Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)

Formerly	Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Association	NCAA
Founded	1912
Commissioner	Jacqie McWilliams (since 2012)
Sports fielded	14 men's: 6 women's: 8
Division	Division II
No. of teams	12
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Region	Mid-Atlantic states, South Atlantic states
Official website	theciaa.com
Locations

TheCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association (originally and through 1950 known as theColored Intercollegiate Athletic Association — CIAA) is acollege athletic conference affiliated with theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at theDivision II level, whose member institutions consist entirely ofhistorically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).^[1]

The thirteen member institutions reside primarily along the central portion of theEast Coast of the United States, in the states ofPennsylvania,Maryland,West Virginia,Virginia,North Carolina andSouth Carolina. Since a majority of the members are in North Carolina, the CIAA moved its headquarters toCharlotte, North Carolina fromHampton, Virginia in August 2015.^[2]

The CIAA sponsors 14 annual championships and divides into north and south divisions for some sports. The most notable CIAA sponsored championship is the CIAA Basketball Tournament having become one of the largest college basketball events in the nation.^[3]

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association

120km
75miles

Bowie State

Bluefield State

Winston-Salem State

Virginia Union

Virginia State

Shaw

Livingstone

Lincoln

Johnson C. Smith

Fayetteville State

Elizabeth City State

Claflin

   

Location of current CIAA members:
north division members south division members

The CIAA, founded on the campus of Hampton Institute (nowHampton University) in 1912, is the oldest African-American athletic conference in the United States. It was originally known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association and adopted its current name in December 1950.^[4] The conference composes predominantly ofhistorically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) spanning the east coast from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.^[4]

Founding leaders were Allen Washington andCharles H. Williams of Hampton Institute (nowHampton University); Ernest J. Marshall ofHoward University; George Johnson ofLincoln University (PA); W. E. Atkins, Charles Frazier, and H. P. Hargrave ofShaw University; and J. W. Barco and J. W. Pierce ofVirginia Union University.^[5]

Football experiences a major resurgence after going through a period of decline at several member universities. Football was absent from the campus of Saint Augustine's University for nearly three decades, before the administration reinstated it in 2002. Shaw University then brought back its football program in 2003, following a hiatus of 24 years.^[6]

Lincoln University, a charter member, added varsity football in 2008 and was readmitted to the CIAA after nearly three decades inDivision III. Chowan University joined the CIAA in 2008 for football only. On October 14, 2008, the CIAA Board of Directors admitted Chowan as a full member effective July 1, 2009, the first non-HBCU to play in the conference.^[7]

On August 27, 2012, the CIAA announced the appointment of Jacqie Carpenter, the first African-American female commissioner to hold the position.^[8]

In 2014, a collection of records, including the original 1912 documents leading to the formation of the CIAA and meeting minutes from 1913 to 1922, were sold at auction after being discovered in a storage locker. The lot sold for $11,500 to an unnamed bidder.^[9]

On May 22, 2018, Chowan University announced its athletic department will realign with theConference Carolinas as a full member while maintaining an associate relationship with the CIAA for both football and women's bowling.^[10]

On October 4, 2024, the CIAA suspended St. Augustine's membership within the conference for the 2024–25 academic year, citing failure to meet conference compliance requirements and concerns surrounding its ability to meet NCAA sports sponsorship and scheduling requirements.^[11] The suspension was extended indefinitely at the CIAA's 2024 Fall Board meeting on December 10, and the CIAA eventually voted to not extend their membership into the 2025–26 academic year at their 2025 Spring Board Meeting on June 20, effectively removing St. Augustine's from the conference.^[12][13]

