The 90th anniversary of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association CIAA: the enduring tradition of the CIAA: the oldest Black intercollegiate athletic conference celebrates 90 years of excellence with a focus on its annual basketball tournament - Special Section - Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Ebony, Feb, 2002 by Glenn Jeffers

It began in 1912, in the days of lynchings and "separate but equal." The Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association began with just four historically Black universities--Hampton Institute, Howard University, Shaw University and Virginia Union University. Ninety years later, the 12-college conference now known as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association has not only survived those reprehensible realities of the past, it has grown into the country's oldest African-American collegiate conference and holds one of the country's largest and most popular college events each year.

The CIAA basketball tournament, which will be held in the Raleigh (N.C.) Entertainment and Sports Arena and runs from February 24 through March 2, is more of a social event than just a couple of games on the hardwood. With an established following of loyal alumni and major sports figures like basketball Hall of Fame members Earl (The Pearl) Monroe and former coach Clarence (Big House) Gaines, the CIAA sports a proud history that has produced an almost religious following.

The event has such a fan base that the conference tournament, which is comprised of 12 Division-II men's and women's college basketball programs, ranks fourth in attendance behind the ACC, Big East and Big 10 tournaments, all Division I-A teams. More than 74,000 (a 30 percent increase from 2000) came out to Raleigh last year to enjoy the festivities, and another 24.2 million nationwide watched it on WGN, courtesy of a television deal the league has with the superstation.

What makes the CIAA so successful? "The fans," says Leon Kerry, a former banker who is now entering his 12th year as CIAA commissioner. "You have fans who attended CIAA schools. You have fans whose parents attended CIAA schools. And we have new fans who attended White schools who have become fans because of the events, the friendships and the fellowships. They have embraced CIAA."

Anyone who's ever attended a CIAA tournament will agree that it is more than just a sporting event. The tournament is an established tradition, a family reunion of sorts for many African-Americans whose families and friends attended CIAA schools over the years. The tournament is more a weeklong experience that not only provides alumni the chance to gather and reminisce, but also gives the younger, college-aged audience a number of social and networking opportunities, including a fashion show, a step-show and a job fair. The tournament even offers a college day for high school students to check out the academic opportunities available at some of the schools within the CIAA. The 12 schools that comprise the conference include Livingstone, St. Augustine's and Saint Paul's colleges, and Bowie State, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, Johnson C, Smith, North Carolina Central, Shaw, Virginia State, Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State universities.

"It has a great heritage," says Dr. Algeania Warren Freeman, president of Livingstone College, the tournament host school this year. "It's like a family reunion. People come back year after year to renew old acquaintances and to make new friends. It also allows our students an opportunity to meet other professionals, to network and to make contacts for jobs. It really offers a lot."

One grateful beneficiary of what the CIAA offers is the city of Raleigh itself. The city enjoyed an economic upswing of more than $8.6 million when the city hosted last year's tournament. That includes ticket sales of more than $1.2 million as well as increased patronage to a number of local hotels and restaurants. The tournament was such a draw that the city of Raleigh reached an agreement with the conference last year to host the tournament through 2005. "[The city] will consider this particular event one of its largest," says Joselyn Williams, CIAA event coordinator for the city of Raleigh. "The CIAA is such a tradition that the city reaps the benefits because people come and stay at least two or three nights when they come. And with all the social events and everything, people are there and they spend money. That's what the city likes."

The schools within the CIAA like it as well, considering that the revenue and donations the schools receive from the tournament go toward their scholarship funds. Parties and other functions sponsored by individual schools offer alumni a chance to give back to their alma mater. By meeting such prestigious graduates as multimillion-dollar Attorney Willie Gary, a Shaw University graduate, students can learn what they are capable of attaining. "We have people from generations past who have done extremely well, and they come in and serve as role models to help get students ready for the world of work," Freeman says. "It offers more opportunities for our students. [The CIAA] helps the colleges and universities train and prepare the whole student."

Although the event brings old friends and family together, it's the conference's commitment to educating its students and graduating productive men and women that makes the CIAA so unique and distinct. It's the CIAA's mission, says Kerry, and it illustrates a larger calling by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to continue educating African-American youth. In fact, HBCUs have educated 40 percent of the country's African-American dentists and physicians, 50 percent of its pharmacists and engineers and 80 percent of its judges, according to the American Association of University Professors. "We're not trying to send kids to the pros," Kerry says. "Some of them go, some of them don't. Some kids make it to the next level, but these kids are trying to graduate, get a degree, get a job and make it in American society."