Prairie View coach says one Texas football circle still shuts out HBCUs

The 2026 edition of the Texas High School Coaches Association's (THSCA) Coaching School was one of the greatest gatherings of elite football minds in the country. However the exclusion of one program's high-performing coach and staff as presenters is becoming a worrisome trend. 

On Tuesday, after THSCA completed its three-day event inside the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Prairie View A&M head coach Tremaine Jackson took umbrage with the fact that he, along with his Panthers coaching staff, were not invited to lead clinics and give presentations to thousands of attendees. In particular, the event offers an opportunity to make relationships with high school coaches across the state who could mutually benefit from hearing from one another in such an intimate setting.   

THSCA could not be reached for comment by email and phone Wednesday morning. 

After expressing his concerns, Jackson said he was informed that invitations were based on teams' performances in Texas during the previous season. Prairie View A&M had an impressive year at the FCS level, finishing with a 10-4 record. Three of those losses came from FBS schools. The team not only won the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship but also competed for the HBCU national championship. 

"Why weren't our coaches there? We heard that coaches were invited based off of last year's results," Jackson said on social media Tuesday. "If that was the case, if that was the criteria, then somebody should have invited our assistant coaches, our coordinators, our position coaches; they did a phenomenal job.

"We're the only school in the state of Texas to play for a national championship. Regardless of the result, we were the only school in this state to get there. Top defense in the state, one of the top offenses in the state. All due respect to those guys, they had some guys that were way in the back statistically compared to our coaches and compared to our team. And so if that's the criteria, then why weren't they selected? Why weren't they invited?"

"You don't respect our ball because we're a historically Black college."

Coaches from 11 programs across the state were given time for presentations and clinics during Coaching School: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas State, Baylor, North Texas, TCU, Abilene Christian, SMU, Trinity and UTEP. Only five schools had as many wins as Prairie View's 10, and only one-Texas Tech-won a conference title like Prairie View A&M. Meanwhile, schools like Baylor (5-7) and UTEP (2-10) posted losing seasons in 2025. 

"I can only think of one thing. It has nothing to do with any of the fluff that you might say," Jackson said. "You don't respect our ball because we're a historically Black college. You don't respect our ball because you thought Prairie View was something that Prairie View A&M is not anymore. And I'm from this state. I know the good old boy network. I get it. That time is over with. Prairie View A&M plays real ball."

Prairie View A&M, which won just 15 games in the span of 15 years from 1989-2004, has won 70 games over the past 10 seasons, not including the COVID season of 2020. 

"[Jackson] wants us to be judged just like everybody else," Prairie View A&M's athletic director Anton Goff said to Chron on Wednesday. "It doesn't matter if you win the SWAC, Southland, SEC, Conference USA or any other conference, it's Division I. What he wants is just that same level of respect, man. Celebrate it the same way you'd celebrate any other conference."

Based on a Chron review of the 2025 and 2026 THSCA Coaching School program, there was no representation from Prairie View A&M or Texas Southern, the state's other HBCU Division I program, via teaching clinics or as marquee speakers. 

"We will not sit on our hands and be disrespected anymore. If you wanted to give coaches in the room some more good stuff to hold onto and take back to their team, then you should have invited our coaches," Jackson said. "So we're not going to sit here and act like it shouldn't have happened. We should have been there, they should have been there, they earned it."

Jackson's critique has squarely been on the selection of speakers and teachers at the event, noting that the conference itself is arguably the best at what it does in the country. 

"THSCA coaching school, phenomenal event always has been, always will be," Jackson said. "I've been to a lot of states. Nobody does it like the THSCA. Everybody thinks they're doing a great job with high school football. I think the state of Texas does it better. I'm biased. I'm from Texas, whatever."

The 2027 edition of THSCA's Coaching School and Convention will be held from July 18–20 in San Antonio.

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