Marketing plans for the SWAC in 2020 and beyond!


BulldogM.Ed.23

Bulldog Fan/Supporter
I was curious if anyone connected on the inside knew what kind of marketing plans the SWAC has? I ask because obviously with the addition of FAMU, BCC, and Deion Sanders coaching at JSU, this would be the right time to rebrand this conference.

Covid-19 has halted many schools and conferences usual ways of doing things Yet we were among the first to move our games in the Winter/Spring of 2021. Cool....add with what is presently going on in this conference, if whomever that calls the shots (Conference Commissioner & ADs) got together, pulled some resources, it would be good for everyone.

Moments like the present create the right moments for people to take their resources and do creative things that have yet to be done.

....just thoughts
 
Last edited:
I was curious if anyone connected on the inside knew what kind of marketing plans the SWAC has? I ask because obviously with the addition of FAMU, BCC, and Deion Sanders coaching at JSU, this would be the right time to rebrand this conference.

Covid-19 has halted many schools and conferences usual ways of doing things Yet we were among the first to move our games in the Winter/Spring of 2021. Cool....add with what is presently going on in this conference, if whomever that calls the shots (Conference Commissioner & ADs) got together, pulled some resources, it would be good for everyone.

Moments like the present create the right moments for people to take their resources and do creative things that have yet to be done.

....just thoughts

I know for a fact that BCU has a TIGHT relationship with ESPN...they love us. We'll bring sum'um' tuh da table.
 
Click here to visit HBCUSportsStore
Thats not a 25K seat stadium and it sits on the ground. guess its good for a school like Morehouse. They dont have fans but they at least need a visitor side if they join the SWAC.
 
If Morehouse builds a 25K stadium, they are going D1. If it's one HBCU that can do it, it's Morehouse but they have to get their house in order first.

TSU is almost a lost cause and best to just let them be.
Morehouse can't make the move because of regulation I believe. I remember the commissioner saying in order to become an FCS member, a school must have a certain number of men's AND women's sports. TSU...yep. The SWAC would be hyper competitive.
 
Morehouse can't make the move because of regulation I believe. I remember the commissioner saying in order to become an FCS member, a school must have a certain number of men's AND women's sports. TSU...yep. The SWAC would be hyper competitive.
would cost them a mil to move up I believe and they'd likely have to add sports. on the other hand, a home schedule of famu, tn state, bama state, jsu, & tx so would draw 35k every home game in atlanta.
 
If Morehouse builds a 25K stadium, they are going D1. If it's one HBCU that can do it, it's Morehouse but they have to get their house in order first.

TSU is almost a lost cause and best to just let them be.

We already know where Tennessee State stands on things. Morehouse would be an interesting addition to the SWAC but they have some huge hurdles to jump:

-$1.6 Million Dollar NCAA entry fee to move from Division 2 to the Division 1 FCS

- They'll have to increase scholarships money in all sports. For example, Right now Morehouse had 36 full scholarships for football. They'll need to increase that to 63.

- The Big HURDLE that Morehouse has to overcome is the addition of women's sports. Title 9 Laws prohibit a team from competing on that level without having a certain amount of sports teams which includes women's programs. Spelman doesn't have athletics anymore so that doesn't help either. Honestly, I don't know how they would get around that.
 
We already know where Tennessee State stands on things. Morehouse would be an interesting addition to the SWAC but they have some huge hurdles to jump:

-$1.6 Million Dollar NCAA entry fee to move from Division 2 to the Division 1 FCS

- They'll have to increase scholarships money in all sports. For example, Right now Morehouse had 36 full scholarships for football. They'll need to increase that to 63.

- The Big HURDLE that Morehouse has to overcome is the addition of women's sports. Title 9 Laws prohibit a team from competing on that level without having a certain amount of sports teams which includes women's programs. Spelman doesn't have athletics anymore so that doesn't help either. Honestly, I don't know how they would get around that.

63 is the max number a FCS school can give. There are a lot of schools that don't offer that many in the Swac...
 
would cost them a mil to move up I believe and they'd likely have to add sports. on the other hand, a home schedule of famu, tn state, bama state, jsu, & tx so would draw 35k every home game in atlanta.
Don't count out AAMU. We have a longer history and rival with Morehouse than all of y'all. Especially in basketball. It was one of the biggest rivalries in the SIAC in basketball.
 
I’ve said this and I’ll say this again.., The SWAC Network needs to be a thing. Schools do hire their own media staff and helps get those youngsters interested in media experience , helps exposure for all schools every week, financially everyone can eat and help their schools address needs, and gives us better coverage than ESPN does at times. I’d really like to email our commissioner and pitch the idea as well.

SWAC Network
Black Champions, Black History, and Black Excellence.

let’s get our own table and really pioneer a trend for all HBCUs to follow.
 
Click here to visit HBCUSportsStore
A 24-hour network is quite the undertaking, but i think it's something you build to rather than assemble from scratch. First, we have to prove that we have a business model worth investing in. What I mean by that is showing that the SWAC is putting out a quality product by improving in our OOC win totals against peer competition (in ALL sports). No one would be able to deny that the SWAC is a premiere conference then. We're already the attendance champs in FCS every year. Let's raise our bar for competing, because i don't think it's truly sustainable if you don't get the right caliber athletes.

