It's obvious there's new respect for the SWAC


LS Syndicate

#TheeILove
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/...r-s-obvious-theres-new-respect-swac/87135174/

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — There’s a change afoot in the SWAC.
Tony Hughes left Mississippi State to come to Jackson State. Southern Miss saw Alcorn State’s back-to-back SWAC titles and hired Jay Hopson. Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs reportedly interviewed for an FBS job, and Prairie View A&M’s Willie Simmons rebuffed a USM assistant coach offer.
The path from SWAC to the rest of college football is suddenly clear in both directions, something that could not be said before this offseason.
“The perception was the SWAC was somewhere you go where your career is over,” SWAC commissioner Duer Sharp said during the conference’s media day Friday. “That’s not the case, and I don’t think it’s ever been the case. I think it was just a label given to the league.”
So what happened? Why now? The SWAC let the outside world in, and vice-versa.
Hopson’s 2012 hire at Alcorn State was a big deal for reasons outside of being the first white head coach in the historically-black conference; this was a guy with major college experience coming into the league. Same thing with Fobbs two years later; all of his prior experience was outside of the league.
 
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Let'set the record straight, Jay Hopson was not the first white coach at a historically black college. Pete Adrian Bethune Cookman Defensive Coordinator was hired at Norfolk State(2005). Pete, also won a MEAC Championship (2011).
 
JSU head football coach James "Big Daddy" Carson made history when he hired John Shannon, the first White assistant football coach at JSU in 1994.
 
Respect from who?
Look at the number of quality coaches choosing to come to the SWAC, when they could've gone or stayed where they were.
Better facilities. No more high school looking stadiums. More money put into athletics, higher expectations from the fanbase, improvement of SWAC schools who were once near or at the bottom, etc.
 
If Simmons leaves from PV (or Fobbs from Grambling) in a year or two and gets an FBS gig (or major assistant gig) then I will probably agree more with this.

The SWAC is now going through what every other FBS conference has experienced recently which is the big boys hiring away our best coaches. AAMU, JSU, Grambling, PV and TxSU got coaches with a good amount of FBS experience (I will count Jenkins as well because he had FBS experience before going to BC).

HBCU lifers will be a thing of the past in about 10 years compared to the glory days
 
Look at the number of quality coaches choosing to come to the SWAC, when they could've gone or stayed where they were.
Better facilities. No more high school looking stadiums. More money put into athletics, higher expectations from the fanbase, improvement of SWAC schools who were once near or at the bottom, etc.

Thats good, but it needs to translate into higher caliber recruiting throughout the conference. That means the quality coaches have to be lured to stay here longer than 3 or 4 years, which means administrations have to be comfortable increasing salaries.
 
Thats good, but it needs to translate into higher caliber recruiting throughout the conference. That means the quality coaches have to be lured to stay here longer than 3 or 4 years, which means administrations have to be comfortable increasing salaries.

It's two ways of looking at it. A coach that leaves a program after getting an offer from a larger program means he did something right at this level. And I'm ok with that. The SWAC is a stepping stone job for the average coach. Recruiting falls into place with the right hire.
 
It's two ways of looking at it. A coach that leaves a program after getting an offer from a larger program means he did something right at this level. And I'm ok with that. The SWAC is a stepping stone job for the average coach. Recruiting falls into place with the right hire.

That's true too. I just hope the upward trend continues and improves the conference profile of recruits.

Most coaches will tell you it's mostly about the Jimmy's and Joe's, and less about the X's and O's.
 
Let'set the record straight, Jay Hopson was not the first white coach at a historically black college. Pete Adrian Bethune Cookman Defensive Coordinator was hired at Norfolk State(2005). Pete, also won a MEAC Championship (2011).
The article didn't say Hopson was the first white hbcu HC...
 
G-man 75
maybe you should read LS Syndicate article again. "Hopson's 2012 hire at Alcorn State was a big deal for reasonsof reasons being the first white Head coach at a HBCU. need i say more?
 
G-man 75
maybe you should read LS Syndicate article again. "Hopson's 2012 hire at Alcorn State was a big deal for reasonsof reasons being the first white Head coach at a HBCU. need i say more?


He just was the only one that counted because he joined the illustrious SWAC
 
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