MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Dominance is defined as commanding, controlling or prevailing over others according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
And if you look back over the last decade, Alabama State falls into that category when it comes to the championship mentality each of its teams took in Southwestern Athletic Conference action. Nearly each of the 18 athletic teams won at least a division title over the last decade, and played a hand in the 68 total conference championships that were won by the department.
That's right, 68!
The total is 48 more than the closest number put up by any other member school in the conference, and the Hornets nearly swept several sports along the way. On the way to winning those championships, Alabama State was able to use that number to catapult itself into a conference-tying mark of six consecutive Commissioner's Cup awards.
Let's start with the fall, although football did not win a conference championship during the last decade, they did play for the conference crown in 2010 after they won the East Division championship before falling to Texas Southern in the title game. The Lady Hornets' volleyball team asserted itself as the team of the decade in the latter part of 2010s when they won six of the last seven (including 2019 to close out the run).
The Lady Hornets' women's soccer team were able to turn their program around with a pair of conference championships in 2016 and 2017, and a semifinal berth in 2018 (also claiming a pair of regular season championships). Meanwhile, the women's cross country team rattled off eight of the last nine conference championships and won all but two of the titles (2010 and 2017) during the final decade.
As fall turned into winter, the five winter sports exerted themselves among the best in the conference with bowling winning a conference championship in 2017 and a regular season championship during the decade. The indoor track and field squad on the women's side easily can be called the team of the decade as they won all 10 of the conference championships held from 2010-2019, while the men's indoor track and field squad claimed four during that time period – including the last three.
On the court, Alabama State claimed a men's tournament championship during the 2011 season; while the women rattled off back-to-back conference championships during the 2015 and 2016 seasons in basketball.
And then came the spring where the Hornets' baseball team reached the conference finals three times in the decade and claimed their first championship in 2016, while the softball program reached five consecutive title games and won titles in 2016 and 2019. On the links, the men claimed six straight titles from 2012 to 2017; while the women won each year except 2012 and 2017 to give them seven titles during the decade in golf.
The tennis teams took a new direction in the decade and brought in
Anuk Christiansz who turned the programs around and has dominated the conference the last three years. The men have won four of five conference titles – including the last three – while the women have reeled off three consecutive title runs, with both teams finishing undefeated in conference play the last two years.
And on the track, Alabama State has dominated.
Much like in indoor, the outdoor women's track and field team is the team of the decade in the conference as they have won each year the meet has been run from 2010 through 2019. Meanwhile, the Hornets' men won their first title since 2004 this decade, winning the 2019 title to close out the run for Alabama State.
But it's not just the 68 total titles that makes Alabama State standout. The Hornets have done it in the classroom as they continue to graduate student-athletes including 74 this past year in route to winning the SWAC Academic Award. The department has celebrated a pair of CoSIDA Academic All-America selections two of the last three years and have won multiple major awards for both coaches and student-athletes.
Throw all that in with multiple professional sport draftees, including the school's first-ever first round draft pick in the NFL, and throw in five selections for the SWAC Hall of Fame. And don't forget about all the NCAA Tournament appearances. All that equals to a decade of dominance for the Alabama State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
What does that say for the next decade? Only time will tell, but it starts soon.
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