Prairie View A&M Eyes Consecutive SWAC Championships Under Coach Jackson

Prairie View A&M claimed a 23-21 win over Jackson State at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the 2025 SWAC Championship Game, and now the Panthers are building toward doing it again. Tremaine Jackson is entering his second season as head football coach at Prairie View A&M University, having taken over the program on January 1, 2025. The results of Year One exceeded nearly every preseason projection, and the foundation he left behind makes a repeat run a credible ambition rather than a slogan.

The Panthers finished the regular season with an overall record of 9-3, going 7-1 in conference play to finish first in the West Division, then defeated Jackson State 23-21 in the SWAC Championship Game to claim the program's first league title since 2009. The offense was a weapon from start to finish: Prairie View put up 442 total points and over 6,000 yards across the season, production that offensive coordinator Christopher Buckner spearheaded. The defense was even more dominant. Co-defensive coordinators Trent Earley and Brandon Anderson orchestrated a unit that held opponents to under 18 points per game and allowed an FCS-low 139.2 passing yards per contest.

Quarterback Cameron Peters was spectacular in the championship game, passing for 294 yards with one touchdown while adding 100 rushing yards and a rushing score. Linebacker Darrell Starling anchored the defense with eight tackles, a tackle for loss, half a sack, and an interception, earning SWAC Defensive MVP honors.

The ten-win total carried its own historical weight: it was the first time Prairie View had reached that threshold since 1963. Now, with the same coaching staff intact and several standout players returning, the program is positioned to build rather than reload. Running back Chase Bingmon, who earned SWAC/HBCU Freshman of the Year honors after rushing for a team-leading 873 yards and eight touchdowns, is back for his sophomore campaign. Defensive back Eric Zachary, who posted 13 pass breakups and two interceptions last season, returns as one of the more dangerous young DBs in the conference. Defensive lineman Matthew Moore, who logged 31 tackles and three sacks, is also set to return.

In his first year leading the Panthers, Jackson engineered one of the most impactful turnarounds in the SWAC, earning 2025 SWAC Coach of the Year honors after arriving fresh off a 30-9 run at Valdosta State that included a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. He joined PVAMU named as the AFCA Division II National Coach of the Year.

Prairie View's championship tradition runs deep. The Panthers have won SWAC titles in 1933, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1964, 2009, and now 2025, alongside five Black college football national championships. The program's NFL alumni include Pro Football Hall of Famer Ken Houston, who played for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins; Otis Taylor, who won a championship with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1969; and Charlie "Choo Choo" Brackins, who was the first HBCU alumnus to play quarterback in the NFL.

As SWAC champions, the Panthers were selected to the Celebration Bowl, their first appearance in program history, where they lost to South Carolina State 38-40 in four overtimes. That narrow defeat, the last hurdle still standing between Prairie View and a ring, gives the 2026 campaign a sharper edge. With Jackson, his full staff, and a core of proven players returning, the question is no longer whether the Panthers belong at the top of the SWAC. It is whether anyone can knock them off it.