Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical University, founded 1876 is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and part of the Texas A&M University System. The school became known as the Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College in 1889. The college became known as Prairie View University in 1945 and Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas two years later. The school regained university status in 1970 under its current name.

Prairie View's colors are purple and gold and their nickname is the Panthers. Prairie View sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

They were (in)famous during the 1990's for their college football program, which lost 80 consecutive games between 1989 and 1998. In the 1991-92 season, they had both their football and basketball teams go winless. In a 2004 poll made by ESPN, both teams from that season were ranked among the worst teams of the past 25 years, with the basketball team ranked 8th and the football team ranked 1st.