Prairie View A&M Rules the SWAC: Silences Doubters on the Gridiron and Hardwood

The Panthers' P-Funk is spreading across the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2025-26, by winning the football and basketball postseason conference titles.

PVAMU RULES THE SWAC | HBCU LEGENDS

HOUSTON, Tx — Let's be honest, very few people outside of PV Nation believed Prairie View A&M would win the SWAC football and basketball titles in the same season. That skepticism inspired a rallying cry for the Panthers faithful, who captured it perfectly on T-shirts and hoodies: “Prairie View vs. Everybody Else.”

A first-year football coach inherited a 5-7 program that still needed to learn his playbook. A basketball team dripping with potential but plagued by injuries over the past two seasons. Neither program inspired widespread confidence heading into 2025-26.

Yet by season's end, Prairie View A&M stood as the undisputed Kings of the SWAC — football and basketball.

Keeping Receipts

The league's athletic directors and sports information directors expected the Panthers to finish sixth overall in football and ninth in men's basketball. Those predictions were wrong.

Today, as the legendary Funk Master George Clinton would command: make your funk the P-Funk. The Prairie View Panthers did exactly that.

Prairie View's P-Funk Is Ruling The SWAC | HBCU LEGENDS

Jackson Silences the Doubters on the Gridiron

The hiring of head football coach Tremaine Jackson by Athletic Director Anton Goff drew immediate skepticism. The circumstances surrounding the departure of veteran coach Bubba McDowell — who had spent more than a decade on The Hill — were abrupt and, to many in the PV community, jarring.

Then Jackson stepped to the podium at his Jan. 7 introductory press conference and declared, without flinching, that he would win the SWAC. The shade from outsiders, mostly in Mississippi and Florida, practically rained down.

He proved them wrong.

Jackson guided the Panthers to a SWAC West Division title and then conquered Jackson State, 23-21, at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 6, 2025. His words proved prophetic rather than idle boasts.

Byron Smith presented the SWAC Championship Trophy by Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. | CREDIT: Keisha J. Kelley, Black College Experience

From a Losing Streak to a Championship Trophy

The men's basketball season was anything but smooth. Tai'Reon Joseph, the electric scoring guard who transferred from Southern, arrived as a game-changer for head coach Byron Smith — and delivered, until a foot injury slowed him midseason.

Turmoil soon followed. Smith criticized the athletic department's handling of Joseph's medical care in a postgame interview with Charles Porter, prompting a formal reprimand and a public apology. Meanwhile, Prairie View lost seven of eight SWAC games between Jan. 17 and Feb. 14.

Despite adversity, Smith and the Panthers regrouped and caught fire, clinching the No. 8 seed for the SWAC Tournament. The bracket listed the team as the eighth seed, but the Panthers had other ideas.

Winning four physical tournament games in four days would break most teams. Prairie View endured and advanced.

Dontae Horne, the tournament's MVP, averaged 24 points over four games. Lance Williams and forward Cory Wells became the leaders Smith needed. With a healthier Joseph, the Panthers are ready for the next trials.

Prairie View, with momentum on its side, is in Dayton, Ohio, ready to face Lehigh in an NCAA First Four game Wednesday. The Panthers, at 18-17, have a strong chance of beating the Mountain Hawks.

The Bottom Line

Prairie View A&M's 2025-26 storyline is clear: the Purple and Gold dominated. You don't need Dr. Funkenstein, Lollipop Man, or Sir Nose D'Void of Funk to see it. (Parliament-Funkadelic characters)

P-Funk rules the SWAC.

P-eriod.