Mississippi’s SWAC schools to hit the field in February

The Southwestern Athletic Conference football season is scheduled to begin in February, and many Mississippi football fans will be tuning in to follow the state’s three SWAC teams: Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.

The three teams postponed their season earlier in the summer due to the rising COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the three historically black colleges have had more time to prepare to hit the field later this winter.

Alcorn State has had the most recent success out of the three schools. They are coming off of back-to-back SWAC championships in 2019 and 2018. The Braves are led by head coach Fred McNair and will open their season Feb. 27 against Alabama A&M.

Jackson State has not had much success in the last few years, but all eyes will be on the Tigers because they hired Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as head coach. Sanders has managed to bring in several major recruits for the Tigers, including both of his sons. The Tigers will open their season Feb. 21 against Edward Waters.

Mississippi Valley State finished with a 2-9 record last year under head coach Vincent Dancy, who took over the Delta Devils in 2018 and is looking to have a positive impact on the team. They are hoping to turn things around this season, which opens Feb. 27 against JSU.

Although football will be soon back on for the Mississippi SWAC schools, it is uncertain how many fans will be allowed to attend the games live given COVID-19 restrictions. Traditionally, thousands attend the big Alcorn versus Jackson State game each year, which is scheduled this coming season for April 17.