The first football coach at Prairie View was
Henry B. Hucles, who began in 1924. Before Hucles's arrival at Prairie View, the school played two games without a coach on record: a 1907 7–0 win against a team from
Wylie, Texas and a 1920 7–6 loss to
Tuskegee University. Prairie View's most recognized and celebrated coach was
Billy Nicks. Known as the "
Bear Bryant" of black college football, Nicks was head coach from 1945 to 1947, assistant coach from 1948 to 1951, and head coach again from 1952 to 1965. His record for 17 years was 127–39–8. He led the Panthers to eight Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and five black college national championships. At the Panthers' peak under Nicks,
Eddie Robinson was said to dread playing Prairie View. Nicks had been able to stem the tide somewhat by persuading many of the state's black high school coaches to continue sending their players to Prairie View rather than to a predominantly white school. At one point, nearly all of them had played for Nicks — a legacy of the days when Nicks had the pick of every good black player in Texas — and owed their jobs to him. Usually, a single phone call from Nicks was enough to persuade one of Nicks' former players to send a prospect to "The Hill." He wasn't above threatening to have them fired if they didn't do so. However, Prairie View's fortunes sank rapidly after Nicks retired in 1965. The Panthers would only "officially" finish above .500 twice from 1968 to 1989. This included winless seasons in 1974, 1979, 1983, and 1984 and a 28-game losing streak from 1982 to 1985. They managed a .500 record in 1988 under coach
Haney Catchings—their first non-losing season since 1976. However, that win was forfeited after the season due to an ineligible player. It initially appeared that the nadir had been reached in 1989. Several players accused Catchings of withholding their financial aid until they proved themselves on the field. At one point, only 12 players had GPAs above 2.0. When the administration was slow to act, the players boycotted the program. The boycott finally ended, but the Panthers finished 1–9. In May 1990, Prairie View shuttered all sports except track and field due to severe financial problems. A month later, the
Houston Chronicle discovered that the athletic department account was short $100,000. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years' probation and over $1,500 in fines and restitution. Prairie View bottomed out when it returned to the field for the 1991 season. The team did not have any scholarships because only 150 alumni responded to a request to help raise a scholarship fund. Due to this and other handicaps, new coach
Ronald Beard found himself leading what he later described as an "intramural or club football" team at the I-AA level. The streak finally ended with a 14–12 victory over
Langston on September 26, 1998. However, that team only had 15 scholarship players. The road back was difficult; the Panthers only won a total of 23 games between 1998 and 2006. On November 10, 2007, Prairie View clinched its first "official" winning season since 1976, and only their second since 1967, with a 30–27 victory over traditional power
Jackson State University under then head coach
Henry Frazier, III. In 1999 the SWAC moved to a new divisional format with Western Division and Eastern Division champions to play for the SWAC Championship. On November 14, 2009, Prairie View clinched its first SWAC Western Division Championship by defeating Alcorn State. The next weekend would see the Panthers go undefeated in the SWAC by defeating Arkansas Pine Bluff and securing an 8–1 record; their only loss during the season was to New Mexico State. They finished the season by winning the SWAC Championship on December 12, defeating Eastern Division Champion
Alabama A&M, 30–24, in the
SWAC Championship Game. They exited the 2009 SWAC football campaign with an unblemished 9–0 SWAC conference record. They were led by their quarterback, 6 ft 4 in, 225-pound KJ Black, who led all quarterbacks in the SWAC with a passer efficiency rating of 168.1, and SWAC second-leading rusher Donald Babers averaged 5.2 yards per carry. ==Playoff appearances==