Jackson, Mississippi · Founded 1877 · Tigers (Bengal Tiger)
“A 148-year-old Mississippi HBCU where the Sonic Boom of the South might be bigger than the football team — and that's saying something.”
The Sonic Boom of the South's biggest stage ever — performing with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas (February 2024). The Boom got the call through JSU alum and Sonic Boom alum Cortez Bryant, co-CEO of Blueprint Group/Maverick.
The Boom doing what HBCU bands do best — a full gospel-themed halftime show against UAPB in 2019, featuring the drum major preaching 'He Is Alpha and Omega.' Captures the church-rooted side of the Sonic Boom's identity.
The Sonic Boom vs. South Carolina State's Marching 101 at the 2023 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta — first edition ever broadcast on ABC — with the J-Settes and the J5 in full fieldshow form.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
From the Yard's video feed.
Chicago Bears running back (1975–87); Pro Football Hall of Fame; 9x Pro Bowler; the school's most famous alumnus, class of 1975
Detroit Lions cornerback (1967–77); Pro Football Hall of Fame; 7x Pro Bowler; 1967 Defensive Rookie of the Year
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams offensive tackle (1976–95); Pro Football Hall of Fame; 7x Pro Bowler; played 20 NFL seasons
Houston Oilers linebacker (1975–84), 'Dr. Doom'; Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2018; 7x Pro Bowler; 1975 draft's 6th overall pick — Payton's college roommate
5x Pro Bowl wide receiver with a 16-year NFL career (Rams, Eagles, Patriots); JSU class of 1968; returned as Tigers head coach 2014–15
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver; 5x Pro Bowler over a 12-year NFL career
Philadelphia Eagles running back (1977–85); 2x Pro Bowler; Eagles Hall of Fame
Offensive lineman (Dolphins, Patriots); 4x Pro Bowler over an 11-year NFL career
San Diego Chargers defensive back; 3x AFL All-Star, 1x NFL Pro Bowler
Defensive end; 3x Pro Bowler over 14 NFL seasons despite going undrafted
New York Jets wide receiver/tight end (1972–83); 1973 Pro Bowler; 1972 first-round pick (9th overall)
New York Jets tight end/wide receiver (1970–82); 3x Pro Bowler over a 13-year career
Chargers/Vikings running back; 9 NFL seasons; 1975 seventh-round pick, same draft class as Payton and Brazile
NBA point guard; 10th overall pick in the 1993 draft; 2x NBA champion (Lakers 2002, Pistons 2004); 17-year playing career
U.S. Secretary of Education 2001–2005, the first African American to hold the office; JSU class of 1955; later interim JSU president
U.S. Congressman from Mississippi, serving since 1993; longest-serving African American elected official in Mississippi history
U.S. Senator from California (2023–24)
Elected to the Mississippi House in 1967 — the first African American in the state legislature since Reconstruction; class of 1952
Yale-trained lawyer; 18th president and CEO of the NAACP; class of 1983
Two-time Grammy-winning jazz singer; Time's 'America's Best Singer' (2001); earned her mass communications degree at JSU; died September 2026
Founded October 23, 1877, in Natchez, Mississippi as Natchez Seminary by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, 'for the moral, religious, and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.' Rev. Henry P. Jacobs, a leader among Mississippi Black Baptists, was instrumental in its founding. It opened with just 20 newly freed slaves, training Black preachers and teachers — the seed of what would become one of the nation's most important HBCUs.
The school moved from Natchez to Jackson, the state capital, and changed its name to Jackson College. Its original Jackson site is now Millsaps College — the school that, decades later, two-time Grammy winner Cassandra Wilson would attend before transferring to JSU. Early in the 20th century the college moved again to its present location at 1400 John R. Lynch Street, where it developed into a full state university.
During the Great Depression, the American Baptist Home Mission Society withdrew its financial support, leaving the school on its own. This was the institution's first existential crisis, and the answer was public: the state of Mississippi took over in 1940 as a public institution — named the Mississippi Negro Training School — charged mainly with training teachers. The Baptist pullout ended the school's private era and began its life as a state university.
JSU became a state-supported public institution in 1940 under the name Mississippi Negro Training School. The name changed to Jackson College for Negro Teachers in 1944, then to Jackson State College in 1967 after desegregation, and finally to Jackson State University in 1974. Each renaming marked a step away from the school's segregated-teachers-college origins toward a comprehensive research university.
