The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), still frequently referred to by its former designation of Division I-AA.
The SWAC is one of two conferences – the other being the Ivy League – that does not participate in the FCS football playoffs, and is the only one of the two whose members offer a full complement of scholarships for football. The SWAC instead splits its schools into two divisions, and plays a conference championship game. Furthermore, one SWAC game, the Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling State, is positioned on the schedule after the NCAA tournament has begun. In addition, Alabama State plays Division II rival Tuskegee annually on Thanksgiving Day (The Turkey Day Classic). These moves have been criticized by other conferences containing historically black universities, especially the only other Division I conference made up entirely of such schools, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which annually places its champion into the FCS tournament.
Read more about Southwestern Athletic Conference: History, Facilities
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