RFC Summer Semester--Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division II)

What it is: With a history dating back nearly a century, to 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, or CIAA for short, is a conference consisting mainly of historically black colleges & universities, or HBCU's. Two of its current members, Livingstone College and Biddle University (now Johnson C. Smith University), played the first football game between two African-American institutions. Two other current members, St. Augustine's (N.C.) and St. Pauls (Va.), had lengthy periods without football. More recently, Chowan (N.C.) was admitted to the CIAA as the conference's first non-HBCU member, in 2008. One of the conference's original members, Lincoln (Pa.), was re-admitted to the league just two years ago.

Currently, the league's membership stretches from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, with schools in Maryland and Virginia sandwiched in between.

Website: http://www.theciaa.com/

Predicted order of finish (2009 overall record in parentheses, projected conference champion in BOLD type).

1. Fayetteville State (8-4): The Broncos advanced to the 2009 NCAA Division II playoffs as the CIAA champions, losing to California (Pa.), 42-14, in the first round.

2. Shaw (8-2): Close, heartbreaking losses to Bowie State (31-24) and Fayetteville State (29-28) kept the Bears from an undefeated regular season.

3. Bowie State (6-5): The Bulldogs started last season 6-2 before losing three straight games to end the 2009 season.

4. Elizabeth City State (7-4): The Vikings finished an "up-and-down" season with a 21-7 loss to Tuskegee in the Pioneer Bowl.

5. Virginia Union (6-4): The Panthers hope to take a giant step towards a CIAA championship in 2010.

6. St. Augustine's (4-6): The Falcons won three of their last four games to finish 4-3 in CIAA action.

7. St. Paul's (4-5): The Tigers downed Lincoln (Pa.), 16-6, to end an otherwise disappointing season on a high note.

8. Johnson C. Smith (3-7): The Golden Bulls were outscored 140-43 during a season-ending, four-game losing streak. That included a 50-0 rout by Shaw in the 2009 finale.

9. Chowan (2-8): The Hawks look to soar after a 2-5 finish in CIAA play last season.

10. Lincoln (Pa.)--(3-7): The Lions look forward to their first full season of CIAA action in 2010.

11. Livingstone (0-10): The Blue Bears and their faithful found themselves singing the blues after a winless season in 2009.

RFC Contacts:

E-mail: realfootballcentral@gmail.com

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