The marching band that would become the Sonic Boom of the South was born in the 1940s at what was then Jackson State College, built from Jackson College and Lanier High School students under Frederick D. Hall. William W. Davis became the first full-time band director in 1948 — a former trumpet player in Cab Calloway's band whose showmanship shaped the Boom's style — growing the band from about 20 members to 88. The name 'Sonic Boom of the South' itself came in 1971 at Harold J. Haughton's suggestion.
JSU joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1958, and the program exploded into national prominence. Since then the Tigers have won about a quarter of all SWAC football championships — 19 titles, the second-most in conference history. Joining the SWAC turned a small teachers college into one of the two blue-blood programs of Black college football.
Under John Merritt, JSU won the first of its SWAC football titles in 1961, repeating in 1962. The program became an NFL pipeline: Jackson State alumni include four Pro Football Hall of Famers — Walter Payton, Lem Barney, Jackie Slater, and Robert Brazile — the most of any Mississippi university. The pipeline peaked in the 1975 NFL Draft, when Payton went 4th overall to the Bears and his college roommate Brazile went 6th to the Oilers, the only teammates on a Mississippi college or HBCU team ever drafted in the top 10.
After desegregation, the school dropped 'for Negro Teachers' from its name and became Jackson State College in 1967. The renaming reflected the institution's post-civil-rights identity — no longer a segregated teachers college but a state college for all Mississippians. Seven years later, with graduate programs and an expanded curriculum, it became Jackson State University.
In the late hours of May 14 and into the early morning of May 15, 1970, Jackson City Police and Mississippi Highway Patrol officers fired nearly 500 rounds in 28 seconds into Alexander Hall, a women's dormitory. Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, a junior political science major, and James Earl Green, a senior at nearby Jim Hill High School, were killed. Twelve others were shot; dozens more were injured. No officer was ever held accountable. Campus was closed and the Class of 1970's graduation canceled; the dormitory still bears the bullet marks. The Gibbs-Green Pedestrian Walkway is named in their memory, and the Margaret Walker Center holds the archives and the annual May commemoration.
With graduate programs and an expanded curriculum added, the school became Jackson State University in 1974. It is now classified among R2 Doctoral Universities with high research activity. Under president John A. Peoples, JSU granted its first doctoral degrees in 1982 — the first HBCU in Mississippi to do so.
In January 1975, Jake Ayers Sr. and other Black Mississippians sued the state, arguing it had never dismantled its segregated university system. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in their favor in 1992. The 2002 Ayers Settlement finally delivered at least $245.8 million for academic programs at JSU, Alcorn, and MVSU, up to $75 million for campus facilities, and two endowments — funding that reshaped JSU's modern campus and remains the largest single equity investment in the school's history.
W.C. Gorden coached the Tigers from 1976 to 1991, going 119-47-5 with eight SWAC championships (1980–82, 1985–88, 1990) and nine NCAA playoff appearances, including a 28-game regular-season winning streak. JSU won nearly half of all SWAC titles between 1961 and 1996. Gorden was named the AFCA Trailblazer Award winner in 2025, presented posthumously at the 2026 convention.
James 'Big Daddy' Carson's 1996 Tigers went 10–2, won the SWAC title, and claimed a black college national co-championship — the program's first since the Gorden era. It was the high point of the 1990s under president James E. Lyons Sr. and the last national crown before the long drought that followed. JSU would not win another Celebration Bowl-era national title until 2024.
JSU played in the first-ever SWAC Championship Game in 1999, drawing a record 47,621 fans against Southern — a sign of what the Tigers' fanbase could become. JSU lost that one, and lost the title game again in 2008, 2012, and 2013. It wasn't until 2007 that the Tigers finally broke through in the championship-game era, with Rick Comegy's 42–31 win over Grambling — their first SWAC title since 1996, sealed by quarterback Jimmy Oliver's 249 yards and three touchdowns before 43,246 fans.
Carolyn W. Meyers took office in January 2011 as the first woman to lead JSU full time, hired from Norfolk State where she had been president. A Howard-trained mechanical engineer with a doctorate from Georgia Tech, she won a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from SACS plus accreditation in engineering and business. She resigned in 2016 amid a financial scandal over dwindling cash reserves, beginning a decade of leadership churn.
2015 was JSU's landmark academic year: it became the first university in Mississippi approved by the legislature to establish a School of Public Health, opened the School of Journalism and Media Studies, and opened the JSU 101 Building in downtown Jackson. Apple named JSU an Apple Distinguished School for the second consecutive time, and the university kept giving every first-time freshman a new iPad, a program running since 2012. JSU remains Mississippi's only HBCU with bachelor's and master's engineering programs.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was hired as the 21st head coach in 2020. He led JSU to an 11-1 season and SWAC championship in 2021, a 12-1 season and another SWAC title in 2022, flipped five-star recruit Travis Hunter from Florida State, and turned JSU games into nationally televised events. ESPN's College GameDay came to Jackson for the October 2022 BoomBox Classic against Southern, with an undefeated JSU team under Prime. He left for Colorado after the 2022 Celebration Bowl.
