KANSAS CITY, MO (October 14, 2025) – Women Leaders in Sports (Women Leaders) announced its 2025 award recipients, recognizing exceptional women who are redefining leadership and shaping the future of the sports industry. Among those honored was Jacqie McWilliams Parker, Commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), who was named a Nike Executive of the Year for her trailblazing leadership, vision, and impact on intercollegiate athletics.
The Nike Executive of the Year Award celebrates senior-level leaders who exemplify excellence, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to advancing opportunities for women in sports. McWilliams Parker’s recognition underscores her remarkable career of more than 31 years in collegiate athletics, marked by her advocacy for equity, her strategic leadership within the CIAA, and her enduring dedication to student-athletes, coaches, and administrators across the country.
Now entering her 14th championship season as Commissioner, McWilliams Parker continues to elevate the CIAA as one of the most visible and respected conferences in NCAA Division II. Her leadership has strengthened the CIAA’s financial foundation, expanded national partnerships, and launched innovative platforms including the CIAA Sports Network, esports initiatives, and the “CIAA for Life” campaign.
A former CIAA student athlete at Hampton University, McWilliams Parker’s journey reflects a full-circle legacy of service. She earned her undergraduate degree at Hampton, where she was a two-sport athlete and member of the 1988 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship team. She was later inducted into the Hampton University Hall of Fame twice and went on to serve in leadership roles at Hampton, Virginia Union, Norfolk State, and Morgan State. Before returning to lead the CIAA, she spent nearly a decade at the NCAA National Office, shaping national championship programming and equity initiatives that would influence policy across all three divisions.
In 2012, McWilliams Parker made history as the first female Commissioner of the CIAA and the first appointed African American female Commissioner representing NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. Since then, she has led the conference through transformational change, including relocating its headquarters to Charlotte, welcoming Claflin University and Bluefield State University as members, securing multi-year media and corporate partnerships, and ensuring the CIAA’s continued prominence on the national stage.
Her leadership philosophy is guided by a personal “20 20 20 vision” of learning, earning, and returning, a lifelong commitment to giving back to the people and institutions that shaped her path. She is a member of the Virginia Union University Hall of Fame for her early work as a coach and administrator, and she is featured in the Temple University Gallery of Success, where she established a postgraduate scholarship for HBCU graduates pursuing advanced degrees in sports management and hospitality.
Beyond the CIAA, McWilliams Parker’s influence resonates nationally. She has served on numerous boards and committees including the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force, the John B. McLendon Foundation Board, the Doug Williams Center Advisory Board, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Trustees, and the USA Soccer Game Changes University Advisory Board. She also made history as the 40th President of Women Leaders in College Sports, further reinforcing her commitment to mentorship and representation in sports leadership.
McWilliams Parker is widely recognized as a pioneer, activist, and a living legend, often referred to as the “Godmother of HBCUs.” She has broken barriers, opened doors, and created space for others to lead. Her unwavering faith, vision, and courage continue to define her legacy and inspire the next generation of leaders across intercollegiate athletics.
Media Contact:
Anna M. Butzlaff
Associate Commissioner, Strategic Communications
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)
abutzlaff@theciaa.com
About the CIAA
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first and longest running African American athletic conference in the United States 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. 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, Bluefield State University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston Salem State University.
For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.