A Jackson State defensive goal-line stand on the game’s final play against Alabama State on Saturday likely guaranteed the Tigers another SWAC East title.
With that comes a berth in the conference championship game and a possible trip to the Celebration Bowl.
For Alabama State, which came up two yards short, they no longer control their own destiny in the SWAC East, despite the Hornets being the second-best team in the league and in HBCU football at this point, even in a loss.
The 38-34 thriller reignited online conversations about whether the SWAC should abolish its current East-West divisional format in favor of one that rewards teams with the top records spots in the conference title game.
Fans desperately want to see Eddie Robinson Jr., Andrew Body, and the Hornets take on the JaCobian Morgan, T.C. Taylor, and the Tigers with everything on the line again because Saturday was just that special.
With all due RESPECT…THEE Two BEST teams in the SWAC are Big THEE and Bama State‼️ Yeah I said it! Bama State gave us all we could handle and for that, they earned my RESPECT‼️Good Luck going forward Bama State 🫡. Big THEE, y’all grew up today and showed Championship pedigree!
— Antonio Lauderdale 🐅 (@DerellAntonio) October 12, 2025
Defund SWAC Divisions. SWAC championship should be a rematch!
— J.Brown™ (@JBrownFromDTown) October 12, 2025
The Alabama State & Jackson State game was great. Both programs are doing what is necessary to win SWAC Championships. Too bad the SWAC insists on having divisions. The best teams play in the East. Our Rattlers should beat Acorn, but the rest of the schedule could go either way.
— Talib (@MayorTalib) October 11, 2025
Since 1999, the SWAC has determined that division winners would battle for the championship, regardless of their record, as long as they finished in first place.
During that time, there have been clear years where the two top teams played for the SWAC championship. Think back to the very first championship game between HBCU powers Jackson State and Southern.
Both teams had perfect 4-0 conference records. JSU won 9 games overall. Southern tallied 11 that season. Or how about 2025, when 11-1 Grambling State played 9-3 Alabama A&M? Then there was the 2014 season when 10-win East champion Alcorn State faced 9-win West winner Southern.
In the middle era, though, the East and West champions were not undoubtedly better or worse than the other teams in the conference. There were numerous seasons like that.
By our count, there have been 14 seasons since the introduction of the SWAC Championship Game in which teams with the best records have met.
But what about those seasons where the unquestioned top teams by record did not meet in the SWAC Championship Game?
When have the two best SWAC teams not met for the title?
It isn’t a rare occurrence historically.
Starting in 2000, there have been several seasons where the divisional format was a distinct deterrent.
- At the turn of the century, Alabama A&M and Grambling State met in the second-ever SWAC Championsip Game. While the Tigers won 10 games that season in the SWAC West, the Bulldogs posted seven conference wins. However, Texas Southern, the runner-up in the West, had won eight games, including a 3-0 record against the SWAC East.
- In 2003, Grambling State, which finished second in the SWAC West with a 9-3 record after losing to 12-1 division champion Southern in the Bayou Classic, did not compete in the title game. Instead, Alabama State, which lost five conference games in the SWAC East, did.
- The 2008 season was also an interesting one. Jackson State, which won the East that season, lost just once against conference opponents. Grambling — the West champions — also just fell one time. They both met in Birmingham. An argument could have been made that 9-1 Prairie View would have earned a title shot if divisions didn’t exist.
- The tables were reversed the following season when Grambling didn’t qualify after having a better record than the SWAC East winner, Alabama A&M, which posted a 4-3 conference record. Prairie View was the West winner after going 7-0 in league play.
- Sticking with Grambling, the Tigers went 8-1 in the SWAC and 9-2 overall and were ranked No. 23 in the FCS poll in 2010. But GSU lost a West Division tiebreaker to Texas Southern. That year’s conference championship match pitted 7-5 Alabama State against 9-3 Texas Southern.
- In 2015, the SWAC Championship pitted Alcorn State against Grambling. Both teams had nine overall wins. But Prairie View went 8-1 in SWAC play — a better record than 7-2 Alcorn at the time. After missing out on a title game appearance, the Panthers — led by then-coach Willie Simmons– lobbied to make the FCS playoffs.
- The 2016 season proved to be almost a similar boondoggle. The two best teams, at least by record, were Southern Grambling in the SWAC West. They both combined to go 20-4 overall during the 2016 season. But only Grambling, which went 9-0 in the SWAC and 12-1 overall, got the bid to play 5-6 Alcorn State for a trip to the Celebration Bowl.
SWAC expansion, East dominance has amplified format change
With expansion came another test for the SWAC divisional format. The conference immediately strengthened with the addition of Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M from the MEAC in 2021. Alcorn State, which had fared well in the SWAC East, shifted to the West to create balance.
But immediately, the flaw in the longtime setup was unmistakable. In consecutive seasons (2021-2022), the two best teams in the SWAC didn’t play for the championship.
Florida A&M lost consecutive season openers to the then-Deion Sanders-led Jackson State Tigers. JSU would go on to win the SWAC East and appear in the Celebration Bowl both years.
FAMU frustratingly finished one game behind the Tigers and lost out on a chance to compete for a league championship, despite going 14-2 over their first two seasons in the SWAC.
Understanding the ramifications of the Orange Blossom Classic game against Jackson State, Simmons held a conversation with then-athletic director Kortne Gosha about petitioning the Division I Football Championship Committee to consider FAMU for the playoffs.
On balance, the SWAC Championship Game has effectively determined a conference champion. But should that be the only goal when it is not assured that the consensus “best teams” will play each other?
It is a fair question to ask amid the SWAC East dominance in the championship game. A team representing the East has won the SWAC outright each of the last seven seasons since 2017 by an average of 17.2 points per game.
The SWAC West did have a run of six consecutive conference championships from 2008 to 2013.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean change to the format should be based on the preceived division strength alone.
Truthfully, individual team schedules in a given season are not all equal. Some will be tougher than others. Some paths will be more challenging. Others not so much. That holds true for divisions as well.
There have been period where the the balance of divisional power has been one-sided. It’s not easy to predict or navigate for conference decision makers.
What’s the SWAC’s best interest?
Now that the SWAC is a 12-team league, is it in the conference’s best interest to eliminate divisions, considering that would mean a considerable number of teams would have no chance of contending for a spot in the championship game?
As it stands, more than a handful of teams (even Bethune-Cookman) mathematically can still win their divisions. In this era of expanded playoffs and postseason opportunities across collegiate and professional sports, giving more teams a chance — even with slim odds — has generated increased interest from fans and media.
This is not to say the SWAC should stand pat. After all, the SWAC previously looked to eliminate divisions as part of eliminating the conference title game in 2017. Additionally, the current SWAC scheduling model still has its limitations, despite its evolution in recent years.
Bottom line: Fans do want more great games like Saturday. And teams wish to have a fair chance to play for championships. The SWAC should be mindful of it all if it ever explores the possibility of changing how it decides a champion.
