The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent

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 ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

intercollegiate athletics. Southern University's 13 athletic teams participate in 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) which is a part of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

. Football participates in the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

(formerly Division I-AA).

Nickname

Southern University's sports teams nickname is the Jaguars.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

The university's baseball team has won more regular season championships than any other SWAC member. They play their home games at Lee-Hines Field.

Notable players

Rickie Weeks Rickie Darnell Weeks Jr. (born September 13, 1982) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. H ...

was the first college player selected in the 2003

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Draft when the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

made him their No. 1 pick, the highest a second baseman has ever been drafted in MLB Draft history. Weeks won the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

Dick Howser Trophy The Dick Howser Trophy is bestowed annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The award is named after former collegiate and Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager Dick Howser, who died of brain cancer in 1987 at the age ...

, and Baseball America College Player of the Year honors as the nation's top collegiate player during the 2003 season. * Hall of Famer

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...

played baseball at Southern University from 1958–1960.

Men's basketball

GSU basketball rivalry

The basketball game against in-state rival Grambling State Tigers at the F.G. Clark Activity Center is annually the highest attended and one of the most anticipated games of the season.

TSU basketball rivalry

Since 2008, Southern and Texas Southern have traditionally been the favorites to compete for the SWAC Championship every season. The games have become very competitive and highly anticipated by both universities.

Notable players

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is currently an NBA and college ...

, former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

star who won an NBA title with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, is a 1988 graduate of Southern. Johnson was named

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who le ...

in 2006 after leading the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

Bob Love Robert Earl "Butterbean" Love (born December 8, 1942) is an American former professional basketball player who spent the prime of his career with the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. A versatile forward who could shoot with eith ...

, known as "Butterbean" while at Southern, is the second leading scorer in Chicago Bulls history behind

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

. Love starred at Southern University between 1962–1965.

Women's basketball

The 2005–2006 women's basketball team won a share of the SWAC regular season title and won the SWAC women's basketball tournament. This was Coach Sandy Pugh's third appearance in the NCAA tournament with the university.

Football

Bayou Classic

Every

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

weekend, Southern plays in-state archrival Grambling State University in the

Bayou Classic The Bayou Classic is an annual college football classic rivalry game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, although the series it ...

at the

Mercedes-Benz Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

in New Orleans. The game is a national primetime telecast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. Due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, the 2005 game was moved to

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

in Houston, Texas.

Homecoming

The

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

football game is always a sold-out game of 25,000+ against a SWAC opponent. The football game is annually the last major event of homecoming week.

Jackson State Rivalry

The Southern Jaguars maintains a very popular and heated football rivalry with SWAC East foe Jackson State University. The

Jackson State–Southern University rivalry Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

game is one of the highest attended and most anticipated games for both schools every year.

Notable players

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 ...

played running back and cornerback for Southern from 1967–69 before enjoying a 14-year career as a cornerback for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Starring on the

Steel Curtain The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The line was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won four Super Bowls ( IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in si ...

defense, he helped the franchise win four

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

championships in six years. Blount was inducted into 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 ...

in 1989. Aeneas Demetrius Williams (/əˈniːəs/; (born January 29, 1968) is a former American football player, who played with the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Southern University and was drafted in the third round (59th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft. Williams was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Aeneas started out as a cornerback then switched to free safety later in his career. Harold Carmichael also attended Southern University as a tri-sport athlete. He used his 6'8" height to play on the basketball team as a center, and threw the javelin and discus for the track and field team. In football, he shifted to playing wide receiver, where his performance was so outstanding he was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2012. He was drafted by the Eagles in the 7th round of the 1971 NFL Draft.

Women's Soccer

The Southern Lady Jaguars soccer team competes in the

, which is part of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I. The team plays its home games at Jaguar Park.

Softball

The Southern Lady Jaguars softball team competes in the

, which is part of the

's Division I. The team plays its home games at Lady Jaguar Field.

Traditions

Southern University's colors are

Columbia blue Columbia blue is a light blue color named after Columbia University. The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society, the university's oldest student organization. Although Columbia blue is often identified with Pantone ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and their fanbase is traditionally referred to as the "Jaguar Nation."

References

External links

* {{Louisiana Sports

Nickname

Sports sponsored

Baseball

Notable players

Men's basketball

GSU basketball rivalry

TSU basketball rivalry

Notable players

Women's basketball

Football

Bayou Classic

Homecoming

Jackson State Rivalry

Notable players

Women's Soccer

Softball

Traditions

See also

References

External links