This article is the first in a series of features produced in partnership with the Southwestern Athletic Conference, exploring the history of the SWAC from its founding in 1920 to the present day. The series will run during the months of April and May.
Before there was national television, before conference realignment became a business strategy, and before college athletics turned into a billion-dollar enterprise, there were institutions trying to create something that didn’t exist for them.
In the fall of 1920, against the backdrop of a segregated America that offered little access and even less recognition to African Americans, eight men representing six historically Black colleges gathered in Houston with a shared purpose. By the time that meeting ended on September 10, they had done more than organize a schedule. They had built a foundation.
What emerged from that room would become the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a conference born not out of convenience, but out of necessity. This wasn’t just about sports. It was about structure, opportunity, and perhaps most importantly, ownership.
The “Super Six”: Building Something From Nothing
The SWAC’s original charter members, often referred to as the “Super Six,” represented a mix of private, church-supported institutions and one public college. Each brought its own identity, but all shared the same reality: they were operating in a system that wasn’t built for them.
The founding institutions included:
• Bishop College (Marshall, TX) — 1920 to 1956
• Paul Quinn College (Waco, TX) — 1920 to 1929
• Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College, now Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, TX) — 1920 to Present
• Samuel Huston College, now Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, TX) — 1920 to 1954
• Texas College (Tyler, TX) — 1920 to 1962
• Wiley College (Marshall, TX) — 1920 to 1968
These weren’t large institutions with deep pockets. Most were church-affiliated schools operating with limited resources. But what they lacked financially, they made up for in vision. They understood early on that if they wanted structure, legitimacy, and recognition, they would have to build it themselves.
The First Steps Toward Structure
In 1921, the SWAC held its first official football championship, with Wiley College claiming the inaugural title. That moment may seem modest in hindsight, but it represented something much larger: proof that there were rules, organization, and something worth competing for. In a time when Black institutions were routinely excluded from formal recognition, the SWAC created its own system and made it matter.
Expansion and a Changing Identity
The SWAC didn’t remain a Texas-based conference for long. As the value of structured competition became clear, other institutions joined, expanding the conference’s reach and elevating its level of play.
Key additions included:
• Langston University — Joined in 1931, left in 1957
• Southern University — Joined in 1934, still a member
• Arkansas AM&N (now Arkansas-Pine Bluff) — Joined in 1936, left in 1970, rejoined in 1997
• Texas Southern University — Joined in 1954, still a member
• Grambling College (now Grambling State University) — Joined in 1958, still a member
• Jackson State College (now Jackson State University) — Joined in 1958, still a member
• Alcorn A&M (now Alcorn State University) — Joined in 1962, still a member
• Mississippi Valley State University — Joined in 1968, still a member
• Alabama State University — Joined in 1982, still a member
• Alabama A&M University — Joined in 1999, still a member
• Florida A&M University — Joined in 2021, still a member
• Bethune-Cookman University — Joined in 2021, still a member
Each addition didn’t just expand the conference’s geography; it also expanded the conference’s reach. It expanded its identity. The SWAC was no longer a regional organization; it was finding its footing. It was becoming a genuine force in college athletics.
The Shift: When the Balance Changed
In its early years, the conference was dominated by its private, church-supported institutions. Schools like Wiley, Bishop, and Paul Quinn found early success and helped define the SWAC’s competitive foundation. But by the 1930s, and especially into the 1950s, the balance began to shift.
Public, state-supported institutions began entering the conference, bringing larger enrollments, increased funding, and greater institutional backing. As schools like Texas Southern, Grambling, and Jackson State rose in prominence, it became increasingly difficult for smaller private institutions to keep pace financially and competitively.
Departures That Told a Larger Story
The exits didn’t happen all at once, but they followed a clear pattern. Paul Quinn was the first to leave in 1929, followed by Samuel Huston in 1954, Bishop in 1956, Texas College in 1962, and Wiley College, the conference’s first football champion, in 1968.
Each departure marked more than a change in membership. It reflected a broader reality about college athletics: resources matter, infrastructure matters, and over time, those differences reshape competition. Today, Prairie View A&M University stands as the only remaining charter member, a living link to the conference’s original vision.
From Survival to Significance
What started as a small group of institutions trying to create opportunity has grown into one of the most culturally significant conferences in college athletics. From producing professional athletes to shaping the broader culture of the sport, from marching bands to storied rivalries, the SWAC’s influence extends far beyond the field.
But none of that happens without 1920, and without six institutions deciding that waiting for inclusion wasn’t an option.
The story of the SWAC, at its core, is about a decision: to organize, to compete, and to build something that didn’t yet exist. Access can be denied. But ownership is something you claim for yourself. And in 1920, that’s exactly what these six institutions did.
