Florida A&M Remains at Top, While Johnson C. Smith Jumps to No. One in HBCU-PSMA Major and Mid-Major Division Polls

By:  A.D. Drew, Black College Sports Network

The picture is still cloudy on the 2024 season, as a dominant team has yet to emerge.  Since teams have played out of their classification during the first three weeks of the season, it has been tough to determine the value of each win or loss, thus far.  That’s about to change, as conference play begins for many teams this week.  Will the picture begin to become clearer or will we be more confused as ever after this weekend’s action?

In the Major Division, Florida A&M, the defending Black National Champion remains at the top.  Unlike previous weeks, the Rattlers were the unanimous choice, despite a loss to an FBS, Miami (FL), the last time they played, followed by a bye last week.  The Rattlers face another FBS, Troy, this week. Jackson State, coming off of back-to-back strong performances against D-II Lane and a non-conference matchup against Southern, sits in the second position.  Tennessee State has won both of its games against the SWAC this season, and is third.  Howard defeated D-II Morehouse in the HBCUNY Classic and rose to fourth.  Grambling State used an overtime victory to claim the fifth spot.

Rounding out the top ten, North Carolina Central and Morgan State are on two game losing streaks, and have fell to sixth and seventh.  Alabama A&M has risen to a tie at seventh with two non-division wins against a D-II and an NAIA,  South Carolina State has picked up a victory, followed by a loss, but rose to ninth.  Texas Southern, which lost to FBS Rice, followed by a bye week, holds the final position in the Top Ten.

MAJOR DIVISION POLL

RANK	SCHOOL	W/L	Points	FPV	Previous Week Rank
1	Florida A&M	2-1	130	13	1
2	Jackson State	2-1	104		7
3	Tennessee State	2-1	83		4
4	Howard	2-1	80		9
5	Grambling State	2-1	63		RV
6	North Carolina Central	1-2	48		2
7	Alabama A&M	2-1	34		RV
7	Morgan State	1-2	34		3
9	South Carolina State	1-2	30		10
10	Texas Southern	1-1	21		5

Receiving Votes:  Alabama State (1-2), 20 pts, LW-6;

Dropped Out:  Alabama State, Delaware State

For the first time in the HBCU-PSMA polling era, the Johnson C. Smith Bulls sit at the top in the Mid-Major Division.  The Bulls are one of only three HBCU football programs which remain undefeated at this point of the season.  The other undefeated program, Clark-Atlanta, achieved something in football that has not been seen since 1995, a tie.  Its contest against Top Ten Florida Memorial was suspended and ultimately called in the 3rd quarter with the two teams tied at 28-28.  Virginia Union and Virginia State had a bye, after losing hard-fought games to their HBCU FCS rivals.  Shaw suffered its first loss of the season, and sits fifth.

Winston-Salem State is above .500, at this point in the season, for the first time since the mid-2010s.  Elizabeth City State and Livingstone each own a two-game winning streak.  Florida Memorial has a unique record of 1-1-1 after being involved in the tie with Clark-Atlanta.  Fayetteville State was shut out last week and fell to tenth.

MID-MAJOR DIVISION POLL

RANK	SCHOOL	W/L	Points	FPV	Previous Week Rank
1	Johnson C. Smith	3-0	122	9	4
2	Clark-Atlanta	2-0-1	104		3
3	Virginia Union	1-1	94	4	1
4	Virginia State	1-1	80		2
5	Shaw	2-1	61		8
6	Winston-Salem State	2-1	59		6
7	Elizabeth City State	2-1	44		NR
8	Livingstone	2-1	40		NR
9	Florida Memorial	1-1-1	32		NR
10	Fayetteville State	1-1	28		7

Receiving Votes:  Fort Valley State (1-1), 27 pts, LW-T9; Texas College (2-0), 15 pts, LW-NR;

Dropped Out:  Edward Waters, Fort Valley State, Miles

ABOUT THE POLL

The poll is made up of the members of the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association.  The voters make up a cross-section of media members who cover all four HBCU conferences and the independent institutions.  The members who make up the sample of voters reside in eight different states.

ABOUT HBCU-PSMA

Established in 2021, the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association is an organization of professionals providing multimedia coverage of Historically Black College and University sports, as well as professional sports.

The purpose of the association is to transform and empower the culture of media by providing informative broadcast stories, rich contextual reporting and inspirational photography of the marginalized by educating, inspiring, and informing a global community.