The faculty senate voted no confidence in president Thomas Hudson, alleging he 'repeatedly failed to respect shared governance, transparency, and accountability.' The board placed Hudson on administrative leave and appointed Elayne Hayes-Anthony as acting president. Marcus L. Thompson served as president 2023–2025 — securing $23 million in state appropriations for McAllister-Whiteside Hall and campus water infrastructure — and Denise Jones Gregory took the presidency in 2025.
The Sonic Boom of the South performed with Usher at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in Las Vegas, then marched in the January 1, 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade. Meanwhile, alumnus T.C. Taylor — the 22nd head coach — led the Tigers to a 12-2 record, the SWAC championship, and a 28-7 win over South Carolina State in the Cricket Celebration Bowl: JSU's first Celebration Bowl victory and black college national championship since 1996.
Mississippi's all-Black-college civil war: first played in 1927, when Alcorn A&M won 25–12. The unofficial 'Soul Bowl' name dates to the late 1970s; from 1993 to 2011 it was the Capital City Classic, staged in Jackson every year — all but one of the 1985–2011 meetings were at Veterans Memorial Stadium — and since 2012 it has alternated between Jackson and Lorman. Through 2025 the schools have met 90 times with JSU leading 50–38–2, including a 58–6 Tiger rout in 1999 and a 27–21 JSU win in 2025 that sealed a SWAC East title trip.
Named for the two bands — JSU's Sonic Boom of the South and Southern's Human Jukebox — this is one of the biggest rivalries in HBCU football. It began with a 98-0 Southern rout in 1929 and has been played every year since JSU joined the SWAC in 1958, including rematches in the 1999 and 2013 SWAC Championship Games (both won by Southern). Through 2026 the schools have met 74 times with JSU leading 37–35, not counting two vacated Southern wins; JSU's 35–17 win on September 26, 2026 extended an eight-game win streak, the longest ever in the series. ESPN's College GameDay came to Jackson for the October 2022 edition, an undefeated Prime-led JSU squad, announcing the rivalry to a national audience.
🥁 Sonic Boom of the South · since 1940
The Sonic Boom of the South — SBOTS, 'Da Boom' — is a 300+ member marching band whose identity is the J5 drum majors, the Prancing J-Settes danceline, the 'Get Ready' entrance, the Tiger Run-On, and the Floating JSU halftime formation. Signature moments: Motown's 30th Anniversary (1990), the 2021 Presidential Inauguration Parade, winning the 2016 Honda Battle of the Bands, performing with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII (2024), and marching the 2025 Rose Parade. The band was the first collegiate marching band featured by Great Big Story (2018). It was suspended over hazing allegations in 2019, with prior disciplinary actions in 2007, 2009, and 2015.
Led the band in its 1940s beginnings at what was then Jackson State College, built from Jackson College and Lanier High School students; had directed a band at the college as early as the 1920s
Brief tenure before the first full-time director arrived
First full-time band director; former trumpet player in Cab Calloway's band, whose showmanship shaped the Boom's style; grew the band from ~20 to 88 members; stayed on as chief arranger after retiring
Adopted the name 'Sonic Boom of the South' in 1971 at the members' suggestion; introduced the 'Get Ready' theme, replaced majorettes with featured dancers, created the Tiger Run-On shuffle, Tiger Strut, and Floating JSU; grew the band to 160; left for Virginia State
Third alumnus to lead the band; rearranged 'Get Ready' in 1987 in an arrangement still played today; under him the Boom played the 1991 NBA All-Star Game and Motown's 30th anniversary; returned as interim director Sept 2017 and stayed as director of bands until ~2020; inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2018
Became director in 1992; created the J5 ('Jackson 5') drum majors in 2000 and named the first woman drum major in 2001; the dancing Baby Tigers debuted in 1994; the band was enshrined in the NCAA Hall of Champions in 2003. Exact end year unverified.
