Dee Todd On CIAA: If You Want A Basketball Tournment…Get Out Of Charlotte

Delores “Dee” Todd has spent much of her 30-plus year career as a student-athlete and administrator at HBCUs. The WSSU alumna is a member of the CIAA and Winston-Salem State Hall of Fame and served as athletic director at NC A&T in addition to working at the ACC. She recently posted this note in a Facebook group, and has allowed us to publish it. 

The CIAA will never be what our founding fathers dreamed of over a 100 years ago. Believe me I understand that we live in a different world today and our priorities are very different! BUT keeping the tournament in Charlotte will guarantee our forefathers vision will never be again.

I as many of my friends were involved in the evolution of the CIAA tournament. As a cheerleader at WSSU we looked forward to being in that number of teams that went to the tournament in Greensboro. Ever since my Hall of Fame induction in 2001 in Raleigh, I have missed few tournaments with the last two in Charlotte. Why? It seems that few people that go to Charlotte even know there happens to be a basketball tournament that our future attendees are playing basketball and cheering or playing in the band. 

The bands hardly play and the cheerleaders rarely have the chance to cheer because there is so much commercializing at each time-outs. Halftime is full of other stuff like introducing the presidents and their spouses parade across the floor! The area is almost empty except for the few loyal fans from the schools playing. 

Think back, it was not like that in Raleigh, Winston-Salem only in Charlotte. Why would any of these groups want to return as alumni to something they had little to no involvement? The gifts for the teams are so so at best. The trophies are nothing to write home about. And why are we giving a trophy to the runner-up? Nobody remembers who came in second, as a coach you want to take your team and get the hell out of there. 

No we make you sit and watch the team that just beat your a– and pick up your second place dust collector! Go outside and you see more police then people at the games. Girls walking around with hardly any clothes on and have no idea what a basketball looks or feels like. Everything price-wise is jacked up because they know we will pay for a party and clothes. 

I happen to know this first hand because the ACC tournament has been in Charlotte many times. The hotels are NOT as high, the food, parking none of that is as high. Also, the local organizing committee buys the gifts for the entire travel squad for each team of 30 gifts. The cost of each gift is no less than $300 face value. They don’t even blink an eye. 

The city of Charlotte does not make as much money on the ACC as they do the CIAA cause people come to go to the tournament. So, if you want a basketball tournament experience that our future will want to come back to get out of Charlotte. If you want to party and spend your money on sub-par hotel rooms stay in Charlotte!!! 

I fail to mention that the Media gets treated like orphans for all the work they do at the CIAA. Go to any other tournament and see the difference. Our priorities are not the same! Sorry about this thesis but I had to get this off my mind!