FIFTY YEARS, ONE LEGACY: JACQIE MCWILLIAMS-PARKER AND THE HEART OF CIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BY ROB KNOX
F ifty years of the CIAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, it’s a milestone that means more to Jacqie McWilliams-Parker than words could ever express. While sitting courtside, shaking hands with tournament sponsors, and hugging old friends during an opening round basketball game, you see it in the way her smile stretches wider than the Atlantic Ocean, in the lightness of her step, in the way her words spill out, unable to contain the sheer joy bubbling inside her.
For McWilliams-Parker, this moment is weaved into every fabric of her journey, from her days as a two-sport student- athlete at Hampton to the years spent coaching and shaping young athletes at Virginia Union to now, standing at the helm of the nation’s oldest historically Black conference as the first female to serve as commissioner for the CIAA. Every chapter led to the golden anniversary that was celebrated this past February at Baltimore’s CFG Arena under the leadership of McWilliams-Parker, who, when she stepped into the role in 2012, was the first appointed African-
American female commissioner representing NCAA Division I, II, and III. But this moment, celebrating 50 years of the CIAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, is different. It’s not just about history; it’s also about the future. It’s a long-overdue investment in women’s sports that is finally happening with intention and urgency. As the CIAA Tournament celebrated this historic milestone, it was a special tribute to the dreams fulfilled, the barriers broken, and the generations of women who built something
bigger than the game itself, including McWilliams-Parker, who is part of the amazing story. “There’s been tremendous growth for women’s basketball in our conference, but obviously in the nation,” McWilliams Parker shared. “I’m excited, and part of it is because I’m part of this legacy, and so I’ve experienced it as a coach, a player, and now as a leader. To be able to bring it full circle to tell her story is a pretty significant job to do, but it has to happen, right?” She doesn’t just understand the legacy of CIAA women’s basketball; she’s lived it, fought
This was more than a celebration. It was personal.
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