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The SWAC men's basketball tournament (popularly known as the SWAC tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The tournament has been held every year since 1978. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. On seven occasions, the SWAC champion has won an NCAA Division I tournament game (two being in the first round and five in preliminary rounds).[1]
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| SWAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference basketball championships | |
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Bartow Arena |
| Current location | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Played | 1978–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Grambling State |
| Most championships | Texas Southern (11) |
| Official website | SWAC Men's Basketball |
The 1977–78 season was the SWAC's first as an NCAA Division I basketball conference, but it was not until 1980 that the champion went to the Division I tournament; most notably, the 1979 champion was Alcorn State, who went 27–0 but only received an NIT bid (where they lost in the second round) as they had "not yet completed the three years of adherence to a 2.00 average entrance requirement."[2][3]
The semifinal and championship SWAC basketball tournament games are held at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.[4] As of the 2017 tournaments,[5] they feature an eight-team, three-day layout with the quarterfinal rounds hosted on campus sites. This changes the previous 10-team, five-day tournament format. The higher seeded teams will host a combined eight games leaving two days for travel and practice rounds. The tournament concludes with the semifinals and championship rounds inside Birmingham's Bill Harris Arena. Winners of the tournaments earn automatic bids to their respective NCAA Division I tournaments. The championship games are nationally televised live annually on an ESPN network. In 2017, the trophy was named to honor Davey Whitney, the legendary coach that had won twelve regular season SWAC championships and seven SWAC tournaments, both of which being the most in conference history.[6]
| Year | Regular season | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 1956–57 | Texas Southern | Edward H. Adams |
| 1957–58 | Texas Southern | Edward H. Adams |
| 1958–59 | Grambling State | Fred Hobdy |
| 1959–60 | Grambling State | Fred Hobdy |
| 1960–61 | Prairie View A&M | Leroy Moore Jr |
| 1961–62 | Prairie View A&M | Leroy Moore Jr |
| 1962–63 | Grambling State | Fred Hobdy |
| 1963–64 | Grambling State Jackson State |
Fred Hobdy Harrison Wilson |
| 1964–65 | Southern | Richard Mack |
| 1965–66 | Alcorn State Grambling State |
E.E. Simmons Fred Hobdy |
| 1966–67 | Alcorn State Arkansas–Pine Bluff Grambling State |
Bob Hopkins Hubert O. Clemmons Fred Hobdy |
| 1967–68 | Alcorn State Jackson State |
Bob Hopkins Paul Covington |
| 1968–69 | Alcorn State | Bob Hopkins |
| 1969–70 | Jackson State | Paul Covington |
| 1970–71 | Grambling State | Fred Hobdy |
| 1971–72 | Grambling State | Fred Hobdy |
| 1972–73 | Alcorn State | Davey Whitney |
| 1973–74 | Jackson State | Paul Covington |
| 1974–75 | Jackson State | Paul Covington |
| 1975–76 | Alcorn State | Davey Whitney |
| 1976–77 | Texas Southern | Robert Moreland |
| School | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Southern | 11 |
1990, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Southern | 9 |
1981, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2006, 2013, 2016 |
| Alcorn State | 7 |
1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1999, 2002 |
| Jackson State | 5 |
1978, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2007 |
| Mississippi Valley State | 5 |
1986, 1992, 1996, 2008, 2012 |
| Alabama State | 4 |
2001, 2004, 2009, 2011 |
| Prairie View A&M | 2 |
1998, 2019 |
| Alabama A&M | 1 |
2005 |
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 1 |
2010 |
| Grambling State | 1 |
2024 |
| Bethune–Cookman | 0 |
|
| Florida A&M | 0 |
Regular season
| Coach | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Davey Whitney | 12 | 1973, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| Fred Hobdy | 8 | 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1972 |
| Robert Moreland | 7 | 1977, 1983, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998 |
| Bob Hopkins | 6 | 1967, 1968, 1969, 1986, 1987, 1989 |
| Paul Covington | 5 | 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1982 |
| Lafayette Stribling | 4 | 1992, 1996, 1997, 2004 |
| Mike Davis | 4 | 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Ben Jobe | 3 | 1988–1990 |
| Andy Stoglin | 3 | 1991, 1993, 1996 |
| Byron Smith | 3 | 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Edward H. Adams | 2 | 1957, 1958 |
| Leroy Moore Jr | 2 | 1961, 1962 |
| Rob Spivery | 2 | 2001, 2006 |
| Carl Stewart | 2 | 1978, 1981 |
| Lewis Jackson | 2 | 2008, 2009 |
| Landon Bussie | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| Donte Jackson | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
SWAC tournament
| Coach | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Davey Whitney | 7 | 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1999, 2002 |
| Ben Jobe | 4 | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993 |
| Mike Davis | 4 | 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 |
| Johnny Jones | 3 | 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Lafayette Stribling | 3 | 1986, 1992, 1996 |
| Robert Moreland | 3 | 1990, 1994, 1995 |
| Andy Stoglin | 3 | 1991, 1997, 2000 |
| Rob Spivery | 3 | 2001, 2004, 2006 |
| Roman Banks | 2 | 2013, 2016 |
| Lewis Jackson | 2 | 2009, 2011 |
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