CIAA football is more competitive – especially at the top

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Virginia Union and Johnson C. Smith were picked first and second in the preseason CIAA football order of finish. The Panthers won conference titles in 2023 and 2024, but lost to the Golden Bulls in Charlotte last year.

CIAA football is more competitive than it’s been in years.

At least four teams will open fall drills capable of advancing to the conference title game in Durham, including three North Carolina programs in Johnson C. Smith, Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State. The teams that advanced to the final in 2024 – Virginia State and Virginia Union – will be in the mix too.

There’s the potential for wild cards and spoilers, too. Take Livingstone, which went 6-4 in Sean Gilbert’s fourth season as coach with wins against JCSU and Fayetteville State in 2024. No one’s likely to consider the Blue Bears as contenders, but they’re moving forward as a program.

The favorites

Johnson C. Smith surprised everyone in the HBCU space and beyond with an eight-game win streak to start the season. Losing the last two games to blow a near-certain spot in the Division II playoffs was a bummer, but coach Maurice Flowers convinced doubters the Golden Bulls will be a contender going forward.

Alvin Parker turned Virginia Union into a national player and losing all-time top rusher and Division II All-American Jada Byers shouldn’t be enough to derail the Panthers. Virginia State took advantage of JCSU’s late season implosion to advance to the title game but lost to the Golden Bulls and Winston-Salem State in addition to splitting with VUU.

Movement among coaches

Shaw fired coach Adrian Jones, who didn’t stay down long before jumping CIAA rival Elizabeth City State. Jones went 35-45 in eight seasons at Shaw and coached 49 All-CIAA picks and put the Bears in position to compete in the former Southern Division. 

Can he lift the Vikings out of the conference’s bottom half, especially as the CIAA becomes top heavy with contenders?

“We want to cultivate a championship mindset,” Jones said upon taking the job in December. “Our program will be consistent, and the championship will come. We are going to be student-athletes first and foremost and we are going to represent this university with pride. Offense, we are going to be efficient, exciting and explosive. Defense, we are going to be relentless." 

Shaw went through a tumultuous transition after firing Jones. First, Greg Ruffin, who was hired to return to the program he built into a CIAA champion, withdrew due to health issues. The Bears finally decided on Lamar Manigo, who was assistant Virginia State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Virginia State University.

Manigo is familiar with Shaw, where he was offensive coordinator from 2016-21.

"This is a homecoming for me,” he said, “and I look forward to working with our talented student-athletes to build a program that makes our university and alumni proud.”
Is Fayetteville State ready to rebound?

The Broncos, who earned five straight berths in the CIAA title game when the conference determined division champions, fell off in 2024 with a 4-5 record.

Richard Hayes is one of the conference’s top coaches, but years of success also meant losing talent on the field and sidelines. FSU won’t have an easy road back with Johnson C. Smith, Winston-Salem State, Virginia Union and Virginia State coming off winning campaigns. The first three games – at Benedict, UNC Pembroke and North Carolina Central – will give a good indication if the Broncos are up to it. 

Keep both eyes on

Winston-Salem State. Coach Robert Massey took the Rams in the right direction with a 7-3 mark last year and WSSU recruited for offensive firepower in the offseason. The back end of the schedule – home against Livingstone, followed by road games at J.C. Smith and Fayetteville State – might be the difference between getting to the CIAA title game and also-ran status.

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