Prairie View A&M Sweeps Major Sports Titles

College sports programs love to take home championships in football and basketball. They’re the two income-generating sports for most schools, and are also generally the sports where the most capital is invested.

Prairie View A&M can claim that they are the top school in the SWAC for both sports after a tremendously successful winter and spring season.

The Panthers’ men’s basketball team had nothing short of a historic season, winning the SWAC Conference Tournament and securing their first NCAA Tournament victory ever. Prairie View A&M competed in the First Four during March Madness, and took down Lehigh 67-55.

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— PVAMU Men’s Basketball (@PVAMU_MBB) March 19, 2026

“We knew we had the talent the whole time,” said forward Cory Wells. “It was about putting it together and peaking at the right time. You want to be playing your best ball in March. You don’t want to be playing your best ball early in the season and fall off. We did that.”

Panthers head coach Byron Smith talked about the school’s journey from being one of the worst programs in the SWAC to winning an NCAA Tournament game.

“When you have seasons like we did the last two years, it really tests you as a coach and how much you really want to be doing this thing,” he said.

Smith also discussed how the lack of recent success served as a motivational tool that would allow his players not to take success for granted.

“We felt really good about the kids that we brought in,” Smith stated. “When you bring people in that have been doubted, and if they come together, they work together, great things can happen.”

Guard Dontate Horne paced the Panthers in scoring against Lehigh, dropping 25 points to go along with seven rebounds. He was 11-22 from the field.

The Panthers’ victory earned them a Round of 64 game against defending national champion Florida. Although Prairie View A&M fell in that contest, the contest earned them a significant amount of national exposure.

Coach Smith has been vocal about the sacrifice and toughness his players and HBCU players display in general as they put their best foot forward to achieve their goals.

Prairie View A&M’s basketball success picks up where the football program left off in the winter. The Panthers’ football team took down Jackson State 23-21 in the SWAC title game in December.

Where Champions Are Built🏆
Celebration Bowl Panther Threads vs SC State
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— Prairie View A&M Football (@pvamufb_) December 13, 2025

The victory marked the first time that Prairie view A&M had won the conference since 2009.

Football coach Tremaine Jackson had a lot of confidence that he could build the program to the heights it ultimately reached.

“I told them after the ’22 season, if you let me do it my way and it don’t work, you don’t have to fire me, I’ll walk out,” Jackson said. “You don’t even have to worry about it. I’ll go be a D Line coach and say, ‘This just doesn’t work.’”

Jackson and the football program have had to adjust from being one of the worst teams in the SWAC to the best.

“When you’re 10-4, won the SWAC and played in the national championship game, you’re a lot more attractive than when you’re 5-7, and the coach gets fired,” Jackson said. “People are already reaching out. We just have to be ready for the attraction.”