The SWAC conference doesn’t get much respect from mainstream media. Embarrassing situations like what happened with the Grambling football team last year and four basketball teams being ruled academically ineligible for the NCAA tournament, only make the SWAC the laughing stock of collegiate athletics.
One bright spot in SWAC athletics has been the Prairie View women’s basketball team. For the last 4 years, they have won the SWAC tournament receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament as the #16 seed. They are 0-4 in those games and 3 out of the 4 times they have had to play against the powerhouse that is UCONN. Their most recent tournament game was just like the rest of them as Geno and his Huskies routed Prairie View 87-44.
During the game ESPN commentators talked about Prairie View like they were some JV team at your local high school, often showing more interest in the band than the team. This offended many PV students and fans but nobody was more offended than Prairie View’s head coach Dawn Brown who tweeted her dissatisfaction with the commentators.
I am very upset with the commentators from our games last night on Sportscenter
— Dawn Brown (@DivaCoachPV) March 25, 2014
How do you disrespect a team that has won 4 consecutive conference titles and you laugh at them for their success. — Dawn Brown (@DivaCoachPV) March 25, 2014
Band gets more recognition than the actual team… wow! — Dawn Brown (@DivaCoachPV) March 25, 2014
One thing about it… I will fight for this team!!! #foe
— Dawn Brown (@DivaCoachPV) March 25, 2014
I understand why Coach Brown felt so offended. Prairie View has accomplished something great by making an appearance in the NCAA tournament four times in a row. Not many teams in the country can say they have done that and they deserve to be recognized for those accomplishments. Not criticized and not treated like some kind of recreational basketball team.
It really is a shame how terrible the SWAC has gotten. Back in the 80’s this conference was full of talent and players that went on to play in the pros like Avery Johnson, Larry Smith, Purvis Short and many others. Now it is one of the worst conferences in all of collegiate athletics. I hope they can turn it around and get back to their 1980’s status when they were a respected conference.