Deion Sanders on college football realignment: Conferences are 'chasing the bag'
Jackson State is "already speaking about" conference realignment, football coach Deion Sanders said on ESPN Saturday.
As HBCUs draw more national attention, Jackson State and other marquee HBCU programs will have to choose whether to stay together in the same conference or to leave and try to elevate elsewhere.
"What do we want to do?" Sanders asked. "Do we want to sit back and adhere to tradition? Or do we want to put ourselves in a financial situation where our school prospers? You've really got to factor that in and weigh those options. There's some tremendous options that some of the schools are going to be faced with. We're already speaking about it."
All but three Division I HBCUs play currently play in the MEAC or the SWAC, which are comprised entirely of HBCUs. There are no HBCU schools at the FBS level.
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No matter the level, conference realignment is about money, Sanders said.
"You call it realignment. You can really call it chasing the bag," Sanders said. "That's all they're doing, they're chasing the bag."
Earlier this month, Hampton and North Carolina A&T became the first HBCUs to join the Colonial Athletic Association. Tennessee State, a longtime rival of Jackson State, plays in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Jackson State has been a member of the SWAC since 1958.
Athletic director Ashley Robinson told the Clarion Ledger that he's focused on dominating at the FCS level before JSU reevaluates its position.
But, with JSU football breaking the FCS record with an average attendance of 42,293, and with the nation's top prospect Travis Hunter set to make his Jackson State debut this fall, Jackson State has serious momentum that could make it an attractive candidate for other conferences.
"Everything with realignment is all about ...," Sanders said before pausing. "I'm trying to put it nicely because I'm a head coach now, but they're trying to get money, man. Everybody is trying to align themselves properly so their program can prosper, and I don't mind that. I want our program to prosper as well."
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Deion Sanders: NCAA conferences 'chasing the bag' with realignment
