JACKSON, Miss. – The grave academic failures of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) schools have crippled some of the league’s most popular, revenue-generating programs heading into the football season.
Three SWAC schools, Jackson State, Southern and Grambling, have received postseason bans in either football or men’s basketball for failing to meet the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate standards. The APR is the NCAA’s gauge for academic performance, awarding points for academic eligibility and retention.
Southern became the first school banned from the postseason in both football and basketball for APR issues.
Administrators, coaches and players say the embarrassing situation must change, and change quickly in the SWAC, which is made up of predominantly historically Black colleges and universities.
It won’t be easy. Over the past few decades, much of the success and notoriety has faded for these HBCUs which have produced football giants like Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and Eddie Robinson. The reasons are many and sometimes complicated, including a lack of financial resources and integration.
Southern football coach Stump Mitchell said none of that matters.
“One thing I know that the NCAA doesn’t want to hear about is a lack of resources, we can’t do this or we can’t do that,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get this done.”
