While the upcoming major NCAA tournament will be the biggest show in town, sports fans also have to acknowledge the smaller leagues that put just as much energy into giving their best as well.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), a Division II league founded in 1912, is a college athletic conference that fields teams mainly from the North Carolina and Virginia areas in 14 sports. The Pennsylvania (Lincoln Univ.) and Maryland (Bowie Univ.) areas are also represented. I'll always have love for this league; I almost went with one of my high school boys to Livingston College in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Their basketball tournament has been held in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past couple of years. During that time, this tournament has generated more than 130 million dollars in revenue for the city. Yet, some the visitors that come to the tournament still deal with some of the more ancient practices of days gone by like the group Dirty Vegas. Just when I was starting to appreciate the south with what I thought was the "new view" attitude and increased African-American profile (i.e., Charlotte Hornets ownership), I get stories that set it all back. This is just a reminder that not to take us (and our dollars) so lightly. Those days have also gone by.
Thank YOU
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