Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association

From Hoopedia

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is an athletic conference consisting of ten historically African-American institutions of higher education located in the Southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division II. Its annual basketball tournament is one of the most successful events in the nation. The CIAA Basketball Tournament is the third most attended athletic event in collegiate sports after the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East tournaments; and is the first NCAA Division II conference to have its tournament televised as part of Championship Week on ESPN. The conference is divided into Eastern and Western Divisions.

Established in 1912, the CIAA is the nation's oldest black athletic conference, rich in history and heritage. When the conference was founded, it was originally known as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Its founding fathers were Allen Washington and C.H. Williams of Hampton Institute; Ernest J. Marshall of Howard University; George Johnson of Lincoln University (PA); W.E. Atkins, Charles Frasher and H.P. Hargrave of Shaw University; and J.W. Barco and J.W. Pierce of Virginia Union University.

Member Schools

Eastern Division

• Bowie State University
• Elizabeth City State University
• Saint Paul's College
• Virginia State University
• Virginia Union University

Western Division

• Fayetteville State University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• Livingstone College
• Saint Augustine's College
• Shaw University

Lincoln University (PA), a charter member of the CIAA is adding a varsity football team and looking to reclassify their athletic program to NCAA Division II from NCAA Division III and is currently seeking re-admission into the CIAA.