The Southern Jaguars are the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

team representing the

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

. The Jaguars play in

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was kn ...

as a member of the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United States. It participates in t ...

(SWAC). The Jaguars started collegiate football in 1916, and played in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference before joining the SWAC in 1934. Every year, they play their last regular season game against

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritag ...

in the Bayou Classic in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, in late November. Another rivalry, dubbed the "

Boombox Classic A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette deck, cassette tape recorder/players and Tuner (radio), AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included ...

," is played between Jackson State and Southern yearly.

History

Classifications

*1952–1972: NCAA College Division *1973–1976: NCAA Division II *1977: NCAA Division I *1978–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS

Conference memberships

*1916–1933: Independent *1934–present:

Championships

Black College Football National Championships

Conference championships

Southern has won 19 conference championships, with all of them coming in the

, 12 outright and 7 shared. † Co-champions

Division championships

† Co-champions

Postseason

College Football Hall of Fame members

Marino Casem Marino H. "The Godfather" Casem (June 23, 1934 – April 25, 2020) was an American college football coach and athletic administrator. He served as the head coach at Alabama State University (1963), Alcorn State University (1964–1985), and S ...

(head coach; 1987–1988, 1992) *

Ace Mumford Arnett William "Ace" Mumford (November 26, 1898 – April 28, 1962) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at historically black colleges and universities in Texas and Louisiana from 1924 to 1961, compiling a career c ...

(head coach; 1936–1961)

Alumni in the NFL

Southern has three alumni that has been elected to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. *

Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted in ...

, Class of 1989 *

Aeneas Williams Aeneas Demetrius Williams (; born January 29, 1968) is an American former football cornerback and safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Arizona Cardinals franchise. He played college footba ...

, Class of 2014 *

Harold Carmichael Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for ...

, Class of 2020 Over 70 Southern alumni have played in the NFL,Pro Football Reference
/ref> including: * Rashaun Allen *

Perry Brooks Perry Brooks (December 4, 1954 – March 1, 2010) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Southern University and was drafted in the seventh roun ...

Matthew Dorsett Matthew Herbert Dorsett (born August 23, 1973) was an American football cornerback in the National Football League. Dorsett signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers. Dorsett was highly touted for his bump and run coverage abilities. Do ...

* Jubilee Dunbar * George Farmer * Alvin Haymond * Maurice Hurst *

Rich Jackson Richard Samuel Jackson (born July 22, 1941), nicknamed "Tombstone", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and a linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He playe ...

* Ray Jones *

Tyrone Jones Tyrone Jones (August 3, 1961 – June 10, 2008) was a gridiron football all-star and Grey Cup champion linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Born in St. Mary's, Georgia, Ty's football career began at Camden County High School, Camden Coun ...

Gerald Perry Gerald June Perry (born October 30, 1960) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played from 1983 to 1995 for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career In 1988, ...

Rufus Porter Rufus Porter may refer to: *Rufus Porter (painter) Rufus Porter (May 1, 1792 – August 13, 1884) was an American painter, inventor, and founder of '' Scientific American'' magazine. Famous family Rufus Porter descended from an old coloni ...

Isiah Robertson Isiah "Butch" Robertson (August 17, 1949 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams (1971–1978) and the Buffalo Bills (1979–1982). He was selected to six Pro Bowls duri ...

* Godwin Turk * Ralph Williams *

Gillis Wilson Gillis R. Wilson III (born October 15, 1977) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern University and attended Patterso ...

* Jerry Wilson * Danny Johnson * Kendel Shello

References

External links

* {{Southern University American football teams established in 1916 1916 establishments in Louisiana