ATLANTA (AP) — Jason Brown threw for 361 yards, Irv Mulligan ran for 109 yards, and Jackson State rolled past South Carolina State 37-7 on Saturday in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge Kickoff season opener.

The win wasn’t the only big news in the debut of T.C. Taylor as coach of the Tigers, as Jackson State was also presented with a million-dollar donation from Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Combs presented the check to the JSU Development Foundation between the first and second quarters.

“If it wasn’t for HBCUs I wouldn’t be here. Supporting HBCUs isn’t just my honor, it’s my responsibility,” Combs said during an interview with ESPN. “My grandmother raised me to sow my seed in the community and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. What they’re doing at Jackson State is to be commended. What they’re doing at Howard is to be commended. Our HBCUs are under-resourced and I’m here to do something about it.”

Diddy donated $1M to Jackson State during their season opener 👏

"If it wasn't for HBCUs I wouldn't be here. … Supporting HBCUs isn't just my honor, it's my responsibility." pic.twitter.com/RCntZcUd1l

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 27, 2023

Mulligan’s 46-yard run got the Tigers on the scoreboard in their first possession and Brown added a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jency Riley, leading Jackson State to a 17-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Brown added touchdown passes of 21 yards to DJ Stevens and 44 yards to Andre Hunt.

Gerardo Baeza added field goals of 31, 27 and 38 yards for the Tigers.

South Carolina State’s score came on an 18-yard pass from Corey Fields Jr. to KeShawn Toney with 22 seconds left in the game.

Fields completed 7 of 20 passes for 59 yards and the Bulldogs were held to 201 yards of total offense.

Jackson State had 499 yards of offense, with Brown going 26-of-33 passing for 361 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Taylor, a former star at Jackson State, made his debut as head coach after replacing Deion Sanders, who left the Tigers in the offseason to take the head coaching job at Colorado.

South Carolina State’s Buddy Pough announced earlier in the week that this would be his final season after leading the Bulldogs for 22 years.

Jackson State begins Southwestern Athletic Conference play in the Orange Blossom Classic vs. Florida A&M Sunday, Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. in Miami Gardens, Fla. On ESPN.