Virginia State University won the annual Division II Community Engagement Award of Excellence for the CIAA conference. VSU held a Military Appreciation Day and Fellowship Day for the Petersburg, VA community during the Chik-Fil-A Classic back in November 2011.     
 
The Virginia State University Athletic Department hosted a Community Engagement Weekend on Friday, November 25 thru Sunday, November 27, 2011. VSU incorporated two themes within this weekend to honor two major groups within the nearby community, the military personnel and the local churches. On Friday they invited all of the local churches for a Fellowship Day at their women’s basketball game against Mercy College. This day gave our local churches an opportunity to attend the game at no charge and fellowship while they interacted with and cheered on our Lady Trojans. During the game, the churches received recognition through announcements and from the players, welcoming them to our arena.
 
Saturday’s basketball games was devoted to the local military personnel during Military Appreciation Day. Virginia State University is located only five miles from Fort Lee Military Base which houses over 70, 000 troops and a daily population of over 40,000 military officials. By inviting these troops to their games, VSU gave them an opportunity for leisure outside of their normal activities while honoring them for their commitment and service to our country. This event really portrayed VSU’s gratitude for our military and created a lasting relationship between Fort Lee’s Army personnel and Virginia State University’s Athletic Department.
 
That weekend of events really made an impact on the campus by exposing the student body  and student-athletes to two major community groups in Petersburg, VA. This allowed VSU students the opportunity to network, foster relationships and thank these groups for the support that they give to VSU. The student-athletes really felt the support from the community and were appreciative that these groups came out to support them during the Thanksgiving holiday while the student body was on break.