The 2025 CIAA football season was filled with incredible, unpredictable action, seeing each team make their mark with noteworthy wins.
Here is the most impressive performance for each CIAA team in the 2025 season.
Bluefield State: vs. Shaw
Bluefield State’s win over Shaw marked a historic achievement for the Big Blue, accounting for their first conference win since officially joining the CIAA in 2023.
This was almost not to be as, after building a 22-7 lead in the first quarter, Shaw battled back by scoring 19 unanswered points to take the lead midway through the third quarter.
However, the Big Blue kept their composure, scoring a pair of second half touchdowns, including a dagger in the fourth quarter to seal a 35-33 victory.
This was an all-around performance for Bluefield State, scoring a touchdown in all three phases and forcing the only safety of their season.
They made history once again the following week when they beat Lincoln (PA) to claim consecutive conference wins for the first time in the CIAA.
Bowie State: vs Bluefield State
The 2025 season was the worst for Bowie State in nearly 20 years, finishing 3-7 overall, including 2-6 in the CIAA.
Despite this, the Bulldogs actually played well, with only two of their six Division II losses coming by a margin of more than seven points.
Interestingly enough, their best outing came against Bluefield State, with a 42-37 win putting an end to the Big Blue’s hopes of a third straight conference win.
It was a remarkable day on the ground for the Bulldogs, racking up a season-high 270 rushing yards and six touchdowns, including 182 yards and three touchdowns by Micah Robinson.
Elizabeth City State: vs Bluefield State
Elizabeth City State ended the 2025 season about as well as any team could have, winning its last three games, scoring over 60 points in two of them.
This included a 70-30 win over Bluefield State in their season finale, the first time the Vikings had scored 70 points in a game since 2008.
They wasted no time putting points on the board as Shamar Sutton returned the opening kickoff of the game 100 yards for a touchdown.
This was the first of two 100-yard touchdowns in the game for ECSU, as Solomon Ford also returned an interception 100 yards to the house.
Meanwhile, Traquan Johnson spearheaded the Vikings’ offense, producing a season-high 192 rushing yards and five touchdowns (also a season-high).
Fayetteville State: vs Elizabeth City State
Outside of its lone conference loss against Johnson C. Smith, Fayetteville State had about as dominant a run as a team could have without qualifying for the CIAA championship game.
All six of their conference wins came by a margin of 10 points or more, including four by over 20 points.
Their conference opener against Elizabeth City State was easily their most dominant performance of the season, producing a near-perfect 51-8 win to set the tone entering their CIAA gauntlet.
They limited the Vikings to just 103 yards from scrimmage on less than two yards per play while also gaining a season-high 453 yards on offense.
The Broncos’ defense also forced four turnovers, converting two of them into touchdowns, including a muffed punt toward the end of the first quarter that allowed them to take a 21-0 lead.
If not for the Vikings scoring on a blocked punt, this would have been Fayetteville State’s largest shutout win since 2022.
Johnson C. Smith: vs Virginia Union (CIAA Championship)
Johnson C. Smith’s CIAA championship win might not be the flashiest performance statistically, but the story of its journey to the big game, coupled with the action on the field, defines what makes it so impressive.
During the 2024 season, the Golden Bulls were riding a hot streak, winning their first eight games and needing only one more to clinch a berth in the conference title game.
However, the team ran into a buzzsaw in the final two weeks, getting shut out by Fayetteville State, then beaten by Livingstone to take them out of the running for the postseason.
Fast forward to the final two weeks of the 2025 season, and the Golden Bulls exorcised their demons, beating the two teams that dashed their conference championship hopes the previous year, including scoring a go-ahead touchdown to hand Fayetteville State its first conference loss of the year.
In the CIAA championship game, Johnson C. Smith met up against Virginia Union, who were seeking a third straight conference championship three-peat.
Those three-peat hopes were put to bed unceremoniously with a near-flawless performance from the Golden Bulls in which they beat the Panthers 45-21, claiming their first CIAA title since 1969.