Once we do that we can demand a better TV contract to get more nationally televised games, broadcasted LIVE instead of tape delayed. That means taking control of our classic games for larger payouts, cutout the promoters if they don't want the games televised, e.g. State Fair Classic, and make these a part of our TV package.

We also need regional tv deals from some of our member institutions to create the content needed for a 24-hour national network to select from. I think we could do that if at least 4 schools were able to secure deals.

The SWAC Network could then set up deals to simulcast the regional games, re-air national games, and have enough left over to air original content.

Give HBCU media outlets a national platform to discuss sports (HBCU GameDay, BCSN, HBCU Sports, etc.), and you have something to work with.

I'd even go as far as to say that we can open up the content to other conferences (for a fee). Broadcasting rights for CIAA bball tournament, marquee MEAC matchups, or create our own show that covers HBCU athletics (which would hopefully give us a wider audience), and increase the demand for cable providers to add to their lineups. We need to have appeal from coast to coast.
 
If Morehouse becomes an FCS school, they will go to the MEAC Conference without a doubt. Morehouse aligns themselves with Howard more than any other school and they would be a natural fit to demographics of the MEAC.
 
If Morehouse becomes an FCS school, they will go to the MEAC Conference without a doubt. Morehouse aligns themselves with Howard more than any other school and they would be a natural fit to demographics of the MEAC.
That's not true! Morehouse is in the SIAC and has more ties with the South and history with current SWAC member schools than ANY other MEAC team.

Not to mention they would probably only be considered if Tennessee State also wanted to join as the 13th/14th members, respectively. Ain't no way they would pass on that. And travel expenses in the SWAC would be a better situation than in the MEAC.
 
I’ve said this and I’ll say this again.., The SWAC Network needs to be a thing. Schools do hire their own media staff and helps get those youngsters interested in media experience , helps exposure for all schools every week, financially everyone can eat and help their schools address needs, and gives us better coverage than ESPN does at times. I’d really like to email our commissioner and pitch the idea as well.

SWAC Network
Black Champions, Black History, and Black Excellence.

let’s get our own table and really pioneer a trend for all HBCUs to follow.

I have been saying this for a few years on here. I've already volunteered my services for Valley for the SDN and ESPN.

As a mass communications degree holder, it frustrates me to no end to not see it being used more especially in football and basketball. That maybe the only fault I have with the Commissioner (who otherwise is doing a GREAT job)

As far as the school level stuff is concerned, I would reach out to the SWAC HQ and see about setting aside money for mass comm departments so that they can do the necessary upgrades to cover all sports as well as pay a stipend to mass comm students (and non-MC majors interested in sports media) who cover these games giving them much needed experience especially with the non-revenue sports that gets covered by ESPN (baseball, soccer and softball).

As you said, this gives us control over our content ($$$) and lays the foundation for a complete HBCU sports network that we own
 
Don't count out AAMU. We have a longer history and rival with Morehouse than all of y'all. Especially in basketball. It was one of the biggest rivalries in the SIAC in basketball.
Oh, I wasn't trying to. they'd be in the east and would rotate those games. the aamu game would be big in atl, as would bcu, & games they'd rotate out of the west like southern, grambling.
 
I’ve said this and I’ll say this again.., The SWAC Network needs to be a thing. Schools do hire their own media staff and helps get those youngsters interested in media experience , helps exposure for all schools every week, financially everyone can eat and help their schools address needs, and gives us better coverage than ESPN does at times. I’d really like to email our commissioner and pitch the idea as well.

SWAC Network
Black Champions, Black History, and Black Excellence.

let’s get our own table and really pioneer a trend for all HBCUs to follow.

I believe it's worth exploring then making an informed decision......
 
If Morehouse becomes an FCS school, they will go to the MEAC Conference without a doubt. Morehouse aligns themselves with Howard more than any other school and they would be a natural fit to demographics of the MEAC.
That's not true! Morehouse is in the SIAC and has more ties with the South and history with current SWAC member schools than ANY other MEAC team.

Not to mention they would probably only be considered if Tennessee State also wanted to join as the 13th/14th members, respectively. Ain't no way they would pass on that. And travel expenses in the SWAC would be a better situation than in the MEAC.

Data thru 2014
1600818850116.png
 
Has anybody ever considered Albany State?

Having 1 team in North Georgia and 1 in South Georgia would be an interesting dynamic to examine. Albany State is a public institution with about 6000 students. 2 teams in Georgia would certainly fit the conference profile. Good question FAM4lyfe. I'm guessing Jackson State & MVSU to the west would be an easy transition (seems like the west would be too talent heavy though).
 
Last edited:
Has anybody ever considered Albany State?

Albany currently sponsors all the sports, correct? Plus, 10/11K-seat stadium. They're ready ... just gotta get their weight up for the move.

Albany gives another border rivalry game with FAMU and the Alabama schools. Albany might be more ready than Skegee.

It's a lot easier than waiting on Morehouse convincing Spelman to restart intercollegiate athletics just to join the SWAC.
 
Back
Top