SWAC bringing its championship events back to Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced today that the 2018 Toyota SWAC Football Championship will return home to Legion Field, and the Bill Harris Arena – located adjacent to the Birmingham Crossplex – will host the 2019 SWAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament.
“As the founding home of the SWAC football championship game, a longtime destination for the SWAC basketball tournament and the home of the SWAC headquarters, Birmingham is fully committed to the SWAC, its institutions, its leadership, alumni, and most importantly its student-athletes,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said.
Legion Field served as the initial home of the SWAC Football Championship from 1999 to 2012. It also plays host to the annual Magic City Classic between Alabama State and Alabama A&M, which consistently ranks as the highest-attended HBCU football classic in the country.
Birmingham also served as the site of the SWAC Basketball tournament during the mid-2000s, with Bill Harris Arena holding the event as recently as 2009 before being moved to Legacy Arena the following year.
“As a Historically Black College graduate and chairperson of the City of Birmingham’s Parks & Recreation Committee, I am encouraged by the Southwestern Athletic Conference giving the City of Birmingham an opportunity to be its partner,” Councilor William Parker said.
SWAC is the most accomplished athletic conference among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, having send dozens of players to both the NFL and the NBA. The SWAC has led the nation in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision attendance for 31 consecutive seasons.
“The economic impact of these sporting events being held in the City of Birmingham will have collateral benefits to our communities and constituents which affirms our commitment to enhancing the quality of life within our great city,” Parker added.
