NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time in its history, the SouthwesternAthletic Conference will not only have a football television package, butalso one which calls for every team in the 10- member league to appear ontelevision at least once during the 1999 season.
Commissioner Rudy Washington stated that a total of 11 games will be apart of the inaugural SWAC football television package, a package that'llinclude games on Black Entertainment Television (BET), College SportsProgramming Network Southeast (CSPN-SE) and Street and Smith's NationalSyndication. The 11 televised games will be played between the openingweekend of the season on September 4 and the SWAC championship game onDecember 11.
"We've worked very hard to make sure that all of our teams were a part ofthis inaugural television package," stated second-year commissioner RudyWashington of the SWAC. "This is huge for our conference. The local,regional and national exposure our member schools will receive will beoutstanding. The good thing is that this is just a beginning. It'll getbigger and better each year."
The SWAC's television slate will kick off on the opening weekend with thebig Labor Day Classic featuring Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern onSeptember 4 at the Astrodome in Houston, Tex. The 7:00 p.m. contest will becarried over the CSPN Southeast network.
The next weekend, September 11, will be one of two weekends during theseason that'll feature a pair of televised SWAC games. CSPN Southeast willtelevise a battle between Alabama A&M and Grambling State in Grambling, La.at 7 p.m. while Street and Smith's Productions will carry a 6:30 p.m. gamebetween Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern in Baton Rouge, La. via nationalsyndication.
On September 18, Alabama A&M will battle Mississippi Valley State in IttaBena, Miss. in a 7:00 p.m. telecast on CSPN Southeast.
The next nationally syndicated game by Street and Smith's Productionswill certainly be one of the marquee games of the year when league divisionalfavorites Jackson State and Southern tangle on October 16 in Jackson, Miss.Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
On October 23, the first of three BET contests will be played when thenetwork televises the annual Magic City Classic between in-state rivalsAlabama A&M and Alabama State in Birmingham, Ala. on October 30. Kickoff isset for 3 p.m.
Both Alabama State and Prairie View A&M will make their second CSPNSoutheast appearance when they square off at 1 p.m. in Montgomery, Ala. onNovember 13. On that same date, Grambling State will meet non-conference foeWinston-Salem State in the Gold Coast Classic in San Diego, Calif, a Streetand Smith's Production nationally syndicated game at 4 p.m.
Rivals Alcorn State and Jackson State will close their respectiveregular-seasons when they go head-to-head in the annual Capital City Classicin Jackson, Miss. on November 20. The 1 p.m. contest will be another of theBET televised games.
The last regular-season contest will be aired coast-to-coast when NBCSports again airs the State Farm Bayou Classic featuring Grambling State andSouthern. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
The inaugural SWAC championship game, featuring the winners of the newSWAC Eastern and Western divisions, will air on BET on December 11. The 1p.m. game will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
In addition to the live game telecasts, CSPN Southeast will also produceand air a weekly highlights show entitled the "SWAC Weekly Magazine." It'llrun each Thursday for 12 weeks starting on September 9.
The SWAC football television package is the initial component of thenewly-formed SWAC Communications Network. The network will also be comprisedof a basketball television package for this school year and a radio networkin the near future.
| SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 1999 FOOTBALL TELEVISION PACKAGE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATE | GAME | SITE | TIME | NETWORK |
| Sept. 4 | Prairie View vs. Texas Southern | Houston, Tex. | 7:00 | CSPN-SE |
| Sept. 11 | Alabama A&M vs. Grambling | Grambling, La. | 7:00 | CSPN-SE |
| Sept. 11 | Ark.-Pine Bluff vs. Southern Univ. | Baton Rouge, La. | 6:30 | S&S Syndicate |
| Sept. 18 | Alabama A&M vs. Miss. Valley | Itta Bena, Miss. | 7:00 | CSPN-SE |
| Oct. 16 | Southern Univ. vs. Jackson State | Jackson, Miss. | 6:30 | S&SSyndicate |
| Oct. 30 | Alabama A&M vs. Alabama State | Birmingham, Ala. | 3:00 | BET |
| Nov. 13 | Grambling vs. Winston-Salem St. | San Diego, CA | 4:00 | S&SSyndicate |
| Nov. 13 | Prairie View vs. Alabama State | Montgomery, Ala. | 1:00 | CSPN-SE |
| Nov. 20 | Alcorn State vs. Jackson State | Jackson, Miss. | 1:00 | BET |
| Nov. 27 | Grambling vs. Southern Univ. | New Orleans, La. | 1:00 | NBC |
| Dec. 11 | SWAC Championship Game | Birmingham, Ala. | 1:00 | BET |
| WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS SHOW: "SWAC FOOTBALL WEEKLY" -- 12 WEEKS ON CSPN-SE | ||||
| Additional televised games that are not a part of the SWAC footballtelevision package: | ||||
| Sept. 11 | Jackson State vs. Tenn. State | Memphis, Tenn. | 6:00 | BET |
| Oct. 2 | Southern Univ. vs. Hampton | Indianapolis, Ind. | 4:00 | BET (delay) |
| Dec. 18 | McDonald's Heritage Bowl | Atlanta, Ga. | 1:00 | NBC |
| BET - Black Entertainment Television CSPN-SE - College Sports Productions Network Southeast S&S Affiliate - Street & Smith's (likely a Fox Sports affiliate) | ||||
