The Jackson State football offices are far from luxurious. White tiles line a single hallway to the locker room from the front entrance. Offices for offensive coordinator James Woody, defensive coordinator Darrin Hayes and running backs coach Greg Ruffin are on the left. A meeting room and student lounge are on the right.
The walls are cold white cinder block, but what adorns them should warm the soul if your blood type reads J-S-U.
A smattering of framed black and white photographs hang on the left - a shrine to past glories. Walter Payton. Lem Barney. Emanuel Zanders. Robert Hughes. The list goes on.
The opposite wall is filled with color action shots from the 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship season. Jimmy Oliver. Jaymar Johnson. Carlos Simpson.
JSU kicking coach James Hartfield, 64, strolls down the hall and recites the history of the program. He points to former teammates and tells stories about others. Hartfield, a 1968 JSU graduate and 1964 Lanier grad, kicked for the Tigers and is the lone bridge between several eras of JSU football that work inside the building. The program has won 14 of its 16 SWAC championships since Hartfield stepped on campus.
Nicknamed "Coach Toe," he and other JSU historians have been put to work recently as the 2008 Tigers prepare to defend their title against Grambling in the SWAC championship game on Saturday in Birmingham.
"We're back," Hartfield said. "We used to be the 'Mack of the SWAC' and everybody feared us.
"We've got that mystique now. It's a good feeling to walk on that field with your head up high and your chest stuck out. We're Jackson State."
W.C. Gorden knows the deal. If anyone does, it should be him. Gorden coached the Tigers from 1977-91 and is the winningest coach in JSU history with eight SWAC championships. In August, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Gorden knows what he's talking about when explaining the significance of possible back-to-back championships and the rebirth of a program.
"When the program is successful, people remember that history and remember back to thrills and successes that happened 20, 30, 40 years ago," Gorden said. "What Coach (Rick Comegy) and the present team is highlighting and making people reminisce and talk about that great history.
"They don't remember the history of the losers."
Generations of JSU will reminisce about favorite stories of their era:
Remember when Jackson State beat Florida A&M 22-6 in the 1962 Orange Blossom Classic to win the Black College National Championship?
Remember when coaches Rod Paige and Marino Casem came to blows on the field before the 1967 JSU-Alcorn game?
Remember Verlon Biggs, T.C. Taylor and Willie Richardson?
"It's always a good feeling when you know your alma mater is still doing some things," said Barney, who played at JSU from 1963-66 and went on to an NFL Hall of Fame career. "No one likes to see their alma mater go down. But the Tiger spirit is still there."
Barney missed the magical 1962 season, but the pride in his voice is unmistakable when the current Tigers are mentioned.
Jackson State is seeking its first repeat title since the 1995-96 seasons. JSU fans looking for a good omen for Saturday's game remember this: The Tigers tend to win titles in bunches. Two in 1961-62. Three in four years between 1972-75. Three-peat from 1980-82. Four straight from 1985-1988.
And Hartfield, who retired from the Army in 1972, has been on the coaching staff for more than half of them as JSU's volunteer kicking coach since 1979. He doesn't get paid, but his love for the university has kept him on the sidelines through five head coaches.
And Hartfield admits there was a time he wanted to walk into the stadium with a bag over his head. From 2003-05, JSU won eight games and lost 26 under coach James Bell. The "Bell Error," some JSU fans call it.
"It was embarrassing," Hartfield said. "I didn't dislike the guy, but that wasn't Jackson State football.
"(But) this is my school. He was gonna have to run me out of here. I wasn't going to leave and abandon this program."
The program was and is all he knows. Hartfield never considered going anywhere else.
That was a common feeling in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Barney, who made seven Pro Bowls with the Detroit Lions, said he never considered anywhere else coming out of Gulfport. In what would be a shocking announcement today, Barney said he would have snubbed even Southern Cal.
Jackson State, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in general, pull in fewer elite athletes than in the past. But the goal has remained the same - winning SWAC championships.
JSU has 16. Grambling State has 18. Southern has the lead in the clubhouse with 19.
No. 17 would be a dream for some, but would represent more than a singular trophy to more. It's about the journey. A path that began with an initial SWAC title in 1961 with coach John Merritt in his 10th season.
It's a tradition so rich that at least one person is willing to forgo a salary, just to stay involved.
"During my lifetime a lot of people have given their time with me," Hartfield said. "I just wanted to come back and teach.
"Just help this school."
