MACHIAVELLI
Chairman/C.E.O.
04/16/99- Updated 05:32 PM ET
Around the SWAC
Derick Hackett covers the SWAC for USA TODAY Online.
Changes abound in the SWAC
SWAC athletic directors were busy implementing major changes for the conference last weekend at the annual winter meetings in Biloxi, Miss.
By unanimous vote, a championship game concept - with the winner representing the conference in the McDonald's Heritage Bowl - was approved.
However, the vote was contingent on the NCAA permitting such a contest, which would be a first for a I-AA football conference.
"A SWAC championship game in football would have tremendous financial ramifications," said SWAC commissioner Rudy Washington." We're excited about this idea and we think with the interest that already exists in SWAC football, a championship game would be enormous."
The game would be played the second week in December.
The athletic directors also approved a realignment of the conference into two divisions - Eastern and Western - starting next fall, with the addition of Alabama A&M, who will be eligible to compete for conference championships after July 1, 1999. (Alabama A&M is currently serving a one-year probationary status as a affiliate member of the conference, this season).
The Eastern Division will consist of: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.
The Western Division will include: the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Grambling State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University and Texas Southern.
"I am looking forward to this new concept," said SWAC athletic director committee chairperson Chuck Prophet, who has been associated with the conference for 25 years as an athletic director and sports information director at Mississippi Valley. "The fact that this proposal passed unanimously indicates the tremendous interest that will be generated in the championship game."
Washington also informed the athletic directors of his attempts to possibly relocate the league headquarters, which are currently located at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, La. Proposals have been sent to the cities of New Orleans, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, La., and Houston.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/sfc/swac/column15.htm
Around the SWAC
Derick Hackett covers the SWAC for USA TODAY Online.
Changes abound in the SWAC
SWAC athletic directors were busy implementing major changes for the conference last weekend at the annual winter meetings in Biloxi, Miss.
By unanimous vote, a championship game concept - with the winner representing the conference in the McDonald's Heritage Bowl - was approved.
However, the vote was contingent on the NCAA permitting such a contest, which would be a first for a I-AA football conference.
"A SWAC championship game in football would have tremendous financial ramifications," said SWAC commissioner Rudy Washington." We're excited about this idea and we think with the interest that already exists in SWAC football, a championship game would be enormous."
The game would be played the second week in December.
The athletic directors also approved a realignment of the conference into two divisions - Eastern and Western - starting next fall, with the addition of Alabama A&M, who will be eligible to compete for conference championships after July 1, 1999. (Alabama A&M is currently serving a one-year probationary status as a affiliate member of the conference, this season).
The Eastern Division will consist of: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.
The Western Division will include: the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Grambling State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University and Texas Southern.
"I am looking forward to this new concept," said SWAC athletic director committee chairperson Chuck Prophet, who has been associated with the conference for 25 years as an athletic director and sports information director at Mississippi Valley. "The fact that this proposal passed unanimously indicates the tremendous interest that will be generated in the championship game."
Washington also informed the athletic directors of his attempts to possibly relocate the league headquarters, which are currently located at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, La. Proposals have been sent to the cities of New Orleans, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, La., and Houston.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/sfc/swac/column15.htm
