CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The CIAA basketball tournament is thriving in Charlotte, the conference commissioner said today as he and other leaders announced its return to the Queen City for its fifth year.
But with its contract with Charlotte scheduled to expire next year, Commissioner Leon Kerry said no deal had been struck yet to extend it. The CIAA and leaders in Charlotte have been talking since last year, he said, adding that he expects a decision by sometime this fall.
Asked how the talks are going, Kerry replied, "Good. I don’t want to say too much about it because I'm just trying to see where the market is…you just start (negotiating) a couple years out and see where you are, and if they say they don't want you, you know you have to get going on something else pretty quick.
"But they want us here in Charlotte. It’s been good for us."
The CIAA has historically been the athletics home for a group of black colleges and universities in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. The annual tournament, known as much for its extensive slate of parties and social activities as its basketball, came to Charlotte in 2006 after a six-year run in Raleigh.
Officials say last year's tournament and the attendant social activities drew more than 176,000 people, with an economic impact on Charlotte of $38.2 million. Anthony Lindsey, a Johnson C. Smith alumnus who heads the CIAA’s local organizing committee, said over the past four years, the tournament has had an economic impact of $112 million in the Queen City.
"Obviously we’d be very excited to have it back in Charlotte," he said. "We'll be doing what we can to make sure it stays here. Charlotte’s the best place for it."
Hopes are high for this year's tournament, running from Feb. 23-27.
Conference officials who gathered at a news conference at the Charlotte Convention Center this morning said the TV One network, seen in more than 50 million households, will serve as the “official broadcast provider” for the tournament.
Some games will also appear on ESPNU and ESPN360.com. Celebrity guests will include syndicated radio shows hosted by comedian Steve Harvey and by Gospel recording star Yolanda Adams.
Officials also welcomed their 11th member school – and first historically white institution – Chowan University. Chowan President M. Christopher White called it the first time a historically black conference had ever invited a historically white institution.
"This is history," he said. "It's an example of how far we've come in so many ways."
