 (CHARLOTTE,
NC)--The
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Board of
Directors, made up of the 12 member institutions’ presidents and
chancellors, voted to award the 2006 – 2008 Annual CIAA Men’s
and Women’s Basketball Tournament to the City of Charlotte.
The CIAA officially released the news via press release Tuesday
morning sending waves of joy through Charlotte and surrounding
areas. Johnson C. Smith University President and Former CIAA
President Dorothy Cowser Yancy, Ph.D. called the event “exciting
and historic.” Dr. Yancy is the first woman to become president
of the CIAA.
“This has truly been a community effort with many Charlotte
business owners, politicians and JCSU representatives involved,”
Yancy said during a Johnson C. Smith University press conference
Tuesday afternoon. “We all have worked really hard.”
The decision to move the tournament from Raleigh to Charlotte
was reached by secret ballot submission to the CIAA’s accounting
firm, which tabulated and certified the votes, according to the
CIAA press release. Each school representative was allotted a
single vote. The vote split was not made public.
“We have enjoyed tremendous growth in Raleigh, and this was a
tough decision that was made after thorough consideration and
research,” said Dr. Mickey Burnim, chancellor of Elizabeth City
State University and chair of the CIAA Board of Directors. “But
as the stewards of this distinguished cultural event, it is
incumbent upon us to insure that our conference, its events and
its members’ scholastic benefits are maximized.
In 2004, the CIAA Basketball Tournament attracted more than
104,500 people and had an $11.5 million economic impact on
Raleigh, generating more than $983,304 in local and state tax
revenue generated from sales, hotel and meal taxes.
Dr. Yancy said people attending the tournament will love the new
convenience of being able to walk to their hotels, restaurants
and then to the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
“Attending a CIAA Tournament is like going to a family reunion,”
she said.
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