“IT’S GREAT TO SEE THE ENTHUSIASM COMING BACK AMONG OUR FANS. JUDGING FROM FAN INTEREST, OUR ATTENDANCE SHOULD INCREASE NEXT YEAR AND WHEN WE BRING MORE FANS TO TOWN, JSU WINS AND THE CITY OF JACKSON WINS. WE ARE ALSO MAKING OUR SEASON TICKET PACKAGES MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY THIS YEAR.” —Robert Braddy, JSU athletics director Jackson State University’s 11-year SWAC football title drought ended on Dec. 15, 2007, in Birmingham, Ala. Before a crowd of 43,236 fans at Legion Field, the Tigers defeated Grambling State 42–31 to secure their 16th Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship. The win – along with the success of the program under two-year head coach Rick Comegy – went a long way toward restoring the pride and tradition Tiger fans enjoyed during the years JSU won 15 SWAC football crowns – including eight between 1980 and 1990 – and routinely led NCAA Division I-AA in attendance. The JSU Tigers have won 16 SWAC championships. Jackson State is scheduled to open the 2008 season against Hampton University at 1 p.m. Aug. 31 in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Orlando, Fla. The Tigers will host Stillman College in their first home game at 6 p.m. Sept. 6. For information on purchasing season football tickets, visit http://jsutigers.cstv.com/tickets/jasttickets.html.
It was JSU’s first football title since the league implemented the East-West divisional playoff in 1999 and the Tigers’ first outright conference crown since 1996. The match-up not only served as a stage for Tiger senior quarterback Jimmy Oliver to showcase his uncanny ability to win football games, but it completed a remarkable turnaround for the Tiger program under Comegy. Three years before Comegy’s arrival in 2005, the once-proud JSU program had sunk to an historic low, going 2–10 (2003), 4–7 (2004) and 2–9 (2005). TICKET SALES INCREASING JSU officials already see some benefits from the Tigers winning their 16th championship and the back-to-back winning seasons (6–5 in 2006,
8–4 in 2007) under Comegy. “It’s great to see the enthusiasm coming back among our fans,” says Robert Braddy, athletics director. “Judging from fan interest, our attendance should increase next year and when we bring more fans to town, JSU wins and the city of Jackson wins. We also are making our season ticket packages more family-friendly this year.” Annie Jackson, JSU ticket manager, says Tiger fans now have the convenience of purchasing tickets online. “Season tickets went on sale on March 10, and we are hoping to double what we sold last year,” says Jackson, noting that about 5,000 were sold then. “Tickets are selling at a more brisk pace as compared to this time last year.” WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR SWAC Comegy believes a successful football program at JSU can help the city of Jackson reach its potential. “The atmosphere here is warm, the people are friendly and we have a lot of resources in and around Jackson,” Comegy says. “We need to move the trees back a little so we can see the light better.” One fact is certain. When Jackson State plays in the SWAC championship game in Birmingham, statistics show the financial impact on the conference and the city of Birmingham is greater than when any other team in the league plays. Two days before the championship game, Interstate 20 between Jackson and Birmingham saw a steady stream of vehicles heading east with JSU flags fluttering in the wind. During the game, a sea of blue-and-white pom-poms waved on the nearly filled Jackson State side of the stadium, which was in stark contrast to the sparse crowd on Grambling’s side. “We were happy to see so many of our fans make the trip to Birmingham,” says Braddy. It was a win-win situation for the SWAC. Despite a stormy forecast for that Saturday afternoon, the more than 43,000 in attendance made up the second-largest crowd in the nine years the game has been held in Birmingham. The largest crowd was 47,627 in 1999, the only
other year Jackson State was in the game. The three years before 2007, the average attendance at the conference championship football game was 24,348. OLIVER MADE THE DIFFERENCE The large throng of JSU fans in the stands probably made Oliver and the Tigers feel right at home. Oliver threw three touchdowns and pulled off Houdini-like moves to lead Jackson State to victory. Even though his statistical numbers (16-of-30 passes for 249 yards and three TDs) were not flashy, Grambling must have thought there was something magical about the Columbia, Miss., native. Repeatedly, he scrambled away from trouble and twice threw touchdown passes after eluding several would-be tacklers. He threw a 17-yard TD pass to Chris Johnson in the second quarter with a defender draped around his ankle. “Oliver was the difference in the game for us,” says Comegy. “He did everything to help us win. He performed like a big-time quarterback – like a John Elway or Peyton Manning. His play was not surprising to me. He has won games like that for us ever since he has been here.” Oliver, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, threw touchdown passes of 14 yards to Cedric Dixon and 15 yards to Terance Jones. Lavarus Giles, who started in place of the injured Eric Haw, was the game’s top rusher with 117 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. His 54-yard TD burst up the middle in the fourth quarter, after breaking several tackles at the line of scrimmage, put the game away for the Tigers. Corner back Domonique Johnson, who was voted the Defensive Player of the Game, may have made the game-changing play in the second quarter when he intercepted Grambling quarterback Brandon Landers’ pass and raced 35 yards for a score. That play put JSU ahead 14–7. The Tigers went on to lead 28–12 at the half. Grambling roared back in the third period, scoring 19 unanswered points to take a 31–28 lead. JSU added 14 points in the final period to win the game, 42–31.