The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the nation’s oldest HBCU conference, announces the brackets for its 2025 men’s and women’s basketball tournament.
The single-elimination tournament will be held at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore on Feb. 25 – March 1.
The championship games will tip-off at 1 p.m. for the women followed by the men at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 1.
Each bracket is seeded based on the division record. If division records are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results followed by head-to-head point differential.
In the Men’s field, Virginia State University solidified the top seed in the Northern Division by posting a 7-3 divisional record. Led by Head Coach Lonnie Blow Jr., the Trojans finished the regular season with a 13-3 record in CIAA action. The Trojans made it to the second day of last year’s quarterfinals before being eliminated.
The No. 2 seed goes to Bluefield State. Under the guidance of head coach Devin Hoehn, the Big Blue finished regular season play with a 10-6 conference record, including 6-4 in the division. With a 3-way tie for the No. 3 seed, reigning champions Lincoln University (PA) take the third spot with a plus-1 point differential over Virginia Union and a head-to-head tiebreaker over Bowie State.
With the Trojans at the No. 3 seed, Virginia Union edges out Bowie State with two head-to-head regular season wins and takes the No. 4 seed. Bowie State will sit at the No. 5 seed with Elizabeth City State at No. 6.
Men’s Northern Division:
1) Virginia State University
2) Bluefield State University
3) Lincoln University (PA)
4) Virginia Union University
5) Bowie State University
6) Elizabeth City State University
In the Men’s Southern Division, Fayetteville State takes the top spot for the 4th straight season. Claflin comes in at No. 2 for the second straight season with an 8-2 divisional record, and Johnson C. Smith grabbed the third spot after concluding the season with a .500 record. After a head-to-head point differential tiebreaker, Livingstone claims the No. 4 spot over Shaw University at the No.5 spot. Winston-Salem State rounds out the Southern Division at the No. 6 spot.
Men’s Southern Division:
1) Fayetteville State University
2) Claflin University
3) Johnson C. Smith University
4) Livingstone College
5) Shaw University
6) Winston-Salem State University
The first men’s game of the 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. when Livingstone takes on Bowie State. The full bracket can be found here.
In the women’s northern division, Virginia State came out on top with a near-perfect 9-1 divisional record after defeating rival Virginia Union in their final regular season game.
The Panthers, however, were close behind, as they’re locked into the second seed after posting an 8-2 divisional record on the season.
Bowie State rounds out the top three of the northern division, as they finished with an above-.500 record at 6-4. Lincoln (PA) and Bluefield State come in next, respectively. The Lions take the fourth seed thanks to a +8 point differential over the Big Blue, who claim the fifth seed, while Elizabeth City State takes the sixth seed in the division at 1-9.
Women’s Northern Division:
1) Virginia State University
2) Virginia Union University
3) Bowie State University
4) Bluefield State University
5) Lincoln University (PA)
6) Elizabeth City State University
In the southern portion of the women’s division, reigning champions Fayetteville State finished where they left off, as their 9-1 record propelled them to the top spot. Livingstone, who showed much improvement from last year’s fifth-seed finish, jumped up all the way to the two seed, boasting a 7-3 record in the division.
Claflin rounds out the top three, as they finished with a record above .500, coming in at 6-4 in the division. The Bears of Shaw University are in possession of the fourth seed at 4-6, while Johnson C. Smith and Winston-Salem State’s divisional records have them as the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively. The Golden Bulls finished ahead of the Rams thanks to a +1 point differential.
Women’s Southern Division:
1) Fayetteville State University
2) Livingstone College
3) Claflin University
4) Shaw University
5) Johnson C. Smith University
6) Winston-Salem State University
The first women’s game of the 2025 CIAA Basketball Tournament will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. when Bluefield State takes on Johnson C. Smith. The full bracket can be found here.
All 22 games will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and the championship games will also be shown on ESPNU.
Courtesy: CIAA
