Newspapers / Winston-Salem State University Student … / Feb. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The News Argus - Page 6 — SPORTS .——— CIAA: A Historical Overview BY TONYA WOODS CONTRIBUTING WRITER The stands are overflowing with exciifcd fans who are ready to cheer their teams to victory. The players are intoxicated with energy. Cheerleaders keep the crowd pumped up. And the Pep bands are fierce! It’s that time again. Black college basketball is definitely in the air! Each team wants to come out on top in its respective conference.But which black college team is a member of which conference? And how did these conferences originate? The word “conference” can be defined as: a combination of individuals working together to achieve a common goal There are two conferences on the Atlantic Coast that make up the majority of Historically Black Colleges in the country. When the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) was formed, its founders had the same basic concept in mind. That program that would suit the needs of Historically Black Colleges and their students. Established in 1912 as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, what is known now as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the oldest Black Athletic Conference in the nation. Eleven members of the CIAA are historically black colleges and universities from Maryland to North Carolina. The CIAA began under the leadership of Ernest J. Marshall of Howard University, along with Charles H. Williams and Major Allen Washington of Hampton Institute, Dean George Johnson of Lincoln University, Dr. W.E. Atkins, H.P. Hargrove, and Charles Frazier of Shaw University, Dr. J.W. Pierce and Professor J.W. Barco of Union University. The founders of the CIAA hoped to produce unity and fair athletic competitiveness among black college athletics within the conference while maintaining a high level of academic achievement. In its early years the CIAA was a strong advocate of education and it firmly stood behind the idea that student athletes should only be allowed a maximum of four years to participate in collegiate sports. Due to an increase in membership (of now 15 colleges and universities), in the 1930s the CIAA was realigned into three districts: Northern, Central, and Southern. This was effective until the mid 1960s. Realignment took place again in 1971. Membership now included: Elizabeth City State, Hampton Institute, Norfolk State, St. Paul’s College, Virginia State, Virginia Union, and Bowie State College of Maryland, making up the Northern Division. While Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Livingstone College, St. Augustine’s College, Shaw University, North Carolina Central University, and Winston-Salem State University (which originally joined the CIAA in 1945) made up the Southern Division. In the 1930s and 1940s the CIAA began athletic programming for women. Much emphasis was placed on the women’s division which presently includes: Volleyball, Track and Field (indoor and outdoor). Cross Country, Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Baseball, and Softball. The CIAA held five national championship titles in 1989 including Indoor and Outdoor Track, Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, and Golf. The CIAA has been awarded two major honors: The CIAA Hall of Fame and the All-Sports Trophies, s a result of the help given by Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines, the CIAA is recognized as a top National Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) College Divisions. Gaines has won 11 CIAA Basketball Championships and was the First Black Coach to have a victory in the NCAA College Divisions finals in 1967. Coach Gaines was also inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1982. Aside from having excellent coaches, the CIAA also has produced excellent athletes who have been successful after college. Of the seven Division II Athletes currently in the National Basketball Association, five are from the CIAA. Unity combined with a love for intercollegiate athletics have kept the CIAA powerful forces in college athletics. Over the years this conference have led many college athletes, teams, and coaches, to national recognition and some even to national fame. Within each conference a group of individuals saw the need for an athletic organization that could better accommodate black college students. These individuals devised a plan, implemented that plan and made the CIAA a reality. Because of their efforts. Black college students, Male and Female, will have their moment to shine in the intercollegiate athletic scope. Thanks to the A C Phoenix for allowing The News Argus reprint a portion of the original story which appeared in the October Issue of the AC Phoenix. Horne and Ransom Excel in Basketball H Kendra Horne BY MARLENE SUIT SPORTS EDITOR Every year, students at Winston Salem State University, take time out to commend an athlete on a job well done. This year. The News Argus salutes Kendra Horne, #22, a small forward, of the Lady Rams Basketball Team. Horne , a senior. Elementary Education major is the leading scorer for the Lady Rams. She averages 19 points per game. It hasn’t always been this easy for Home. As a freshman. Home got very little playing time. Realizing that there were some skills she needed to work on, she began practicing during the off season. Now, that she is a senior, Horne is the team’s captain, and team leader. Although, the Lady Rams have not won many games this season, Horne seemed very optimistic about the season. “We have a good team, if we could just work together,” she said. “If we utilize the talent we have, we can win more games.” Home is looking forward to playing in the CIAA Women’s Tournament which began on Monday. She feels that since the team won five of its last six games this will help boost their confidence a great deal. “With the CIAA tournament coming up, it is vital that we stay focus,” she said. “Hopefully, we will continue to play with the tenaciousness we have been displaying the passed few games. We are hungry, and we want victories.” Behind every good athlete there is a good coach. Home says she can’t forget Coach Stenson Conley. According to her, Conley, “has been very instrumental in her career as a Lady Ram He’s a good coach, and I respect, and admire him.” ^ Phenizee Ransom BY JANICE WILUAMS SPORTS EDITOR If you’ve been to any of the basketball games this season, you’ve undoubtedly seen some of the fantastic moves executed by Phenizee Ransom, #23. A new addition to the Basketball Rams and the Ram Family this year. Ransom is a 19- year-old, freshmen from Atlanta, Ga. He has been playing organized basketball since the ninth grade; but has had the love of the sport in his soul since he was about 12- years -old. This freshman Mass Communications major says adjusting to college life has caused several "ups and downs." The headaches of registration; the joys and frustrations of classes being purged; and running around campus trying to gel back into your purged classes are just a few of them. Most college students have a hard time just trying to take a full load of classes and making passing grades. Student athletes face two tough challenges: academics and athletics. How does Ransom tackle these two tough challenges? “I find myself burning the midnight oil and staying up late finishing my assignments,” he explained. Hard work is nothing new for the guard/forward. He says Coach Snowden expects hard work from all the players always. “I like ‘Coach’. He wants the best all the time,” he said. “We’re like family. He loves his team.” Many student athletes have a tough time making the change from playing a scholastic sport to playing a collegiate sport. Ransom feels the main difference is the competition. “In college basketball you have to prove yourself every night. Every time you step on the floor you have to prove yourself,” he explained. Proving themselves is one thing that the CIAA teams will be doing this week at the Lawrence Joel Veterns Memorial Coliseum. In case you do not know it, the CIAA is back in North Carolina!! Ransom is “ excited about the CIAA being here in Winston-Salem.” He feels the league is “underrated and that it has some of the best competition you can find.” In closing. Ransom says he does not really have any words he lives by, but if he were to choose one cliche that he takes to heart it would be “learn from your mistakes, it makes a better you.”
Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 1, 1994, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75