CHARLOTTE, NC (October 3, 2025) – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) announces that Antoine Lynch, Director of Athletic Communications at Shaw University, has been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2025–26 Inclusion Fellowship Class.
Now in its fifth year, the CSC Inclusion Fellowship is a year-long program designed to provide communications professionals with strategies and best practices to strengthen culture and build advocacy within intercollegiate athletics. The 2025–26 theme, “Advocacy Through Adversity,” focuses on equipping participants with tools to better support student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.
Lynch is among a program-record 21 participants selected nationwide for the 2025–26 cohort. Fellows will take part in monthly virtual learning sessions with industry leaders and will be recognized at the 2026 CSC Unite convention in Las Vegas, where they will also assist with programming.
“Antoine’s involvement in this fellowship reflects the continued professional growth of CIAA staff members across our institutions,” said CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker. “We look forward to the knowledge and perspective he will gain through this experience and bring back to his role at Shaw University and within the conference.”
Lynch is entering his fifth year as Shaw University’s Director of Athletic Communications and manages the promotion and coverage of the Bears’ 13 varsity sports. His work emphasizes elevating the visibility of Shaw’s student-athletes and programs within the CIAA and across the national landscape of college athletics.
The CSC Inclusion Fellowship has included more than 60 members since its inception, establishing itself as a leading professional development initiative for sports communicators.
For more information about the College Sports Communicators Inclusion Fellowship, visit www.collegesportscommunicators.com.
Media Contact:
Anna M. Butzlaff
Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA)
Email: abutzlaff@theciaa.com | Phone: (757) 286-6158
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. 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.