From MEAC to SWAC

FROM MEAC TOFROM MEAC TO SWACFROM MEAC TO SWAC

BOLD NEW CONFERENCE MOVE WILL TRANSFORM RATTLER ATHLETICS

BY [ Brian J. HOWARD ]

Things will look a bit different for Florida A&M University (FAMU) athletics starting in July. That’s because for the first time in more than 40 years, Florida A&M will find itself playing and competing in another athletic conference.

The Rattlers have long been a staple of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The MEAC, located in Norfolk, Va., was founded in 1969 and confirmed in 1970, kicking off its first season of competition in football in 1971.

It wasn’t until 1979 Florida A&M entered the conference. From 19791984 and 1986 to present, FAMU was a member of the conference. Those years in between, Florida A&M was competing as an NCAA Division I Independent. In June, Kortne Gosha, vice president and director of FAMU Athletics, submitted a proposal to the Florida Board of Governors that outlined what a change from the MEAC to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) could look like. The Board moved quickly on June 4 and approved the decision to make the transition from the MEAC to the SWAC.

“My first priority as athletic director was the student-athlete experience,” Gosha said. “[Among] the challenges that we faced as an institution was having a very large footprint of travel. We also looked into the financial details. Like most historically black colleges and universities, we’ve got to find ways to be efficient with our resources. We just did the math and, geographically, the SWAC made the most sense.”

The decision to move wasn’t reached on a whim, but rather was eight months in the making, according to SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland.

“I had a preliminary conversation with AD Gosha on where the SWAC was and where our mindset was as far as future was concerned,” said

McClelland. “He didn’t necessarily tip his hand to say that FAMU was interested in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, but it was more so trying to align where we were ultimately, where FAMU was and where they wanted to go.”

McClelland said conversations with Gosha about the potential move to the SWAC died down until late May before building speed again. During that period, Gosha and his athletics administration team were doing research on the potential move to the SWAC or another conference.

All eyes zeroed in on the possible move when decision day rolled around. Like countless alumni, fans and media members from far and wide, McClelland and his SWAC team watched the board meeting to see if the proposal would pass.

“I wasn’t 100 percent convinced that Florida A&M was going to join the Southwestern Athletic Conference until I heard the final vote,” said McClelland. “Clearly, we

thought it would be a perfect fit for the conference and for Florida A&M. We knew it would reduce travel for Florida A&M and knew that the rivalries we have on our end would be a natural fit on top of all the other rivalries in our conference.”

The move signified a 40-plus year change from the days that FAMU made trips to Washington, D.C. (Howard), Baltimore (Morgan State) and Dover (Delaware State). A change would mean that, with those three schools, FAMU teams would have to travel by air instead of bus which had often meant leaving days in advance for contests — missing classes and schoolwork.

SWAC life will change the Rattler Athletics landscape drastically. No longer will FAMU have to travel north, but, instead, the Rattlers will showcase their teams in the southern part of the nation.

Not long after adding FAMU, Bethune-Cookman came calling,

which allowed the SWAC to expand from a 10-member conference to 12 members within a matter of a month. “It was important (to add Bethune-Cookman) but it wasn’t necessarily part of the plan,” McClelland said. “Bethune was not on our radar. Florida A&M wasn’t necessarily on our radar.” With the announcement that Florida A&M was making the move to the SWAC, McClelland was hap-

FAMU WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

The Rattlers captured 12 outdoor championships and five indoor titles

FAMU FOOTBALL 1999

TO SWAC SWAC SWAC

py to have 11 schools in the conference; he did not know if adding yet another school right away would be the right call. OPT TRIM Once the news dropped that Florida A&M was moving to the SWAC, Bethune-Cookman jumped at the opportunity to make that transition as well, McClelland said. “Let’s take time, maybe a year or two because 11 can work for us, we have to the ability to do that,

we can run this conference with 11 schools.

“When Bethune came and said we are interested in coming, the decision was made for us. It was a natural fit. We now own Florida, every major Division I Black college in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is part of this new Southwestern Athletic Conference.”

The SWAC, known for having large attendance at football games, now owns the top five classics (in terms of attendance) with the addition of the Florida Blue Florida Classic (Orlando) and the re-emergence of the Orange Blossom Classic (Miami Gardens).

Florida A&M is already set to begin the 2021 season in Miami Gardens against Jackson State. Not only will it be the season opener between the two teams, but the highly anticipated SWAC opener. To add to the build-up: Jackson State has a new coach with a familiar name: NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was named head coach earlier this year.

The splash to add Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman to the conference adds to the value of the SWAC and how Black college sports continues to grow.

The strength of the SWAC, with the additions of Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, has transitioned it as a premier conference for football. Many are beginning to make comparisons to the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which encompasses the likes of Alabama, Florida, and the University of Georgia and LSU.

McClelland takes it as a compliment to be compared to one of the best Power 5 Conferences in all of college football.

“You can call it the SEC of Black College Football,” said McClelland, “but I prefer to call it the Southwestern Athletic Conference.”

VERONICA WIGGINS

The legendary head coach, Veronica Wiggins, took the program to 13 MEAC championships

Rattler head coach Billy Joe meets with Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel prior to the NCAA Division I-AA playoff semifinal The Rattlers will compete in the SWAC East Division, which will feature Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State. The farthest FAMU would have to travel for an East Division game would be 486 miles to Itta Bena, Miss., to face Mississippi Valley State. Outside of playing its rival, Bethune-Cookman, FAMU’s shortest trip is 211 miles to compete against Alabama State University (Montgomery). Outside of divisional play, Florida A&M’s closest opponents will be Southern and Grambling State University. Meanwhile, the farthest schools will be Texas Southern (Houston), Prairie View (Texas) A&M and Arkansas-Pine Blu , which will mean about 12 hours of travel.

Arkansas-Pine Blu

Mississippi Valley State

Grambling State University Prairie View A&M Texas Southern

Southern University

486 Alabama State University

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FAMU

Davonne Kendrick carries the ball during a 2019 game against Southern at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

FAMU BASEBALL 2019

The Rattlers came out of the elimination bracket in 2019 to capture the school’s eighth MEAC Basketball Tournament Championship

MEMORABLE MEAC MOMENTS

IN RATTLER ATHLETICS HISTORY

COMPILED BY [ Brian J. HOWARD ]

MEAC WOMEN’S XC

FAMU MEN’S XC

The Rattler program won four MEAC Cross Country Championships, including back-to-back crowns in 2012 and 2013 The Rattler program won 11 cross country championships, including a record seven from 2012-2018

FAMU MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Rattlers picked up their first-ever Power 5 victory on New Year’s Eve in 2019 against Iowa State

MEN’S GOLF

Florida A&M won the program’s first MEAC Men’s Golf Championship in April, 2021. Ethan Mangum was named the most outstanding golfer and Mike Rice was selected outstanding coach.

FAMU VOLLEYBALL

The Rattlers were dominant in the conference, winning 13 tournament titles, including a record nine straight between 2001-2009

NATALIE WHITE

Natalie White led the Rattlers to a regular season and MEAC Tournament championship in 1995