At midnight tonight, FAMU athletics will end its 39 year, off and on, membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and join the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The SWAC currently consists of Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas Southern, and Arkansas Pine Bluff universities. Tomorrow, FAMU and Bethune-Cookman will become the conference’s newest members.
"This is a transformational moment in our Athletic Departments history," said Director of Athletics Kortne Gosha. "Excitement is an understatement for our student-athletes, fans, and alumni. To have the opportunity to compete against HBCU royalty every week is an honor and the natural rivalries that exist in the SWAC will give every game that homecoming vibe."
FAMU joined the MEAC in 1979 after a 52-year run as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Rattlers left the MEAC, briefly, from 1984-85 after a dispute over scheduling, before returning in 1986. FAMU again left the MEAC in 2004 when it moved briefly moved up a level in the NCAA classification and became a Division 1 independent. When that didn’t pan out, the Rattlers returned to the MEAC in 2005.
The move to the SWAC seems like a good fit, athletically, and geographically the average travel time to universities in the SWAC is 5.4 hrs compared to 10.1 hrs in the MEAC. FAMU leaders said the move will help student-athletes by significantly reducing time spent traveling to competitions.