HBCU conferences to create unified college football poll, All-American teams

Four HBCU conferences are teaming up for a huge, historic reason ahead of the college football season. The SWAC, the MEAC, the CIAA, and the SIAC have joined together to create a unified poll called the Black College Football Poll, as well as Black College Football All-American teams, which were announced on Wednesday.

Starting in the fall of 2026, the Black College Football Poll will be conducted weekly during the regular season, featuring input from a panel of media members and head coaches ranking the top 10 HBCU football teams in the nation. The voters in the poll will submit a top-10 weekly, with point totals varying by rank. A 1st-place vote will be 10 points—the highest amount a team can get—with a 10th-place vote being 1 point, which is the lowest a team can get.

In addition to the weekly poll, awards for different individual superlatives—such as Freshman of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year—will be awarded alongside a list of Black College Football All-Americans. NCAA Division I and Division II teams will have separate polls and All-American teams.

In a statement, the HBCU conference commissioners spoke about the HBCU conferences teaming up for this endeavor.

“We’re extremely excited to partner on the formation and creation of the Black College Football Poll and the Black College Football All-American Team,” the statement read. “We view this strategic alliance as a game changer for our respective leagues and undoubtedly a significant step in the right direction towards unifying our collective conferences as it relates to preseason/postseason polls and awards while simultaneously recognizing the best Black College Football teams and student-athletes at the highest level.”

The first Black College Football Poll will be released on Wednesday, July 1, just in time for the various conference media days throughout the month.

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