Former Norfolk State band director; fired days before the 2017 season opener after the band traveled with unregistered members to a Charlotte event; sued the university
Associate director who stepped in as interim right after Sanford's firing; quoted in Smithsonian's 2017 feature on the Boom
Former Sonic Boom percussionist (2003–06) and J5 drum major; marched his way up from assistant band director (2012) to marching band director (2015) to director of bands (2020), one of the youngest in school history; led the Boom through the Usher Super Bowl LVIII show, the 2025 Rose Parade, and a 2022 GMA homecoming feature; named HBCU band director of the year by Andscape
All nine NPHC organizations are on the yard under the Pan Hellenic Council. Every year the council stages 'The Great Reveal,' an annual probate on the main campus where each org's new members cross over — the 2025 edition unmasked seven NPHC organizations and reactivated Iota Phi Theta's Delta Psi chapter; the Flash also names AKA's Gamma Rho, Kappa's Delta Delta, and SGRho's Alpha Tau in its 2025 coverage. Homecoming brings 'School Daze,' the NPHC step show, and Yard Fest on the Gibbs-Green Plaza, where Greeks line up alongside the Sonic Boom in one of the biggest HBCU homecoming scenes in the country. Charter years below come from a single secondary source; treat them as reported-not-guaranteed.
Still digging this up — check back soon.
The landmark Ayers Settlement directed millions into JSU campus facilities — part of the $245.8M+ academic and up-to-$75M facility package Mississippi agreed to for its three public HBCUs, funding extensive renovations and new construction across the 220-acre main campus.
President Ronald Mason's construction boom delivered a new College of Business building, a new liberal arts building, and several athletic facilities, alongside a dramatic increase in faculty research by the science and public health faculty. Mason gets much of the credit for turning a solid foundation into the school's modern physical plant.
The $12.3 million Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center opened in February 2006 as the centerpiece of a $25 million complex named for the school's most famous alumnus. With three basketball courts, three racquetball courts, three aerobics studios, a squash court, and a 10,000-square-foot strength center, school officials said JSU was the first HBCU to open such a facility. Payton's mother Alyne wept at the ribbon cutting; 200 attendees wore retro JSU jerseys with his number 34.
The $18-million One University Place opened at Dalton and John R. Lynch streets — 78 apartments above 22,000 square feet of retail — as phase one of the planned $150-million University Place development connecting campus to downtown Jackson.
2015 was a landmark academic year: JSU established the first School of Public Health in Mississippi, opened the School of Journalism and Media Studies, and opened the JSU 101 Building in downtown Jackson. The same era brought a second consecutive Apple Distinguished School distinction and continued the iPad-for-every-freshman program begun in 2012.
Mississippi awarded JSU $23,020,794 for building repairs and renovations — including McAllister-Whiteside Hall — plus alternative water resources, with $7 million earmarked for purchasing a new residence hall.
President Marcus Thompson announced the university was renovating its One University Place space — the mixed-use building with retail on the first floor and residences above — to add more student beds, part of a housing push as the McAllister-Whiteside dorm stayed offline.
State legislators appropriated $10 million for JSU campus facility improvements and construction of a new dining hall. The university did not get state money for a stadium fix or a new stadium — the governor has pushed back, saying JSU must raise that itself.
The full renovation of the McAllister-Whiteside Residential Complex — converting community-bathroom halls to suite-style units with 335 beds — is slated for a Fall 2027 reopening as the premier residence for female students.
Notable faculty and legacy coaches include W.C. Gorden, whose 1976–1991 football dynasty won eight SWAC titles (named 2025 AFCA Trailblazer Award winner, posthumously); Rod Paige, JSU alumnus, former head football coach, interim president, and U.S. Secretary of Education; and Ivory Phillips, retired dean and professor in the College of Education. JSU's Margaret Walker Center preserves the legacy of the poet and longtime faculty member Margaret Walker and houses the Gibbs-Green archives. Men's basketball has won five SWAC titles and made three NCAA tournament appearances as of 2024.
In office since 2025, steering housing modernization and campus renewal
Leads JSU athletics through the post-Sanders era
JSU alumnus (played 1998–2001, school-record wide receiver); hired as 22nd head coach in 2023 after serving under Deion Sanders; won the 2024 SWAC title and the program's first Celebration Bowl / black college national championship (12-2); named Black College Football Coach of the Year and HBCU Legends Coach of the Year
Leads the Sonic Boom of the South; former JSU drum major
JSU calls itself 'Thee I Love' and means it — homecoming draws tens of thousands to Gibbs-Green Plaza, where the Sonic Boom, the Prancing J-Settes, and every Greek org on the yard run the show. The student body is about 95% Black, roughly two-thirds low-income, and overwhelmingly Mississippi-born, with Illinois, Louisiana, and Georgia the top feeder states. Student-run media includes The Blue & White Flash newspaper and WJSU-88.5 FM, playing jazz, gospel, news, and public affairs. JSU has given every first-time freshman an iPad since 2012 and is Mississippi's only HBCU with bachelor's and master's engineering programs.