Decision looms on whether Charlotte's biggest annual tourism event (CIAA Tournament) will stay

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Dr. James Anderson, the chancellor at Fayetteville State University, knows the stakes are high for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association over the next month.

“It’s a real historic decision for the conference because we’ve been in Charlotte so long,” Anderson told CBJ on Thursday, referring to the CIAA’s selection of a basketball tournament site for 2021 and beyond. “It’s very important that we make the right decision.”

Anderson leads the 12-member CIAA board of directors, the group of chancellors and presidents who will choose the next host city. That decision, he added, will be made during league meetings on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 in Charlotte.

The conference is made up of 12 historically black colleges and universities. Seven of the schools are in North Carolina, including Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

The CIAA tournament includes all men’s and women’s teams and is played in late February and early March. Charlotte has been the tournament’s home since 2006. The current contract, signed in March 2014, ends in 2020.

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