The SWAC took a bold move with its media rights and, per a comprehensive report by Kyle T. Moseley of HBCU Legends, it's paying off. Ahead of the Bayou Classic, SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland spoke about the financial outlook of the conference with the Southern University Board of Governors. Per McClelland, SWAC TV is paying off.
“We are and have the largest revenue of any FCS conference in the nation,” said McClelland. “So when you start talking about who we are, we are now the biggest and the baddest when it comes to revenue-generating.”
McClelland, who often touts the success of SWAC athletics as a media product, boldly proclaimed that SWAC TV draws more viewers for the conference's events than the SWAC events broadcast on ESPN.
“There are more people watching SWAC TV for our games than there are watching ESPN.”
SWAC TV, which launched on August 1st before the football season, is the exclusive streaming service broadcasting all 18 conference-sponsored sports. It's free to access and id available for download on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google Play, and Android TV. As more SWAC games aired on SWAC TV, ESPN has a smaller inventory of games.
Notably, ESPN platforms featured fewer SWAC games as they announced their schedule ahead of the season. The number of SWAC games announced for ESPN platforms dropped from 34 in 2024 to 14 in 2025. As a result, HBCU Go and SWAC TV aired more games.
SWAC TV is one portion of the conference's money-making machine. Per HBCU Legends, the SWAC has reported a $25.5 million operating budget, with $15.9 million being reallocated back to the 12 member schools. It is a positive trend for the conference as, per Mosely, the SWAC faced a $2 million deficit.
It appears that SWAC TV is poised to remain a success, as the conference's viewership is set to increase amid the intrigue surrounding Marshall Faulk as Southern University's head coach.
