CHARLOTTE, NC (LOOTPRESS) – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(CIAA®), the nation’s oldest historically black conference, has announced the addition of
Bluefield State (WV) University as a full member, starting July 1, 2023.
Last week, the CIAA’s Board of Directors voted to approve Bluefield State University as the
conference’s 13th member. The fellow HBCU brings 13 sports for conference competition,
intending to add women’s bowling next year for the 14th sport. The conference will be working
to determine conference balance and more information regarding divisions is forthcoming.
Starting in the 2023-24 season, the Big Blue (BSU’s mascot) will begin conference play in the
CIAA.
‘Bluefield State University is deeply honored to join the of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association,’ remarked Bluefield State’s President Robin Capehart. ‘We are grateful for the
input and insight provided by CIAA administrative personnel, the Presidents of CIAA member
institutions, and for the leadership and hard work of the Bluefield State University Board of
Governors, BSU Athletic Director Derrick Price and his staff, Mr. Barry Blizzard, our alumni, and
community leaders throughout this process.’
Previously, the Big Blue were members of the CIAA from 1932 to 1955. In 2021, Bluefield State
revived its football program after a 40-year hiatus and the Big Blue currently sponsors 19
sports, primarily competing as an Independent in NCAA Division II.
‘Becoming a CIAA member institution provides significant benefits to our student-athletes and
sports programs, our alumni, and the community,’ said President Capehart. ‘CIAA membership
represents a MAJOR milestone in BSU’s reconnection to its roots as a proud and vibrant
Historically Black College and University. Our most sincere thanks to the CIAA and to everyone
involved!’
In the summer of 2022, Bluefield State transitioned to university status and restored its campus
housing. Currently, the university, which is a part of West Virginia’s public education system,
enrolls more than 1,200 students.
Bluefield State held a press conference on Monday, December 12 at 12:30 p.m. The
presser will included comments from President Capehart, Athletic Director Price, and BSU
alum/Hall of Famer Ergie Smith, who played football in the 1950s when the Big Blue were a
member of the CIAA.
Over the past three years and in the middle of a pandemic, Bluefield State (which transitioned
to university status in the summer of 2022) has experienced a phoenix-like rebirth following an extended loss of enrollment.
Today, Bluefield State is the most diverse HBCU in West Virginia, one of the fastest growing (based on enrollment) higher education institutions in America, with the largest and most diverse freshman class (2021) in three decades. Bluefield State has a true HBCU heartbeat, with the restoration of intercollegiate football, outstanding student housing on campus, and the second-highest composite financial index of all colleges and universities in West Virginia.”
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