CHARLOTTE, NC (January 6, 2023) — In continued celebration and acknowledgment of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the nation's oldest historically Black athletic conference, has unveiled its first set of CIAA Title IX Trailblazers. The conference will name a total of 50 Title IX Trailblazers, who will be recognized during the 2023 CIAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be held from February 21-25 at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD.

Dianthia Ford-Kee, Alfreeda Goff, Jeanette Lee, Ingrid Wicker-McCree, and Dorthy Cowser Yancy are the first set of CIAA Title IX Trailblazers as these five women have contributed profoundly to the advancement and growth of women's athletics at their respective universities and within the conference. 

Jeanette Lee | Saint Paul's College College Coach & Administrator Always the pioneering trailblazer, Ms. Lee became the first female athletic director in 1990 that oversaw both men's and women's programs in the CIAA and was the fifth woman to be inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame. Known as a strong leader, she was a woman of her word, a believer in inclusion, and an advocate for the student, not just the student-athlete.  On the conference level, Lee played a strong leadership role in developing the Women's Athletic division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). By corralling the league's women leadership and gaining buy-in from the male power brokers, the CIAA had its first women's basketball tournament in 1980. On the battlefield for Title IX, Lee made inspirational presentations both nationally and statewide on hearing panels and committees on behalf of women's athletics and the educational benefits of health education for young people.

 

Dorothy Cowser Yancy | Johnson C. Smith & Shaw President Cowser Yancy served as the 14th and 16th president of Shaw. She was the 12th president of Johnson C. Smith and the first female to hold each of those prestigious titles. She stabilized the financial state of Shaw University by securing a $31 million federal loan. She restructured and refinanced the University's debt, balanced the budget, raised the CFI score to a positive number, and recruited one of the largest freshmen classes in the history of the University.  As president of JCSU from October 1994 to June 2008, Dr. Yancy marshaled phenomenal growth and progress. During this period, she completed two significant capital campaigns raising more than $145 million dollars and was heralded as one of the best fundraisers nationally. Additionally, during her tenure, the JCSU endowment more than tripled from $14 million to $53 million. Under her watch, a new technology center, a library, and a track/stadium/academic complex were constructed. JCSU was the first HBCU to become an IBM "Thinkpad" University.

 

Alfreeda Goff | Virginia State Athletic Director Alfreeda Goff was honored in August by the Women Leaders in College Sports with its Nike Lifetime Achievement Award. As the first female athletic director at Virginia State University, she led the athletics program to historical growth and success and was awarded NACWAA's Administrator of the Year Award in 1999. After a 40-year career in college athletics, Goff has been a tireless advocate and example for women athletics administrators. Throughout her career, Goff has been an advocate for women administrators, playing a founding role in the Women's Leadership Symposium, and helping young female administrators climb the ranks of athletic administration. Her active roles in Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA), MOAA, and NACDA have provided leadership and mentorship to numerous administrators.

 

Ingrid Wicker-McCree | North Carolina Central Coach/ Administrator/ Instructor Wicker-McCree joined North Carolina Central University in 1994 and began a lifetime of dedication to ensure that this historic HBCU would leave a legacy of sports excellence and achievement that would reign for generations to come. Wicker-McCree began her professional career as a two-sport coach before making the transition into athletic administration. After serving as North Carolina Central University's Associate Athletics Director for Internal Affairs, Wicker-McCree served as NCCU's Director of Athletics from 2008-2022 and is credited for transitioning NCCU Athletics to NCAA Division I. She began her career at NCCU as the head coach of both the women's volleyball and softball programs and became the first coach in school history to win conference championships in multiple sports with NCCU's first-ever conference titles in softball (1998) and volleyball (1999, 2004, 2005). Wicker-McCree is also a three-time Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Volleyball Coach of the Year and she was inducted into the NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

 

Dianthia Ford-Kee | Lincoln (Pa.) & Shaw Coach/ Administrator Ford-Kee served over five years as the Director of Athletics at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania having successfully navigated Lincoln's Athletic Department to active membership in NCAA Division II and return to the CIAA. Ford-Kee came to Lincoln from Shaw University where she spent 18 years working in athletic administration and coaching. Ford-Kee was named the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) - NCAA Division II Female Athletic Administrator of the Year in 2006 while serving as Shaw's Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator. Ford-Kee was inducted into the CIAA John McLendon Hall of Fame (2016).  She was honored by the Black Women in Sports Foundation for her accomplishments at Lincoln University and in the field of athletics with the Legends Award. She has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success with her softball and volleyball programs. Ford-Kee won the CIAA Softball Championship four times (1993, 1994, 1996 and 2003) and the CIAA Volleyball Championship twice (1993 and 1995). She was named CIAA Softball Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2003 and Volleyball Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2001.

50 days from now—the CIAA will be crowning the 2023 champion in men's and women's basketball and so every week leading into the CIAA Basketball Tournament, the conference will be recognizing a set of trailblazers.

Additionally, as part of the continued efforts to champion and highlight the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the CIAA has introduced a dedicated Title IX Page on its website, featuring archives of the CIAA Woman of the Years, various other relevant news releases, and video podcast episodes highlighting some amazing women inside and outside the conference. 
 

Title IX imagery will be featured heavily during the CIAA Tournament. Last month, the CIAA inducted an all-women's Hall of Fame class for 2023 in honor of Title IX. Tickets are currently on sale for the CIAA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which is scheduled for Friday, February 24 at 9 a.m.
 


About the CIAA 

Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first, and longest running, African American athletic conference in the U.S. and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country. In 2020, the conference celebrates the special 75th anniversary of its Championship Basketball Tournament - an event that has become a must-see in the African American community. The Basketball Tournament has been honored as a 2019 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, for both 2018 and 2019. 
 
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CIAA is governed by the Presidents and Chancellors of its 12 member-institutions: Bowie State University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University. Bluefield State will be added as the conference's 13th full member, effective July 1, 2023. For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.