The SWAC is considered the premier HBCU conference and ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of alumni affiliated with professional sports teams, particularly in football.

When Langston University of Oklahoma was admitted into the conference two years later, it began the migration of state-supported institutions into the SWAC.

Three of the SWAC's teams, Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic and Grambling and Southern in the Bayou Classic, play their last games of the regular season on Thanksgiving weekend, preventing the SWAC Championship from being decided until the first weekend of December, long after the tournament is underway.

Full members Full members (non-football) The SWAC sponsors championship competitions in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[8] Prior to splitting into divisions and using a postseason championship game to decide its overall champion, the SWAC determined its champions by winning-percentage against conference opponents in regular season play.

The SWAC seems to acknowledge both schools' claims to the title in the conference's football media guide,[14] although some other sources[15] including Michael Hurd's Black College Football, 1892–1992: One Hundred Years of History, Education, and Pride (1993) also list Wiley as an additional co-champion, apparently since all three schools had 4–1 records against conference opponents if the postseason game is incorporated into the regular season conference standings.

[21] The semi-final and championship SWAC Basketball Tournament games are held at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

[22] As of the 2017 tournaments,[23] they feature an eight-team three-day layout with the quarterfinal rounds hosted on campus sites.

The higher seeded teams will host a combined eight games leaving two days for travel and practice rounds.

The tournament concludes with the semi-finals and championship rounds inside Birmingham's Bill Harris Arena.

Marching bands have a rich tradition being a centerpiece of school spirit and pride for each institution in the conference.

Furthermore, the competitiveness, prestige, pageantry, and showmanship of SWAC marching bands significantly add to the unique identity and culture of the conference.