“Magical! That’s the word this week. Magical,” Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker noted regarding the 2025 CIAA Basketball Championship Tournament.

This year’s CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) basketball tournament in Baltimore has been nothing short of “magical.”

The Virginia State men’s program claimed their first conference title since 2019, defeating Bluefield State 71-64.

Fayetteville State won the “magical” 50th CIAA women’s conference championship after defeating Virginia State, 64-54, at CFG Bank Arena.

The Commissioner shared, “It was really special this morning, our Hall of Fame [ceremony]. It wasn’t just basketball players. We have a track star. We have a football player. We had an SID, Arlene Creek, from Bowie State.  I was really blown away by all of them.  I think specifically with Arlene Creek who played basketball way before it was a part of the NCAA and before we even had it in the CIAA fifty years ago.”   

Alongside the Hall of Fame and community events, the CIAA Fanfest has been deeply rooted in the celebration of fifty years of women’s basketball during the CIAA tournament.

“I remember when we celebrated it in Charlotte in 2020, the seventy fifth anniversary,” Commissioner McWilliams-Parker said.  “Even when we did that, what I wanted to make sure is that our women felt included in that seventy fifth.  And so we highlighted the men’s tournament, but we also made sure that the women felt a part of that for so long in this conference.”

Commissioner McWilliams Parker candidly addressed the challenges NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) legislation has posed for the HBCU conferences.

“I think there’s some written legislation that aligns with what we’re trying to get to. I think it’s a bipartisan legislation. So there’s still some education about the impact it has, to get those on both sides to understand the value of college athletics. But specifically, HBCUs, what we’re trying to protect, we’re trying to protect our HBCUs as best as we can. Paying student-athletes is just not an option for us. Could we try to do it? We probably could, but in our format, everything would be different for us.”

The financial and logistical challenges for HBCUs to comply with payments to student-athletes could stifle growth or in some cases shut down sports programs.  

McWilliams-Parker believes the ongoing dialogue aims to protect HBCUs while ensuring a fair playing field for student-athletes within evolving legislative landscapes.

Baltimore has proudly hosted the CIAA Basketball Tournaments for four years, with the contract ending in 2026. Some of the CIAA alumni and fans want to return the event to Charlotte, but the future remains open as cities are vying to host upcoming tournaments.

“In January, we put out the intent to bid for those cities or states that were interested in being a part of hosting the CIAA tournament 2027 and beyond,” the CIAA leader said. “We’ve got intents from cities, that want to be a part of the process of bidding and winning for the tournament in their cities. We’ve heard Charlotte. Obviously, Baltimore has submitted their intent. We’ve heard Philadelphia. We’ve heard from Pittsburgh as well.”

Since multiple cities have met with the CIAA and expressed interest in hosting after the current agreement ends, we could see a new marketing strategy to fill out the arenas for the tournaments.  

Several primary factors under consideration are community engagement, hospitality closer to competition, and a connection with the CIAA’s cultural celebration.

The bid deadline will end on April 15.

As the CIAA tournament concludes another basketball season, attention will shift to the postseason. The NCAA playoff competition for the champions will be announced soon.

Several men’s and women’s basketball all-stars will head to San Antonio for the 2025 HBCU All-Stars Game. This event marks the first time women will participate in their HBCU All-Star Game.

“When he started the men’s about making sure the women would be included at some point. I think that he’s gotten enough support and leverage to bring the women in — we’re not official partners with it, but we also understand that giving our kids another opportunity to play the game that they love and having our women, particularly for us in our fiftieth anniversary, I think that’s a pretty cool thing to see.”

Visionaries like Jacqie McWilliams-Park are rare. As the CIAA continues to grow, its mission will expand to honor excellence and inspire the next generation of leaders and student-athletes.