Milestone anniversary reflects the bridging of past and present while inspiring the future
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is observing a notable milestone this year as the conference’s upcoming women’s basketball tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Down through the years, women’s hoops has faced its share of challenges. Basketball would not be the sport it has emerged to become without the women – on and off the hardwood.
Programming, initiatives and activities slated for the soon-approaching CIAA Tournament Week will be exclusively centered around paying tribute to achievements, contributions and perseverance of the athletes and icons who have shaped women’s basketball.
Themed #PaintingHERStory, tournament week will feature events that particularly focus on female leaders in sports, some of which include the EmpowerHER Town Hall; Women’s Empowerment Brunch; “the Mind, Body, Soul” Panel; John B. McClendon Jr. CIAA Hall of Fame Breakfast; and Ladies’ Night on Championship Saturday.
The CIAA, the nation’s oldest HBCU athletic conference, would not be where it is today without women’s basketball. For more than a decade, the conference’s commissioner has been a woman. Bowie State President Aminta Breaux also serves as chair for the CIAA board of directors. Numerous other CIAA leadership roles are held by women, in addition to the hundreds of female student-athletes who reflect the resilient spirit of past trailblazers while inspiring generations to come.
“This year marks a monumental milestone for the CIAA and women’s sports as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Women’s Basketball Tournament and honor the trailblazing athletes who have shaped its legacy,” CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker said.
In addition, a CIAA 50th Anniversary of the Women’s Tournament Committee (simply put “50th anniversary committee”) has been formed to coordinate some of the aforementioned events and initiatives along with theme-focused social media campaigns.
Photo credit: JJ McQueen Photography
Matisse Lee, Claflin University’s senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator, serves as the chair of the committee.
“It’s the year of the woman as the commissioner said, and I’m so grateful that we are able to put our efforts together,” said Lee, who was in Baltimore a few weeks ago at the CIAA Basketball Tournament press conference.
“Like Mayor [Brandon Scott] said, I think the women’s game is better. It’s more exciting and I think they’re playing harder, they’re showing a lot of grit, so they’re ready for this stage and they’re ready for this moment. I think the other unique thing is our men athletes have been supportive of what we’re doing… So we’re just excited about getting back to Charm City for the tournament.”
The 50th anniversary committee consists of student-athletes, sports information directors, senior women administrators and athletic directors, Lee pointed out. A subcommittee has been tasked with exploring and sharing historical information on the women’s basketball tournament.
At some point during the basketball regular season, every member institution’s women’s basketball program has held events – whether games, banquets or otherwise – dedicated to the 50th anniversary milestone.
George Napier Barnes III, a sportswriter based in Phoenix, has thoroughly researched the history of CIAA women’s basketball, tracing its origins and mind-boggling evolution.
The first-ever CIAA women’s basketball tournament, held in 1975 on the campus of Virginia State University, was in a different venue than the men’s tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum (N.C.).
Norfolk State was crowned the champs of the women’s inaugural basketball tournament and went on to win eight more conference tournament titles before leaving the CIAA for the MEAC.
Here are a few other interesting historical details that Barnes noted:
- While the CIAA men’s championship game was shown on live television, it took a while before the women’s championship game followed suit.
- At one point, the CIAA men’s and women’s championship tournament only consisted of the top four teams in the Northern and Southern divisions. Since 1983, all teams belonging to the conference have had an opportunity to compete for the CIAA crown.
- Jackie Dolberry (Hampton University) is the all-time leading scorer in the women’s CIAA history. Dolberry, the only three-time player of the year, scored 2,645 points from 1985-89.
- Though the women’s tournament began in 1975, the event’s most outstanding player and coach wasn’t featured until 1988.
- The CIAA men’s basketball tournament debuted in 1946 in the nation’s capital – 34 years after the conference was founded.
Barnes, a Fayetteville State University graduate, said he recalls attending the women’s tournament as early as 1979, when the event was still in its infancy.
“I think it’s great [for the CIAA to achieve this milestone],” Barnes said. “From what I’ve discovered, the (women’s tournament) has gotten a lot better.”
Photo credit: Claflin University Athletics
Claflin guard Janelle Sample is one of the student-athletes on the 50th anniversary committee. Sample, a Richmond, Va., native, was brought on to the committee to bring new, fresh ideas, she said.
“Although we’ve come a long way, we’re just getting started really,” said Sample, a master’s student who also works at her school’s athletics department.
“Fifty years may sound like a lot but at the same time, it was just right around the corner. It’s just crazy to think we’ve been in the tournament for only 50 years, and the impact we’ve had over the 50 years has been incredible.”
The CIAA Basketball Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 25 to March 1 at downtown Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena.