With two games remaining on the Panthers 2009 football schedule, one win stood in the way of Prairie View participating in the annual SWAC Championship game. Fortunately for the Panthers, the celebration came sooner than later. With their 34-14 win over Alcorn State on Nov. 14, the Prairie View Panthers clinched their first ever berth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship game.
The game will be held on Dec. 12, in Birmingham, Ala. against a representative from the SWAC’s Eastern division. The date will mark the first time in championship game history that the Prairie View football program will compete for the SWAC crown.
The championship game was introduced in 1999 after the conference was broken up into two divisions, western and eastern. It has always been held in Birmingham at Legion Field. Before then, the conference crown traditionally went to the team with the best overall conference record. Since its inception, Grambling State has dominated the western division and participated in the event six times while grabbing five wins. Alabama A&M has won the eastern division the most times in the short 10 year span of the game, but has won just once in 2006.
Now, the Panthers have returned to their glory days and have resurrected the character of old championship caliber teams from the ’50s and ’60s. During these two decades, the Panthers won a total of eight SWAC titles and also reigned as National Black College Champions four times. The last SWAC and Black National title came after a 9-0 record under the leadership of head coach William J. “Billy” Nicks in 1964.
Under the current regime of head coach Henry Frazier III, PVAMU has steadily improved their performance, while keeping their mindset on one day becoming SWAC champions.
Each year the team has held on to a mantra to keep them going. This year that mantra will be a slug fest to the very end. The mindset was in full display on the turf against Texas Southern, in the rain against Grambling, and will still be present on Dec. 12, when the Panthers face their last hurdle.
Currently, the Panthers are ranked 20th in the latest Sports Network FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) Poll and they are ranked second in the Sheridan Broadcast Network Black College Football Poll.
Their FCS ranking is the highest in the history of the program.
The Panthers final regular season game will be held at Blackshear Stadium at 2 p.m. as Prairie View plays host to UAPB.