| Southern Jaguars | |
| University | Southern University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | SWAC |
| NCAA | Division I FCS |
| Athletics director | Greg LaFleur |
| Location | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Varsity teams | |
| Football stadium | Ace W. Mumford Stadium |
| Basketball arena | F. G. Clark Center |
| Baseball stadium | Lee-Hines Field |
| Mascot | LaCumba |
| Nickname | Jaguars |
| Fight song | |
| Colors | Columbia Blue and Gold
|
| Homepage | GoJagsSports |
The Southern Jaguars represent Southern University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics.
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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.
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.
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.
The university's baseball team has won more regular season championships than any other SWAC member. They play their home games at Lee-Hines Field.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Often accompanying the SU athletic teams is the university's marching band and dance line. Nicknamed the Southern University Human Jukebox and the Dancing Dolls, the band has performed at several Super Bowls, NFL games, the inaugurations of Presidents Reagan and Clinton, Yankee Stadium, in foreign countries, at bowl games, at Radio City Music Hall, and in television commercials and specials, movies and music videos.
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