SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 2021 FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE DR. CHARLES McCLELLAND Commissioner DR. JASON CABLE Senior Associate Commissioner for Administration ADEANAH POOLER Associate Commissioner for Internal Operations/ Senior Woman Administrator ANDREW ROBERTS Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations JASMINE QUINN Director of Championships AARON MACKEY Director of Accounting and Finance LEDON PRICHETT Coordinator of Conference Operations 1101 22nd Street South Birmingham, Ala. 35205 205-251-7573 SWAC.ORG MEMBER SCHOOLS (12) Houston had concluded, they had founded an athletic league that Alabama A&M Bulldogs Huntsville, AL has slowly become one of the leading sports associations in the Alabama State Hornets Montgomery, AL world of collegiate athletics, the Southwestern Athletic Alcorn State Braves Lorman, MS Conference. The founding fathers of the original Super Six were: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Daytona Beach, FL Florida A&M Rattlers Tallahassee, FL • C.H. Fuller of Bishop College Grambling State Tigers Grambling, LA • Red Randolph and C.H. Patterson of Paul Quinn Jackson State Tigers Jackson, MS • E.G. Evans, H.J. Evans and H.J. Starns of Prairie View A&M Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils Itta Bena, MS • D.C. Fuller of Texas College Prairie View A&M Panthers Prairie View, TX • G. Whitte Jordan of Wiley College Southern Jaguars Baton Rouge, LA Texas Southern Tigers Houston, TX MEMBERSHIP TIMELINE Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions Pine Bluff, AR Bishop College 1920-56 Paul Quinn College 1920-29 CHAMPIONSHIPS SPONSORED (18) Samuel Huston College 1920-59 WOMEN (10): Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Bowling, Indoor Texas College 1920-68 Track, Basketball, Outdoor Track, Softball, Golf, Tennis Wiley College 1920-68 MEN (8): Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track, Basketball, Golf, Prairie View A&M 1920 - present Tennis, Baseball, Outdoor Track Langston University 1931-57 Arkansas AM&N 1936-70 CONFERENCE MISSION Southern 1934 - present The Southwestern Athletic Conference is organized exclusively for Texas Southern 1954 - present the purpose of encouraging, promoting, advancing, and conduct- Grambling State 1958 - present ing intercollegiate sports activities and other recreational and Jackson State 1958 - present not-for-profit activities among the members of the Conference. Its Alcorn State 1962 - present purposes are to: Mississippi Valley State 1968 - present • To uphold the principles of institutional control of, and respon- Alabama State 1982 - present sibility for all collegiate sports conducted by the members of Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1997 - present this organization in conformity with the Constitution and Bylaws Alabama A&M 1999 - present hereof; Howard University* 2014 - present • To stimulate and improve intercollegiate athletic sports; Bethune-Cookman 2021 - present • To comply with satisfactory standards of scholarship and Florida A&M 2021 - present amateur standing and good sportsmanship; *Affiliate member in women’s soccer only. • To preserve and maintain the collegiate athletic records of the members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and make LEGENDARY SWAC GREATS INCLUDE: them available upon request; NFL NBA • To cooperate with other amateur athletic organizations in the • Lem Barney (Jackson State) • Lindsey Hunter (Jackson State) promotion and conduct of intercollegiate athletic contests; • Mel Blount (Southern) • Willis Reed (GSU) • To maintain fiscal management; and • Robert Brazile (Jackson State) • Purvis Short (Jackson State) • To legislate through Bylaws or Resolutions on subjects of • Willie Brown (GSU) MLB general concern to the membership. • Buck Buchanan (GSU) • Lou Brock (Southern) • Willie Davis (GSU) • Rickie Weeks (Southern) The members of the conference are committed to the philosophy • Donald Driver (Alcorn State) COACH of maintaining intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the • James Harris (GSU) • Eddie Robinson, Sr. (GSU) overall educational program. To this end, the conference believes • Ken Houston (PVAMU) OTHER in and subscribes to the fundamental principles of amateurism, • Charlie Joiner (GSU) • Bill Foster (Alcorn State) institutional control, sound academic standards, financial aid, • Robert Mathis (Alabama A&M) • Patricia Hoskins (MVSU) recruiting, and ethical conduct that governs intercollegiate • David Deacon Jones (MVSU) • Barbara Jacket (PVAMU) athletics, and the enforcement of rules and regulations as adopted • Steve McNair (Alcorn State) • Alice Jackson (GSU) by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. • Jerry Rice (MVSU) • Brian Johnson (Southern) • Eddie Robinson (Alabama St) • Mary Onyali (Texas Southern) HISTORY AT A GLANCE • Jackie Slater (Jackson State) • Walter Payton (Jackson State) In 1920, eight men representing six colleges from the state of • Michael Strahan (TSU) • Michael Tinsley (Jackson State) Texas met to discuss collegiate athletics and the many challenges • Doug Williams (GSU) that face their respective