The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will begin at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore Feb. 22, with the championship games taking place Feb. 26.
The CIAA is the oldest historically Black athletic conference in the country. The schools in this Division II conference are:
— Bowie State University
— Claflin University
— Elizabeth City State University
— Fayetteville State University
— Johnson C. Smith University
— Lincoln University (PA)
— Livingstone College
— Virginia Union University
— Virginia State University
— Shaw University
— St. Augustine’s University
— Winston-Salem State University
Fayetteville State (18-8 overall, 13-3 CIAA) is the top seed in the men’s bracket, while Lincoln (19-7, 12-4) is the top seed in the women’s bracket. Click here to check out the men’s bracket and schedule. Click here to see the women’s bracket and schedule. Tickets can be purchased here.
The tournament was originally supposed to take place in Baltimore in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but since the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2021 tournament, this month marks the first time the tournament has been in town since 1952.
CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams believes Baltimore is a great fit for the tournament because of how invested the city has been in helping the event grow.
“People could feel the marketing. They were doing all of that. In the past, we’ve had to do a lot of that ourselves with limited resources to get a further reach,” McWilliams said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 14. “They’ve helped us expand our reach in the Northeast corridor and then … across the nation, we are making this tournament visible. In Baltimore, there’s just great leadership. It really complements who we are as a conference.”
Basketball drives the week, but there’s much more to it. Among the events that will be in town include:
— Old School Jam & Skate Party on Feb. 23 at the Shake & Bake Family Fun Center
— The Comedy Kickoff With Earthquake and Friends on Feb. 24 at The Lyric
— Step shows “Throwdown” and “Stepoff” on Feb. 25 and 26, respectively, at the Baltimore Convention Center
— Musical performance from the likes of The Magnificent DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kid Capri and Big Daddy Kane from Feb. 24-26 at Rams Head Live
McWilliams says there’ll be fun to be had for all ages.
“Our demographic is probably majority 55 and older, so when you see this [music] lineup, it’s my lineup. It’s fun,” McWilliams said. “But at the same time we try to make sure we have the step shows and the skate parties for high schoolers and middle schoolers so that they can get involved as well. It truly is a vibe. If you’ve gone to Essence Festival, it’s music and all those things that you’re talking about. Now we’re here at a basketball tournament. It’s basketball and all those things that bring people together.”
For more from McWilliams, watch her conversation with Stan “The Fan” Charles here:
And listen to her interview on Glenn Clark Radio here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox