withdraw from the league in 1929. When Langston University of Oklahoma was admitted into the conference two years later, it began the migration of state-supported institutions into the SWAC. Southern University entered the ranks in 1934, followed by Arkansas AM&N (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) in 1936 and Texas Southern University in 1954.[citation needed]
Rapid growth in enrollment of the state-supported schools made it difficult for the church-supported schools to finance their athletics programs and one by one they fell victim to the growing prowess of the state-supported colleges. Huston–Tillotson (formerly Samuel Huston) withdrew from the conference in 1954, Bishop in 1956, and Langston in 1957—one year before the admittance of two more state-supported schools: Grambling College and Jackson State College. The enter-exit cycle continued in 1962 when Texas College withdrew, followed by the admittance of Alcorn A&M (now Alcorn State University) that same year. Wiley left in 1968, the same year Mississippi Valley State College entered. Arkansas AM&N exited in 1970 and Alabama State University entered in 1982. Arkansas–Pine Bluff (formerly Arkansas AM&N) rejoined the SWAC on July 1, 1997, regaining full-member status one year later. Alabama A&M University became the conference's tenth member when it became a full member in September 1999 after a one-year period as an affiliate SWAC member. Most of the former SWAC members that have left the conference are currently a part of the HBCU Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
On 3 September 2020, the SWAC had announced that there would be a division realignment with the additions of Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University beginning with the 2021–22 academic year; which both would compete in the SWAC East, while Alcorn State would be moving to the SWAC West.
The SWAC is one of two FCS conferences – the others being the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – whose conference champion does not participate in the FCS playoffs, opting instead to play in the Celebration Bowl against the champion of the MEAC. However, SWAC teams can still be invited via an at-large invitation, as was the case in 2021 when SWAC member Florida A&M University was invited over SWAC conference football champion Jackson State, who was obligated via contract to play in the 2021 Celebration Bowl. The SWAC instead splits its schools into two divisions, and plays a conference championship game. Three of the SWAC's teams, Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic and Grambling and Southern in the Bayou Classic, play their last games of the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend, preventing the SWAC Championship from being decided until the first weekend of December, long after the tournament is underway.
Current championship competition offered by the SWAC includes competition for men in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor track, outdoor track & field and tennis. Women's competition is offered in the sports of basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, indoor track, outdoor track & field, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.
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Southwestern Athletic Conference
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 SWAC is considered the premier HBCU conference and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni affiliated with professional sports teams, particularly in football. On the gridiron, the conference has been the biggest draw on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of the NCAA, leading the nation in average home attendance every year except one since FCS has been in existence. In 1994, the SWAC fell just 40,000 fans short of becoming the first non-Football Bowl Subdivision conference to attract one million fans to its home games.
In 1920, athletic officials from six Texas HBCUs — C. H. Fuller of Bishop College, Red Randolph and C. H. Patterson of Paul Quinn College, E. G. Evans, H. J. Evans and H. J. Starns of Prairie View A&M, D. C. Fuller of Texas College and G. Whitte Jordan of Wiley College, now Wiley University — met in Houston to discuss common interests. At this meeting, they agreed to form a new league, the SWAC.[citation needed]
Paul Quinn became the first of the original members to withdraw from the league in 1929. When Langston University of Oklahoma was admitted into the conference two years later, it began the migration of state-supported institutions into the SWAC. Southern University entered the ranks in 1934, followed by Arkansas AM&N (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) in 1936 and Texas Southern University in 1954.[citation needed]
Rapid growth in enrollment of the state-supported schools made it difficult for the church-supported schools to finance their athletics programs and one by one they fell victim to the growing prowess of the state-supported colleges. Huston–Tillotson (formerly Samuel Huston) withdrew from the conference in 1954, Bishop in 1956, and Langston in 1957—one year before the admittance of two more state-supported schools: Grambling College and Jackson State College. The enter-exit cycle continued in 1962 when Texas College withdrew, followed by the admittance of Alcorn A&M (now Alcorn State University) that same year. Wiley left in 1968, the same year Mississippi Valley State College entered. Arkansas AM&N exited in 1970 and Alabama State University entered in 1982. Arkansas–Pine Bluff (formerly Arkansas AM&N) rejoined the SWAC on July 1, 1997, regaining full-member status one year later. Alabama A&M University became the conference's tenth member when it became a full member in September 1999 after a one-year period as an affiliate SWAC member. Most of the former SWAC members that have left the conference are currently a part of the HBCU Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
On 3 September 2020, the SWAC had announced that there would be a division realignment with the additions of Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University beginning with the 2021–22 academic year; which both would compete in the SWAC East, while Alcorn State would be moving to the SWAC West.
The SWAC is one of two FCS conferences – the others being the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – whose conference champion does not participate in the FCS playoffs, opting instead to play in the Celebration Bowl against the champion of the MEAC. However, SWAC teams can still be invited via an at-large invitation, as was the case in 2021 when SWAC member Florida A&M University was invited over SWAC conference football champion Jackson State, who was obligated via contract to play in the 2021 Celebration Bowl. The SWAC instead splits its schools into two divisions, and plays a conference championship game. Three of the SWAC's teams, Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic and Grambling and Southern in the Bayou Classic, play their last games of the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend, preventing the SWAC Championship from being decided until the first weekend of December, long after the tournament is underway.
Current championship competition offered by the SWAC includes competition for men in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor track, outdoor track & field and tennis. Women's competition is offered in the sports of basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, indoor track, outdoor track & field, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.
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