# Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament

The Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament, also called the SWC Classic, was the conference championship tournament in men's basketball for the Southwest Conference. The tournament was held annually between 1976 and 1996, after which the Southwest Conference was dissolved.
The winner of the tournament was guaranteed a spot in the NCAA basketball tournament each year.

## Tournament champions by year

| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | Most Outstanding Player | Venue (city, state) |
| 1976 | Texas Tech | 74–72 | Texas A&M | Rick Bullock, Texas Tech | Moody Coliseum (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1977 | Arkansas | 84–70 | Houston | Ron Brewer, Arkansas | The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
| 1978 | Houston | 92–90 | Texas | Mike Schultz, Houston | The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
| 1979 | Arkansas | 39–38 | Texas | Sidney Moncrief, Arkansas | The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
| 1980 | Texas A&M | 52–50 | Arkansas | David Britton, Texas A&M | HemisFair Arena (San Antonio, Texas) |
| 1981 | Houston | 84–59 | Texas | Rob Williams, Houston | HemisFair Arena (San Antonio, Texas) |
| 1982 | Arkansas | 84–69 | Houston | Alvin Robertson, Arkansas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1983 | Houston | 62–59 | TCU | Michael Young, Houston | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1984 | Houston | 57–56 | Arkansas | Akeem Olajuwon, Houston | The Summit (Houston, Texas) |
| 1985 | Texas Tech | 67–64 | Arkansas | Joe Kleine, Arkansas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1986 | Texas Tech | 67–63 | Texas A&M | Tony Benford, Texas Tech | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1987 | Texas A&M | 71–46 | Baylor | Winston Crite, Texas A&M | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1988 | SMU | 75–64 | Baylor | Micheal Williams, Baylor | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1989 | Arkansas | 100–76 | Texas | Lenzie Howell, Arkansas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1990 | Arkansas | 96–84 | Houston | Todd Day, Arkansas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1991 | Arkansas | 120–89 | Texas | Oliver Miller, Arkansas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1992 | Houston | 91–72 | Texas | Dexter Cambridge, Texas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1993 | Texas Tech | 88–76 | Houston | Lance Hughes, Texas Tech | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1994 | Texas | 87–62 | Texas A&M | B. J. Tyler, Texas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1995 | Texas | 107–104 $^{OT}$ | Texas Tech | Terrence Rencher, Texas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |
| 1996 | Texas Tech | 75–73 | Texas | Reggie Freeman, Texas | Reunion Arena (Dallas, Texas) |

## Championships by school

| School | Championships | Years |
| Arkansas | 6 | 1977, 1979, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991 |
| Houston | 5 | 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1992 |
| Texas Tech | 5 | 1976, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1996 |
| Texas | 2 | 1994, 1995 |
| Texas A&M | 2 | 1980, 1987 |
| SMU | 1 | 1988 |
| Baylor | 0 | – |
| Rice | 0 | – |
| TCU | 0 | – |

## Television coverage

| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
| 1991 | ABC | Roger Twibell | Joe B. Hall |
| 1989 | Raycom | Ron Franklin | Bob Ortegel |
| 1987 | Raycom | Merle Harmon | Bob Ortegel |
| 1984 | NBC TVS | Phil Stone Frank Fallon | Bucky Waters Dan Spika |
| 1983 | NBC | Frank Fallon | Dan Spika |
| 1979 | Metro Communications | Frank Glieber | Billy Packer and John Wooden |