In a game significant for being the most points VUU surrendered all season, quarterback Kelvin Durham was the star of the show, dealing out a career-high five touchdown passes (six touchdowns total).
Lincoln (PA): vs Bowie State
There wasn’t much to say about Lincoln (PA)’s 2025 football season, in which they finished winless for the first time since 2019.
In a forgettable year that saw them lose 7 of their 10 games by at least 20 points, their performance against Bowie State sticks out as a reminder that anything can happen on any given Saturday if the stars align.
Still seeking their first win against Bowie since joining the CIAA in 2008, the Lions came very close to getting the job done, taking a lead into the fourth quarter against them for the first time since 2010.
Lincoln produced a season-high 389 offensive yards in the only game of the year that they did not commit a turnover.
Livingstone: vs Shaw
Among Livingstone’s five wins in the 2025 season, two performances stand out for different reasons that could be categorized as their best of the year.
We could mention their best defensive showing came against Allen, in which they forced a season-high four turnovers, or their best offensive showing against Lincoln (PA) that saw them gain a season-high 378 yards from scrimmage (not including their actual season-best against Virginia University-Lynchburg).
We instead chose the Blue Bears’ most lopsided win of the season against Shaw, mowing through their opposition in a 43-13 win.
This was Livingstone’s most complete performance of the season, returning two of its three forced turnovers for touchdowns, limiting Shaw to 139 yards from scrimmage (season-best), and averaging a season-high 7.49 yards per play on offense.
Shaw: vs Winston-Salem State
Of Shaw’s two wins in 2025, their walkoff victory against Winston-Salem State takes over as the best of them.
Trailing 13-0 in the first half, the Bears scored 20 unanswered points the rest of the way, including a go-ahead touchdown to win the game with seven seconds remaining.
While their win over Lincoln (PA) was better statistically, producing a season-high 380 yards from scrimmage, this one told a better story of resilience in the face of adversity.
Virginia State: vs Norfolk State
Although Virginia State had some very good wins that would have warranted inclusion on this list, its near-upset of Norfolk State arguably did a better job of showcasing its true potential as a perennial contender.
While the Trojans were anything but fluid in this one, they had the Spartans on the ropes for much of this contest, leading 23-10 going into the fourth quarter.
Virginia State played about as clean a game as it could, with a crisp passing attack that saw two receivers (Marquis Smith and Ajevani Byrd) each record over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown.
A much-needed quarterback change by NSU and a VSU missed field goal in the waning moments kept the Spartans from suffering a loss that would have seen them end the 2025 season with a winless 0-12 mark in their first year under head coach Michael Vick.
Virginia Union: vs Bluefield State
Unfortunately for Bluefield State, Elizabeth City State was not the only team to hang 70 points on them, with Virginia Union doing so in a 70-14 destruction.
The Panthers carved the Big Blue up with 721 offensive yards, averaging over 11 yards per play, including over 19 yards per pass play.
This game is also known for Harlon Hill trophy winner Curtis Allen setting a new CIAA single-game record for rushing yards in a game (369) while adding five touchdowns.
The Panthers’ defense was also strong, limiting Bluefield State to just 14 yards per drive on their nine offensive drives in the first half.
An honorable mention to Virginia Union’s 59-7 win over Shaw, in which they tallied 633 yards, averaging over 12 yards per rush as a team.
Winston-Salem State: vs Livingstone
We end with Winston-Salem State’s 42-10 win over Livingstone, serving as one of two victories for them in the 2025 season by a margin of over 30 points.
While an argument could be made for their 51-14 win over Lincoln (PA), their win over Livingstone gets the nod for being a better defensive outing.
They limited the Blue Bears to just 3.38 yards per play (allowed 5.08 yards per play against Lincoln) while allowing them to complete just 38% of their passes.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Rams averaged 9.0 yards per play, including two different running backs recording over 130 rushing yards.
