http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&page=dash0901&sportCat=ncf
<h2 class="subhead">Do The Right Thing</h2>Hats off to Mississippi State (36), which managed to schedule an easy victory to open the Dan Mullen Era and break an overdue barrier at the same time. When the Bulldogs host Jackson State on Saturday, it will be the first-ever meeting between a Southeastern Conference team and a Southwestern Athletic Conference team.
Somehow, the SEC has avoided scheduling a SWAC opponent for all these years. The last big-six league to hire an African-American football coach certainly has not avoided scheduling plenty of I-AA teams in the past, but somehow never saw fit to give an opportunity (and a big check) to one of the historically black colleges in its own backyard.</p> <div class="mod-inline image image-right"> </div>It's shameful that the 12 members of the most powerful league in the country have dotted their schedules with likes of Georgia Southern, Charleston Southern, Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Chattanooga, Texas State, Tennessee Tech and many others while ignoring their other Southern neighbors. There is ample opportunity to fill some of those spots with Jackson State, Grambling, Southern, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M, Mississippi Valley State, Texas Southern and Alcorn State.
(It should be noted that there have been some recent games by SEC teams against other HBCU teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. South Carolina played South Carolina State in 2007, and Kentucky played Norfolk State last year.)</p>
Leave it to Mississippi State -- a school that broke the coaching color barrier with Sylvester Croom (37) and dared play against African-American basketball players against the governor's wishes in 1963 -- to be the progressive party in this area.</p>
"I'm shocked it hadn't happened before," Mullen told The Dash. "I'm thrilled we're the first ones doing it. … The SWAC has a strong tradition, and this could be a great in-state rival. Hopefully, we'll make a yearly deal of it and play some other schools as well [Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State]."</p>
It should be a proud moment in Starkville on Saturday afternoon when Jackson State, alma mater of Walter Payton, takes the field to represent the SWAC against an SEC team. A moment that deserves to be replicated across the SEC in the coming years.</p>
<h2 class="subhead">Do The Right Thing</h2>Hats off to Mississippi State (36), which managed to schedule an easy victory to open the Dan Mullen Era and break an overdue barrier at the same time. When the Bulldogs host Jackson State on Saturday, it will be the first-ever meeting between a Southeastern Conference team and a Southwestern Athletic Conference team.
Somehow, the SEC has avoided scheduling a SWAC opponent for all these years. The last big-six league to hire an African-American football coach certainly has not avoided scheduling plenty of I-AA teams in the past, but somehow never saw fit to give an opportunity (and a big check) to one of the historically black colleges in its own backyard.</p> <div class="mod-inline image image-right"> </div>It's shameful that the 12 members of the most powerful league in the country have dotted their schedules with likes of Georgia Southern, Charleston Southern, Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Chattanooga, Texas State, Tennessee Tech and many others while ignoring their other Southern neighbors. There is ample opportunity to fill some of those spots with Jackson State, Grambling, Southern, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M, Mississippi Valley State, Texas Southern and Alcorn State.
(It should be noted that there have been some recent games by SEC teams against other HBCU teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. South Carolina played South Carolina State in 2007, and Kentucky played Norfolk State last year.)</p>
Leave it to Mississippi State -- a school that broke the coaching color barrier with Sylvester Croom (37) and dared play against African-American basketball players against the governor's wishes in 1963 -- to be the progressive party in this area.</p>
"I'm shocked it hadn't happened before," Mullen told The Dash. "I'm thrilled we're the first ones doing it. … The SWAC has a strong tradition, and this could be a great in-state rival. Hopefully, we'll make a yearly deal of it and play some other schools as well [Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State]."</p>
It should be a proud moment in Starkville on Saturday afternoon when Jackson State, alma mater of Walter Payton, takes the field to represent the SWAC against an SEC team. A moment that deserves to be replicated across the SEC in the coming years.</p>
