SWAC tournament still a possibility

 The Prairie View football team has started the season slow, but hope is not lost for postseason play.
 With losses to conference opponents Texas Southern University and Alabama A&M, the Panthers have dug themselves a hole in terms of conference seeding.
But, they are not alone, as all the teams in the western division have notched a loss in conference play.
The western division of the SWAC appeared to be up for grabs at the end of last season as Texas Southern University and Southern University faced postseason bans due to poor academic progress rates.
However, the NCAA Division I board of directors approved a proposal to give "limited-resource institutions" time to comply with tougher APR requirements.
This ruling cleared the way for Southern University to compete in postseason play.
Jackson State was also cleared under the new APR requirements.
The APR proposal stemmed from the NCAA increasing the APR standard to 930.
For years, teams could avoid APR sanctions by scoring 900 or above.
Limited resource institutions will have a longer transition to having to meet the 930 mark and will avoid further penalties if they meet two conditions: have a "meaningful" APR improvement plan and make "significant progress toward" the new 930 APR benchmark, the NCAA statement said.
With these bans being lifted the Panthers have three teams to compete with for the right to play in the SWAC championship game.
The Panthers still have time to improve to better their chances at championship contention as the better part of the season is still ahead of them.
Games against opponents Southern, Grambling, and Arkansas Pine-Bluff will be the most pivotal, as they have the most direct impact on making this year's championship.
The rest of the schedule is just as important, as only one non-conference opponent remains on the Panthers' schedule.
In order to move toward contention, the team needs to start securing wins to gain back the ground that has been lost.