CHARLOTTE – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA®), the nation’s oldest historically black conference, held its annual fall Board of Directors meeting June 4 & 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina, which was attended by CIAA Presidents & Chancellors along with staff and selected partners.

After reviewing the proposals the Board awarded the 2025-27 CIAA football championships to the Durham Sports Commission. Bids were also submitted by the cities of Charlotte, NC and Salem, VA. The championship will be hosted by the Durham Sports Commission and the Durham County Memorial Stadium (DCMS) will serve as the event’s selected venue.

The meeting resulted in the approval of many exciting initiatives to strengthen the future of the CIAA.

More exciting news includes: 

CIAA Tournament 2027 and Beyond – The Board agreed to initiate the CIAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournament  bidding process in January of 2025 for the 2027 tournament and beyond.  The conference will announce the selected site before the 2026 tournament, in keeping with its standard practice.  Baltimore has positioned themselves as strong tournament host, as indicated by the upward trajectory of its economic impact during tournament week.  The economic impact over the past three years currently stands at $81.7M.

BCHOF Legacy Bowl (CIAA/SIAC) – The Board agreed in collaboration with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) that the CIAA/SIAC football champions will be invited to play in the NFL/BCHOF annually beginning in 2025 as part of the partnership. This will take place in lieu of the previously proposed 0-week game between CIAA/SIAC.

Women’s Flag Football HBCU League – The conference will explore Women’s Flag football as a sponsored championship. The Board supports the growth of flag football and agreed that each institution interested should work directly with the conference regarding its interest and ability to secure funds through the NFL/RCX/NCAA to support their participation. The conference will poll membership for interest. The conference will continue to evaluate other sports interests, such as soccer, for consideration.

Football Conference Realignment –The Board agreed that the CIAA will rank football teams from 1-12, with the two top teams advancing to the conference football championships, effective 2024. There will no longer be northern and southern division winners.

The conference will focus on growing the football championship through its television exposure and marketing strategies to grow the championship.

Budget and Finance – The audit review timeline was reviewed and accepted.  The conference audit will begin in September.

Additionally, the FY25 adjusted budget was approved and the Board agreed that the investment committee will review the investment policy for future contributions to identify long term strategies to grow the conference, reduce financial exposure for its members and to support its membership through scholarships and unrestricted funds for its athletic programs. .

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“After thorough analysis the Board of Directors for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), in conjunction with its Athletic Directors Association (ADA), has voted that NCAA sport competition sponsored by the conference will not occur during the fall of 2020 due to ongoing safety concerns associated with COVID-19.

“The decision is informed by the reality that several CIAA member schools are located in states experiencing dramatic increases in new COVID-19 cases. This recent rise in cases has led to a pause in phased reopening plans in many of these states, resulting in uncertainty as to whether students will return to campus this fall at several CIAA member institutions.“

The member school did agree to honor athletic scholarships for their fall sports student-athletes.

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