• 1912 – The CIAA was founded as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Charter member includedHampton Institute (now Hampton University),Howard University,Lincoln University of Pennsylvania;Shaw University andVirginia Union University, beginning the 1912–13 academic year.
• 1920 –Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) joined the CIAA in the 1920–21 academic year.
• 1921 –Virginia Theological Seminary and College (now the Virginia University of Lynchburg) joined the CIAA in the 1921–22 academic year.
• 1923 –Saint Paul's Normal and Industrial School (later Saint Paul's Polytechnic Institute and then Saint Paul's College) joined the CIAA in the 1923–24 academic year.
• 1924 – TheAgricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University) joined the CIAA in the 1924–25 academic year.
• 1926 –Johnson C. Smith University joined the CIAA in the 1926–27 academic year.
• 1928 –North Carolina College at Durham (now North Carolina Central University) joined the CIAA in the 1928–29 academic year.
• 1929 –Morgan College (now Morgan State University) joined the CIAA in the 1929–30 academic year.
• 1931 –Livingstone College joined the CIAA in the 1931–32 academic year.
• 1932 –Bluefield State Teachers College (now Bluefield State University) joined the CIAA in the 1932–33 academic year.
• 1933 –Saint Augustine's College (now Saint Augustine's University) joined the CIAA in the 1933–34 academic year.
• 1942 –West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) joined the CIAA in the 1942–43 academic year.
• 1945 –Delaware State College (now Delaware State University) andWinston-Salem Teachers College (now Winston-Salem State University) joined the CIAA in the 1945–46 academic year.
• 1950 – The CIAA has been rebranded as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in the 1950–51 academic year.
• 1954 – VUL left the CIAA after the 1953–54 academic year.
• 1954 –Fayetteville State Teachers College (now Fayetteville State University) andMaryland State College at Princess Anne (now the University of Maryland–Eastern Shore) joined the CIAA in the 1954–55 academic year.
• 1955 – Bluefield State and West Virginia State left the CIAA to join theWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) after the 1954–55 academic year.
• 1957 –Elizabeth City State Teachers College (now Elizabeth City State University) joined the CIAA in the 1957–58 academic year.
• 1960 – Lincoln (Pa.) left the CIAA after the 1959–60 academic year.
• 1962 –Norfolk Polytechnic College (now Norfolk State University) joined the CIAA in the 1962–63 academic year.
• 1970 – Delaware State, Howard, Maryland–Eastern Shore (UMES), Morgan State, North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central left the CIAA to form theMid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) after the 1969–70 academic year.
• 1979 –Bowie State College (now Bowie State University) joined the CIAA in the 1979–80 academic year.
• 1980 – North Carolina Central rejoined the CIAA in the 1980–81 academic year.
• 1995 – Hampton left the CIAA to join the MEAC after the 1994–95 academic year.
• 1996 – Norfolk State left the CIAA to join the MEAC after the 1995–96 academic year.
• 2006 – Winston-Salem State left the CIAA to join the MEAC after the 2005–06 academic year.
• 2007 – North Carolina Central left the CIAA for a second time to rejoin the MEAC after the 2006–07 academic year.
• 2008 – Lincoln (Pa.) rejoined the CIAA in the 2008–09 academic year.
• 2008 –Chowan University joined the CIAA as an associate member for football in the 2008 fall season (2008–09 academic year).
• 2009 – Chowan upgraded to join the CIAA as a full member for all sports in the 2009–10 academic year.
• 2010 – Winston–Salem State rejoined the CIAA in the 2010–11 academic year.
• 2011 – Saint Paul's left the CIAA after the school announced that it was discontinuing its athletics program after the 2010–11 academic year.
• 2018 –Claflin University joined the CIAA in the 2018–19 academic year.
• 2019 – Chowan left the CIAA to join theConference Carolinas (CC) after the 2018–19 academic year; while it remained in the conference as an associate member for football and women's bowling, beginning the 2019–20 academic year.
• 2021 – Chowan left the CIAA as an associate member for women's bowling after the 2021 spring season (2020–21 academic year).
• 2023 – Chowan left the CIAA as an associate member for football after the 2022 fall season (2022–23 academic year).
• 2023 – Bluefield State rejoined the CIAA in the 2023–24 academic year.
• 2025 – Saint Augustine's was removed from the CIAA beginning with the 2025–26 academic year due to compliance and operational concerns.

The CIAA currently has 12 full members, seven arepublic schools and five areprivate schools:

Notes

The CIAA had 13 former full members, all but 6 of which werepublic schools:

Notes

The CIAA had one former associate member, which was also aprivate school:

Notes

 Full member (all sports)  Full member (non-football)  Associate member (football)  Associate member (sport) 

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association which are played by CIAA schools:

• ^‡ — D-I sport

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association which are played by CIAA schools:

The CIAA is the first NCAA Division II conference to have its tournament televised as part of Championship Week onESPN. Over 100,000 fans and spectators are in attendance annually and it has become one of the largest college basketball events in the nation. During the week of the tournament, there are many high-profile social and celebratory events associated with the event.^[14][15] The last day of the tournament is known as "Super Saturday" in which the men's and women's tournament champions are crowned. For 15 years, the tournament had an annual $55 million economic impact onCharlotte, North Carolina and was consistently the largest event held in the city every year.^[16] The conference was offered better incentives to move it toBaltimore, Maryland, in 2021,^[17][18] where it will remain at least through 2025.^[19]

One of the signature events of "Super Saturday" at the CIAA Basketball Tournament is the Cheer Exhibition. At the exhibition, CIAA cheer squads showcase elaborate routines to entertain spectators and display their talents.^[22][23] Every cheerleading team in the CIAA is a "Stomp-N-Shake" squad which is a unique style of cheer that is most common among historically Black colleges and schools located in theEast Coast region.

The CIAA is one of the only conferences in the country that has an annual All-Conference Cheerleading Team. The All-Conference Cheerleading Team is a recognition bestowed on select cheerleaders in the conference that exemplify the epitome of school spirit, leadership, athleticism, and academic excellence.^[24]

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