CIAA is Division II's unicorn conference

The CIAA, the oldest HBCU conference, is not built like a typical Division II conference office.

That shows up in the visibility. It shows up in the basketball tournament and national media platforms. And it shows up in the money.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association reported more than $10 million in revenue in its most recent public tax filing, a figure that places the historic HBCU league far above many Division II peers and in the neighborhood of some smaller Division I conferences.

CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker has described that unusual position directly.

“We’re nothing like any other conference. I don’t even know half the time if people know that we’re Division II,” McWilliams-Parker said in an interview with HBCU Sports in 2025. “We try to operate like we’re big time all the time.”

The numbers support the point.

The CIAA reported $10.05 million in total revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025. That included $5.04 million in contributions and grants, $4.73 million in program service revenue and $276,959 in other revenue. The league reported $9.88 million in expenses and ended the year with just over $1.02 million in net assets.

That revenue figure puts the CIAA well beyond much of the Division II conference landscape. The SIAC, its closest HBCU Division II peer, reported $3.24 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024, according to ProPublica. The Lone Star Conference reported $1.72 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024.

The comparison also stretches into smaller Division I territory. The CIAA’s latest revenue is close to the MEAC’s recent level and above the Big South’s most recent filing. That does not make the CIAA a Division I league. But financially, it does make the conference a Division II outlier.

CIAA revenue has changed shape

The CIAA’s modern revenue picture did not happen all at once.

Public filings show the conference was already a multi-million-dollar operation in the early 2010s. By 2016, the CIAA reported $5.97 million in total revenue and $5.73 million in expenses. That year, the league also reported $1.49 million in grants and disbursements to schools, which appeared to be split evenly among 12 institutions at $124,088 each for scholarship funds.

That 2016 filing is important because it came just before North Carolina’s HB2 era disrupted events and business travel across the state. It also came before the CIAA completed its move from Charlotte to Baltimore.

At that point, the basketball tournament still looked like the central revenue engine. The CIAA reported $2.61 million in basketball tournament revenue and $1.27 million in tournament expenses in FY2016.

By FY2024, the model looked very different. The CIAA reported $9.95 million in total revenue, but direct grants and disbursements to schools had fallen to $485,000. Sponsorships and rights fees had become the dominant reported program revenue source at $3.32 million, while basketball tournament revenue was listed at $1.23 million.

The tournament still remained central to the league’s identity and operations. The 2025 filing described it as one of the largest basketball tournaments in the country and “its major activity.” The same filing also noted that revenue did not include $1.41 million in arena rental costs paid by Baltimore.

Member contributions are part of the growth

The CIAA’s growth has also come with a larger contribution base.

In FY2020, the league reported $1.96 million in contributions and grants. By FY2025, that line had climbed to $5.04 million. That increase includes several sources, including government grants, other contributions and member-related revenue.

The most recent filing shows $1.51 million in membership dues from its 12 schools. It also included $3.01 million in government grants and $521,908 in other contributions, gifts and similar amounts. That means the modern CIAA revenue picture is not just about ticket sales or tournament income. It is also about dues, public support, sponsorships, rights fees and donor-backed costs tied to the league’s biggest event.

That is part of what separates the CIAA from many Division II peers. It is not simply operating a conference schedule. It is operating a year-round HBCU sports property.

Payout trend moves differently

The trend in direct school distributions has moved in a different direction.

The CIAA reported $1.49 million in grants and disbursements in FY2016 before the Board of Governors changed the funding model. By FY2024, that number had dropped to $485,000. The latest filing shows an increase to $590,000, but that remains well below the 2016 level.

The most recent Schedule I detail lists those payments as scholarship funds to member institutions. Livingstone and Virginia Union were listed at $50,243 each. Winston-Salem State and Lincoln were listed at $44,499. Claflin was listed at $38,070. Bluefield State, newer to the league, was listed at $15,874.

That does not mean those grants represent the full value schools receive from the CIAA. Marcus Clarke, the conference’s senior associate commissioner for athletic administration and external operations, pointed out in a conversation with HBCU Gameday that the conference also pays for officials. The latest filing lists $496,812 in officials expenses, along with $592,199 for other sports and $3.05 million for the basketball tournament. The league has also sent members funding to upgrade broadcast equipment.

McWilliams-Parker has also framed the CIAA’s role in broader terms.

“We have honestly been in a better position than some of my other D2 conferences,” she said.

But she also noted the limits.

“We’re Division II, non-profit trying to raise money to manage all the good stuff that we’re doing,” McWilliams-Parker said.

A bigger office, bigger expectations

The CIAA’s financial trend is clear at the top line.

The conference has moved from a roughly $6 million operation in the mid-2010s to a $10 million operation today. Its revenue mix has expanded as sponsorships and rights fees have grown. Contributions and grants have increased. The size of the conference office has grown. Its visibility is unlike most Division II leagues.

But the direct payout trend is also clear.

The amount reported as grants and scholarship distributions to schools is lower than it was before the CIAA’s modern media and sponsorship growth.

That makes the CIAA one of the most interesting case studies in college athletics. It is a Division II league with an unusually valuable brand, a major event platform and revenue numbers that compare favorably with some smaller Division I conferences.

Now the next question is how that growth is felt on campus.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 2:21 PM.