The Southwestern Athletic Conference is headed back to Birmingham.
A day before teams arrived in Alabama today for SWAC Media Day, the league announced the football championship game and both men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will return to Birmingham for the 2018-19 seasons.
The move does come as a bit of a surprise for football after the SWAC ended the conference title game’s run in Houston at the end of last season, leaving the expectation there would not be any official championship game in 2018.
The game, which existed since 1999, was originally played in Birmingham until moving to Texas in 2012, where it stayed until last season. The game will be played at the historic Legion Field.
The winner of the game will still play the winner of the MEAC in the annual Celebration Bowl. Grambling and Alcorn State squared off in the past three meetings, with the Tigers coming out the past two years.
“I always think it’s better (to have the championship game),” Southern football coach Dawson Odums told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “I understand why they said they were no longer going to have it with the venue in Houston and the finances involved. But at the end of the day, I’m glad the conference has to play something.
“It’s important. We don’t go to the (FCS) playoffs, we get to play the Celebration Bowl, but you owe it to the players to give them that championship experience.”
First-year Mississippi Valley State head coach Vincent Dancy could not be reached for comment.
The SWAC basketball tournaments will follow their gridiron counterparts to Birmingham from the Houston area as well.
The tournaments had previously been played at the Toyota Center in downtown Houston until 2017 where they moved to Delmar Fieldhouse for the 2018 tournament.
Games will be played at the Bill Harris , where the tournament was hosted for several seasons in the mid- 2000s.
“I’m grateful to (Birmingham) Mayor Randall Woodfin and City of Birmingham on this renewed partnership to bring the SWAC football and basketball championships back to the Magic City,” Interim Commissioner Edgar Gantt said in a statement. “Birmingham is a city rich in sports tradition, particularly with SWAC football, and the city has made many improvements to its sports infrastructure here in Birmingham. This next year will play an important part as the SWAC prepares for its centennial celebration.”
The SWAC Football Championship game will be held on Dec. 1, and the SWAC Basketball Tournament will take place March 13-16.