institutions. By the time the session in The SWAC Football Championship Game began in the title. From the Western Division, Grambling State 1999, with conference teams beginning play in an has earned a trip to the championship ten times — the East-West divisional format, allowing division winners to most of any SWAC school — and posts a 8-2 record. meet on the field to decide a champion. Southern has played in the title game seven times with a 3-4 record, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff has Through an agreement forged with the City of made two appearances capturing its first outright Birmingham, Ala. the Southwestern Athletic Conference league title in football in 2012. Prairie View A&M and staged its first championship game at historic Legion Texas Southern have each won a title. Field. On December 11, 1999, Jackson State (East champion) and Southern University (West champion) Alcorn State is 4-2 in the title game, winning back-to- kicked off the inaugural SWAC Football Championship back championships in 2014 and 2015 and again in game. Southern came from behind for a 31-30 win. 2018 and 2019. Alabama A&M has represented the Eastern Division five times and posted a 1-4 record in In the 21 championship games since 1999, nine of the the championship game, winning its lone champion- 10 conference schools have earned a berth to play for ship in 2006. Alabama State is 1-3 in its four appearances, winning in 2004, while Jackson State is SWAC FOOTBALL 1-4 in four championship games as it won in 2007. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECORDS Mississippi Valley State is the only school that has never appeared in the SWAC Championship Game. 1999 – 2021 The football championship game was held at NRG TEAM App. W-L Last App. Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, from Alabama A&M 6 2-4 2021 2013 to 2017. Alabama State 4 1-3 2010 Alcorn State 6 4-2 2019 Beginning in 2018, the SWAC Football Championship Grambling State 10 8-2 2017 game has been played at the home field of the Jackson State 5 1-4 2013 highest-ranked finalist, with Alcorn State hosting and Mississippi Valley 0 0-0 winning the game in both 2018 and 2019. This past Prairie View A&M 1 1-0 2009 season’s game was played at Veterans Memorial Southern 7 3-4 2019 Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi due to COVID-19. Texas Southern 1 1-0 2010 UAPB 3 1-2 2021 Alabama A&M LOCATION Huntsville, Alabama PRESIDENT Dr. Andrew Hugine, Jr. FOUNDED 1875 DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Bryan Hicks ENROLLMENT 6,000 SWA Ka’Lisa Stanfield COLORS Maroon and White FACULTY REP Dr. Larry McDaniel WEBSITE aamusports.com SPRING 2021 CONNELL MAYNOR, HEAD COACH 5-0 One of the most successful coaches over the past two decades, Maynor was named head coach at Alabama A&M on January 16, 2018, bringing an extensive background at both the collegiate and professional levels as a player and coach. Upon his hiring that included being part of 10 championship teams with six of those rings coming as a player and four as a coach. He currently enters the Fall 2021 season with an 83-41 overall record in 11 years at three institutions. ALABAMA A&M (2018-PRESENT, HEAD COACH) Since taking the reins, Maynor has compiled an 18-10 overall record, 12.5 mark in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The spring 2021 season saw him add to not only his personal championship ring collection as he guided A&M to a perfect 5-0 record and 3-0 league mark, accomplishing three impressive milestones in one fell swoop on May 1. That day would see a thrilling 40-33 victory over No. 25 Arkansas-Pine Bluff that delivered the program’s first SWAC Championship in 15 years, the first undefeated season since the 1966 season and the program’s first ever HBCU National Championship. Those accomplish- ments earned him a spot as one of 16 national finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation’s top FCS coach but were fueled by the efforts of the players he recruited. Headlining that group was quarterback Aqeel Glass, named Player of the Year by the Black College Football Hall of Fame, BOXTOROW and the SWAC — all program firsts. In just three seasons at the helm, that made for 26 All-SWAC honors under Maynor with half of those being First-Team and 21 in the past two seasons. It was also a season marked by 12 All- Americans between postseason and preseason honors, headlined by the first American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) honoree as sophomore wide out Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim was named to the Second-Team, the first such honor since 2007. He was also among six BOXTOROW postseason All-Americans and four preseason honorees for that organization. The spring 2021 season marked a steady improvement for the program from a 6-5 overall record and 5-2 mark in the SWAC in 2018 and 7-5 and 4-3 records, respectively, in 2019. The 2018 campaign also represented the first winning season for the program since 2012. HAMPTON (2014-17, HEAD COACH) In four seasons as head coach at Hampton, Maynor posted a 20-25 overall record that included a pair of winning seasons, the program’s first since 2011.