Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Wilton Jackson

Sanders: JSU ’Not Ready’ to Play School Like Alabama

As conference realignment has dominated the headlines this offseason in college football, it has also sparked conversation among HBCU programs of potentially building a super conference or potentially elevating to the FBS level.

Even with football coaches like Jackson State’s Deion Sanders discussing the possibility, the Hall of Famer still stands by his decision to not play schools like Alabama or other Power 5 programs as his team currently sits.

“We’re not into sacrificing our kids to get a check,” Sanders told WVTM-TV in Birmingham during the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s media day on Thursday. “He [Saban] got to give me another year. I got to get beef up in the front.”

Sanders also stated that the difference in between HBCU programs and those of the Power 5 rank are the “big guys in the middle,” and not the skill positions.

The Tigers went 11–2 last season, going undefeated in conference play and capturing the program’s first SWAC title since 2007. The team is projected to finish first in the SWAC East according to the league’s preseason predicted order of finish, as voted on by the league’s heads coaches and sports information directors.

Watch College Football with fuboTV: Start a free trial today!

For more HBCU coverage, go to HBCU Legends. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.