I'm a little overdue for this but as we almost get ready to start the alumni band sesson and summer camp season I'm gone reflect on the 2017 season in the swac with rankings 

1) southern - I gave thought to putting pvamu here however su just doesn't beat themselves and there arrangements are magical..... 

2) pvamu - highly impressed with the band, effective on the field and stands. No weakness other than not getting to battle every swac band however that isn't there fault. But pvamu has potential to take the number one spot especially after there fifth quarter showing vs southern this year.... 

3) jsu - always consistent in the stands, field shows got better, one of the main things jsu improved on was balance and attack this year. 

4) aamu - always balanced,  had great diversity in song selection, great on the field and with the brass growing year by year I'm just waiting on their breakout year. For me when aamu shows up in the field they put on the best field shows from the swac, i.e. honda the past 3 years and mcc last year......Very similar to pvamu, they can beat you in various ways, just need to stay the course and magic will come to them..... 

5) bama state - I will say asu is improving and musicianship is sounding better, field shows are set up better and song selection is always good, just keep on polishing musicianship 

6) alcorn - to me i feel like they hit their ceiling this year. What concerns me is trying not to out su su and not out jsu jsu. I still think they will find there way. Biggest upside is attack in arrangements 

7) txsu- I feel like they should be higher but one thing that hurts is the overall exposure they get do battle other swac bands. Like we all can agree once they get near 2006 size watch the heck out..... field shows could improve. 

8) grambling - another like txsu should be higher and will probably be next year but outside of the bayou classic I can'

 Seem to find that memorable moment or game.... 

9) uapb - very clean band but could stand a refreshment, also stuck in a phase of meritocracy 

10) mvsu - no lie couldn't find video other than when y'all played jsu (keep the hope alive) 

NON SWAC rankings top 5 

Tennessee State 

Bethune Cookman 

North Carolina AT 

Miles 

FAMU 

What do y'all think??????????????????? Was there any surprises?????

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  • Pretty accurate

  • I like your ranking. Only thing I'd change on my top 10 is AAMU and State at 4 and 5. I felt like Texas and Alcorn should be in those spots.

    I got:

    1. Southern (*)

    2. PV (^)

    3. JSU (-)

    4. Texas (^)

    5. Alcorn (v)

    6.Grambling (-)

    7. AAMU (-)

    8. State (v)

    9. Pine Bluff (v)

    10. Valley (_)

    Outside the Swac, Tennessee, Talladega, and A&T got the Juice

    • My rankings were based on how well you can produce in the stands and on the field (which is where some swac schools lack) I'm less concerned with overall power with respect to size of band but balance and musicianship. That's why I had aamu and bama state ahead of txsu. Alcorn was a toss up between 5 and 6. The middle ranked teams (aamu, bama state, alcorn and txsu) all have minor issues that are easily fixable. The swac honestly has 8 legit travel anywhere and entertain bands the two that are lacking are uapb and mvsu. That says alot about the programs.......

  • Almost agree with everything except your comments about JSU. To me this was one of the worst years in regards to balance. No trumpets which has been a consent issue in the last 5 years. You mostly heard F-horns and tubas on most songs this year.
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