2017 SWAC Football television schedule announced

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Southwestern Athletic Conference released its 2017 football television schedule on Thursday which includes 28 contests that will spread across 10 different networks.

All 10 of the member institutions will be featured on either the ESPN family of networks, ABC, Fox Sports Network, AT&T Sports Net, Peachtree TV, Stadium TV, beIN, the local CBS affiliate WHNT in Huntsville, or the NBC Sports Network. All games are available in standard high-definition.

Among some of the highlighted contests, Texas Southern will kick off the college football season by playing in the first game of the Division I college football slate on Saturday, August 26 against Florida A&M in Tallahassee at 11 a.m. CT. on ESPNU.

Southern University will open their season on Sunday, Sept. 3 in the 13th annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge when the Jaguars host South Carolina State at Ace W. Mumford Stadium. The opener will be known as the Battle on the Bluff in Baton Rouge, La. Kickoff will air live at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Four days following at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU, Prairie View A&M will be featured on the first Thursday night football match up on Sept. 7 when it hosts STATS FCS No. 3 ranked Sam Houston State of the Southland Conference for a 6:30 p.m. kick.

In week three, Jackson State travels to take on the defending SWAC Champions and No. 21 Grambling State on the newly installed artificial turf at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium Sept. 16 on ESPN3 at 6 p.m.

Alabama State third-year head coach Brian Jenkins hosts defending SWAC Eastern Division Champion Alcorn State for a Thursday night showdown on Oct. 5 on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. CT. The 76th Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State will take place in Birmingham, Ala. on Oct. 28 on ESPN3 with a time to be determined. The game will be tape delayed for a broadcast on ESPNU as well. Alabama A&M defeated Alabama State in a one-point overtime thriller in last year’s edition of the game.

SWAC Western Division rivals clash when Grambling State and Southern square off in New Orleans, La. for the Bayou Classic on the NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. on November 25. The teams finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the SWAC West Division standings a year ago with the division title being decided in this game last season.

The postseason starts with the final edition of the SWAC Football Championship in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Dec. 2 at NRG Stadium. The SWAC Championship game began in 1999 and will forgo the game starting in 2018. The Final Judgement will pit the traditional East and West Division Champions against one another and will be available to also watch on ESPNU. Kickoff time is set for 3:30 p.m.

The TV line up concludes with the Celebration Bowl Saturday, December 16, at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The multi-purpose retractable roof stadium serves as the home of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The state-of-the-art stadium is set to open on Aug. 26 when the Falcons host the Arizona Cardinals in an exhibition game. It is also scheduled to serve as the hosts of Super Bowl LIII in 2019. Kickoff for the Celebration Bowl is set for 11:00 a.m. CT on ABC.

2017 SWAC football telecast schedule

Date Game Site Time (CT) Network

Saturday, Aug. 26 Texas Southern at FAMU Tallahassee, Fla. 11 a.m. ESPNU

Saturday, Sept. 2 Alabama A&M at UAB Birmingham, Ala. 2:30 p.m. WHNT (Local)

Saturday, Sept. 2 Miss. Valley St. at N. Dakota St. Fargo, ND 2:30 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 2 Grambling State at Tulane New Orleans, La. 7 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 2 Jackson State at TCU Fort Worth, Texas 7 p.m. FOX Sports Network

Saturday, Sept. 2 Prairie View at Texas Southern Houston, Texas 8 p.m. AT&T Sports Net (Local)

Sunday, Sept. 3 S.C. State at Southern Baton Rouge, La. 1:30 p.m. ESPN2

Thursday, Sept. 7 Sam Houston St. at Prairie View Prairie View, Texas 6:30 p.m. ESPNU

Thursday, Sept. 7 Houston Baptist at Texas Southern Houston, Texas 7:30 p.m. AT&T Sports Net (Local)

Saturday, Sept. 9 Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 3 p.m. SECN Alternate

Saturday, Sept. 9 Alabama State at Troy Troy, Ala. 5 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 9 Miss. Valley St. at S. Illinois Carbondale, Ill. 6 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 9 Southern at Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Miss. 6 p.m. Stadium TV

Saturday, Sept. 9 Jackson State at Tennessee State Memphis, Tenn. 6 p.m. Fox Sports Southeast

Saturday, Sept. 9 Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Akron Akron, Ohio 6:30 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 9 Alcorn State at FIU Miami, Fla. 6:30 p.m. beIN Sports

Saturday, Sept. 16 Alabama A&M at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. 6 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Ark. St. Jonesboro, Ark. 6 p.m. ESPN3

Saturday, Sept. 16 Jackson State at Grambling St. Grambling, La. 6 p.m. ESPN3 / ESPNU (tape delayed)

Friday, Sept. 29 Alcorn State at Texas Southern Houston, Texas 8 p.m. AT&T Sports Net (Local)

Thurs., Oct. 5 Alcorn State at Alabama St. Montgomery, Ala. 6:30 p.m. ESPNU

Saturday, Oct. 7 Texas Southern at Kennesaw St. Kennesaw, Ga. 6 p.m. PeachTree TV (Local)

Saturday, Oct. 14 Alabama State at Texas Southern Houston, Texas 2 p.m. AT&T Sports Net (Local)

Saturday, Oct. 28 Alabama A&M vs. Alabama St. Birmingham, Ala. TBA ESPN3 / ESPNU (tape delayed)

Saturday, Nov. 11 Southern at Texas Southern Houston, Texas 5 p.m. AT&T Sports Net (Local)

Saturday, Nov. 25 Southern vs. Grambling State New Orleans, La. 4 p.m. NBC Sports

Saturday, Dec. 2 SWAC Championship Houston, Texas 3:30 p.m. ESPNU

Saturday, Dec. 16 Celebration Bowl Atlanta, Ga. 11 a.m. ABC

Schedule subject to change.

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS