The SWAC is investigating whether Jackson State illegally watched Arkansas-Pine Bluff's practice film the week of their game, the conference confirmed on Friday.
According to ESPN, which broke the story, the allegation came to light when a UAPB player was told by a colleague at Jackson State that the Tigers' defensive players were in their facility watching film of a UAPB practice. UAPB coaches were informed of this on Oct. 31, and the game took place on Nov. 2. Jackson State won the game, 41-3, limiting the Golden Lions to 217 yards from scrimmage.
Jackson State reportedly accessed the film through the account of a former UAPB walk-on who is no longer on the team. The walk-on, who was not named in ESPN's story, denied having any involvement in the scheme.
"[Hampton] let me know that my film has been accessed and I had logged in, and then he said he got word that Jackson State had been using the film," the player told ESPN. "He was persistent in thinking that I had released the film, and I repeated, 'No, I didn't release anything to Jackson State.'"
While, if true, the fault should lie entirely with Jackson State for violating the spirit of free and fair competition, it's important to note there are steps UAPB could have taken to prevent this from happening. For one, UAPB evidently neglected or forgot to delete the player's account once he was no longer on the team. For another, UAPB could have limited players' access to only certain devices, which would have presumably prevented Jackson State from watching UAPB practice film unless they were in possession of the player's iPad, phone or laptop.
It's unclear what punishment the SWAC will levy upon Jackson State if the investigation finds the allegation to be true, nor when that punishment will occur. The Tigers have already clinched the SWAC East title and will host Southern in the conference championship on Dec. 7. A win there would allow Jackson State to represent the SWAC against MEAC champion South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 in Atlanta.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.