| 1962Jackson State Tigers football | |
|---|---|
Black college national champion SWAC champion | |
Orange Blossom Classic, W 22–6 vs.Florida A&M | |
| Conference | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
| Record | 10–1 (6–1 SWAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Alumni Field |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jackson State $ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Southern | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grambling | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prairie View A&M | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas AM&N | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alcorn A&M | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wiley | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1962 Jackson State Tigers football team was anAmerican football team that represented Jackson State College for Negroes—now known asJackson State University as a member of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the1962 NCAA College Division football season. In their 11th season under head coachJohn Merritt, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 10–1 record with a mark of 6–1 against conference opponents, won the SWAC title, defeatedFlorida A&M in theOrange Blossom Classic, and outscored all opponents by a total of 411 to 101.[1]
The Tigers were recognized by thePittsburgh Courier as the 1962black college national champion. Another source selected Florida A&M as the national champion despite Jackson State's 22–6 victory over Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic.[2]
Key players for Jackson State included quarterbackRoy Curry and endWillie Richardson. Richardson was later inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
At the start of the fall 1962 semester,James Meredith drew national attention when he transferred from Jackson State to the previously all-whiteUniversity of Mississippi.[3]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 15 | atMississippi Industrial* | Clarksdale, MS | W 56–6 | [4] | |||
| September 22 | Prairie View A&M |
| W 41–7 | [5] | |||
| September 29 | Mississippi Vocational* |
| W 50–0 | [6] | |||
| October 6 | Arkansas AM&N |
| W 51–0 | [7] | |||
| October 13 | atAlcorn A&M | W 34–0 | [8] | ||||
| October 20 | atSouthern | L 14–19 | [9] | ||||
| October 27 | atGrambling | W 45–31 | [10] | ||||
| November 3 | atWiley |
| W 36–13 | [11] | |||
| November 10 | vs.Texas Southern | W 26–13 | [12][13] | ||||
| December 1 | Tennessee A&I |
| W 36–6 | > 7,000 | [14] | ||
| December 8 | vs.Florida A&M | W 22–6 | 43,461 | [15][16] | |||
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