The 1981 SWAC men's basketball tournament was held March 5–7, 1981. The quarterfinal round was held at the home arena of the higher-seeded team, while the semifinal and championship rounds were held at the F. G. Clark Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[1]Southern defeated Jackson State, 69–63 in the championship game. The Jaguars received the conference's automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region.