The Prairie View A&M football program has a passionate fanbase that wants the Panthers to have success on the gridiron. That passion is one reason PVAMU chose not to renew Bubba McDowell’s contract. Finishing 5-7 overall and 3-5 in conference in 2024 was not enough for the administration, despite the former Houston Oiler standout leading the Panthers to the SWAC West title in 2023.

However, everyone, including the fanbase, was surprised when Tremaine Jackson was named head coach and began speaking about winning SWAC and HBCU national championships during his opening press conference. It wasn’t coachspeak then, and Jackson has only confirmed his beliefs since arriving on campus.

“Now that I’ve been here three months, my expectations are even higher than when I walked in the door because I’m here and see what this place can become,” Jackson said. “We can win the SWAC West, we can win the SWAC championship, and we can compete in Atlanta to win the whole thing.

“We can do that extremely fast, but not in such a hurry that we make missteps with the program. I tell our coaches all the time that the expectations are high, and not from anyone else but us.”

The fanbase has reacted positively to Jackson’s bravado. Still, the coach hears the detractors.

“I’m not sure our fans really believe we can get that done in Year 1. I think they want us to because it’s good for them to talk noise to other people who went to other schools,” Jackson said. “But I hear the chatter about how it normally takes me until Year 3 to win. If you think it’s going to take me to Year 3 to win here, I’m a white man.”

The Prairie View A&M football program has a tremendous history, highlighted by five HBCU national trophies. However, the Panthers' last national title was in 1964. Since that championship, the program has an overall record of 201-415-5, and holds the distinction of the longest losing streak in college football history, losing 78 consecutive games. The Panthers shut down the program in 1990 and reopened it in 1991 with no scholarships and minimal funding. PVAMU didn’t experience another victory until 1998.

“After the 1964 national championship team, it was all losing until Coach (Henry) Frazier walked in here in 2009 and won the SWAC championship,” Jackson said. “Still, we haven’t won since then. We’ve always been consistently 7-5 or 8-4, and maybe get to the SWAC championship game and get beat up. So, when you’re dealing with a program that’s known more for losing than winning, why would our fans be excited?”

Jackson is used to blazing new trails. He spent his entire career as an NCAA Division II head coach on a one-year contract and is the first and only Black head football coach at both of his previous stops, Colorado Mesa and Valdosta State.

“They like the hype, but they’ve never seen people kissing trophies around here. The fans who attend homecoming have never seen a winning team. When they were at Prairie View, we were 0-78,” Jackson said. “When something’s been mediocre your whole life, why would you believe it’ll be different? It’s like a preacher telling you that you’re going to get a blessing when you’ve never been blessed.”

Still, Jackson will welcome every fan when the Panthers start ‘kissing trophies,’ and he’ll even let fans kiss the trophy – for a donation.

“There’ll be a little QR code to donate before you kiss the trophy because this place deserves to be talked about amongst the best schools in the state,” Jackson said. “When you discuss the best football programs in Texas, you’ll be talking about the Panthers. I don’t know how long it’ll take us to get there, but before I leave this place, the expectation will be to play in Atlanta every December.”

Cory’s Take

It took Tremaine Jackson three years before reaching the DII national championship game at Valdosta. But let’s not overlook the fact that Jackson is a proven winner. He has won 40 of 52 games over four seasons and the pandemic year, and the 5-6 record in his first season at Valdosta is the only losing record as a head coach.

He knows what it takes to build a winner, but he also understands the impact money has on winning college football games. Jackson ensured the administration was financially committed to winning, and PVAMU now has the largest football staff in program history. Still, he’ll need the fan base to contribute and invest in the program to reach his lofty expectations. Then the fans can talk all the ‘noise.’

- Written by Cory Hogue