Charlotte, NC (October 4, 2024) - The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA®) has announced the suspension of all sports competition for Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) through the end of the 2024-25 academic year, effective immediately. The CIAA Board of Directors’ decision was made after the institution’s failure to meet conference compliance requirements, in addition to the concerns regarding SAU’s continued challenges to meet NCAA sports sponsorship and scheduling requirements for the 2024-25 season.
Should Saint Augustine’s elect to continue participating; competition will not count towards CIAA standings and seeding, nor will they be eligible for championship participation.
“While it is disheartening to make a decision of this magnitude that impacts one of our member institutions, the decision was guided through a fair, deliberate, and thoughtful process in efforts to determine what was best for the conference, while also protecting the wellbeing and holistic experience of the student-athletes,” said Board Chair Aminta Breaux.
The institution elected not to sponsor softball for the spring of 2024, football, and volleyball for the fall of 2024, leaving 10 remaining sports in the 2024-25 season to meet NCAA Div II compliance standards. The compliance standards require that each DII member institution sponsors and completes at least ten sports each academic year. Saint. Augustine’s University’s ability to complete the men’s and women’s cross-country seasons and to meet other compliance requirements and deadlines for the remaining sports programs to ensure eligibility and participation, remains in question.
“Saint Augustine's University has been a member of this conference for over 80 years. Their administrators, coaches, students, student-athletes, alumni, and the SAU community are important and valued as part of the CIAA legacy. The CIAA will continue to support and rally around the Falcon family and President Burgess as they prepare to return for the 2025-26 season,” said Commissioner McWilliams Parker.
Media Contact:
Tonia Walker, CIAA Senior Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
Email: twalker@theciaa.com
Phone: (704) 910-2133, Ext. 406
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 13 member institutions: Bluefield State University, 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. For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.