The Southwestern
Athletic Conference
By Matt Shetler
The Southwestern Athletic
Conference (SWAC) is a ten member Division I athletic conference
that sponsors eighteen men’s and women’s Division I sports. The
SWAC is made up of historically African-American Universities
located in the Southern, United States. The SWAC headquarters
are located in Birmingham, Alabama and the conference
commissioner is Duer Sharp.
The SWAC participates in the Football Championship Subdivision
(formally Division I-AA) for football; and is considered
Division I for all other sports. The SWAC offers athletic
scholarships, but is one of only two conferences which does not
participate in post-season play in the FCS Tournament (the Ivy
League being the other). The SWAC does play a conference
championship game and schedules one game, the Southern-Grambling
State game (known as the Bayou Classic) after the FCS Tournament
has begun. Other conferences, including those containing
historically African-American Universities, have often
criticized the SWAC for not sending its members into the
post-season.
Founded in 1920, the six charter members of the conference were:
Bishop College, Paul Quinn College, Sam Houston College, Texas
College, Wiley College and Prairie View A&M. Prairie View is the
only one that still remains. Current members of the SWAC
include: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University,
Alcorn State University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,
Grambling State University, Jackson State University,
Mississippi Valley State University, Southern University and
Texas Southern University.
SWAC football is one of the biggest draws in the south. In 19 of
the 20 years the FCS has been in existence, the SWAC has led the
nation in attendance. In 1994, the conference came within 40,000
fans of becoming the first non BCS conference to draw one
million fans.
The SWAC ranks among the nation’s elite among “mid-major “
conferences when it comes to sending athletes to professional
sports, particularly in football. Former SWAC players to become
NFL greats include: Mel Blount, Buck Buchanon, Jackie Slater,
Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Charlie Joiner, “Deacon” Jones,
Michael Strahan, Steve McNair, and Donald Driver.
The SWAC has also produced basketball players Lindsay Hunter and
Willis Reed; in addition to baseball players Rickie Weeks and
Lou Brock.
