Prairie View A&M University will be in Detroit for the SMSB HBCU Football Academy

The second annual Sound Mind Sound Body (SMSB) HBCU College Academy will be held in Detroit from May 12-14 at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School. This year, SMSB will have twice as many colleges and their football coaches in attendance. The FREE event will feature football coaches from Prairie View A&M University.

Prairie View A&M University (PV or PVAMU) was founded in 1876 in Prairie View, Texas. It is the first state-supported school for African Americans and the second oldest public institution of higher learning in the state of Texas. It was founded on the site of a former plantation called Alta Vista and called the Alta Vista Agriculture and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth. The school grew out of the agriculture and mechanics school at Texas A&M.

The Praire View name was adopted by the school in 1879 as the Prairie View State Normal School. In 1945, the name of the institution was changed from Prairie View Normal and Industrial College to Prairie View University, and the school was authorized to offer, “as the need arises,” all courses offered at the University of Texas. In 1973, the legislature changed the name of the institution to Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical University (Prairie View A&M University).

U.S. News ranked PVAMU the 24th best HBCU in the nation. Alumni of the school include Sandra Bland, comedian and Detroit native Loni Love, and Mr. T.

PVAMU football was first established in 1907 and plays in the SWAC Conference. Head coach Leonard “Bubba” McDowell will enter his first year at PVAMU this fall.