Southern Jaguars

Infobox college athletics
name = Southern Jaguars

university = Southern University
conference = SWAC | division = Division I FCS
director = Greg LaFleur
city = Baton Rouge
state = Louisiana
stateabb = LA
teams =
stadium = Ace W. Mumford Stadium
baseballfield = Lee-Hines Field
arena = F. G. Clark Center
mascot = LaCumba
nickname = Jaguars
color1 = Columbia Blue
color2 = Gold
hex1 = 1560BD
hex2 = FFD700
pageurl = http://www.gojagsports.com/
pagename = GoJagsSports

The Southern Jaguars represent Southern University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.

Conference affiliation

Southern University's athletic teams participate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) which is a part of the NCAA Division I. Football participates in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Southern University's colors are columbia blue and gold and their nickname is the Jaguar.

ports

Football

Bayou Classic

Every Thanksgiving weekend, Southern plays archrival Grambling State University in the Bayou Classic at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The game is telecast on NBC. Due to Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 game was moved to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Notable alumni

Mel Blount played running back and cornerback for Southern from 1967-69 before enjoying a 14-year career as a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Starring on the Steel Curtain defense, he helped the franchise win four Super Bowl championships in six years. Blount was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

Baseball

The university's baseball team has won more regular season championships than any other SWAC member.fact|date=September 2008 They play their home games at Lee-Hines Field.

Notable alumni

Rickie Weeks was the first college player selected in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft when the Milwaukee Brewers made him their No. 1 pick, the highest a second baseman has ever been drafted in MLB Draft history. Weeks won the Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy, and Baseball America College Player of the Year honors as the nation's top collegiate player during the 2003 season.

Hall of Famer Lou Brock played baseball at Southern University from 1958-1960.

Men's Basketball

In 1993, the Southern University men's basketball team defeated the fourth-seeded Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, 93-78, during the NCAA Tournament. In the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Jaguars lost to Duke University, 70-54. In his first season at SU, head coach Rob Spivery was named 2005-06 SWAC Coach of the Year after winning both the SWAC regular season and tournament titles.

Notable alumni

Avery Johnson, former NBA star who won an NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs, is a 1988 graduate of Southern. Johnson was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

Women's Basketball

The 2005-2006 women's basketball team won a share of the SWAC regular season title and won the SWAC women's basketball tournament. This was Coach Sandy Pugh's third appearance in the NCAA tournament with the university.

Athletic traditions

Marching band

Often accompanying the SU athletic teams is the university's marching band. Self-titled the Southern University Human Jukebox, the band has performed at several Super Bowls, at Yankee Stadium, in foreign countries, at bowl games, at Presidential Inaugurations, at Radio City Music Hall, and in television commercials and music videos.

External links

* [http://www.gojagsports.cstv.com www.gojagsports.cstv.com] -- Southern University at [http://www.cstv.com www.cstv.com]

References