CIAA Commissioner Set to Address FSU Graduates as Spring 2024 Commencement Speaker

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Fayetteville State University is honored to announce Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker will deliver its Spring 2024 commencement address. The ceremony is Saturday, May 11 at 9 a.m. in the Crown Coliseum Complex, 1960 Coliseum Dr.

In her 12th season leading the CIAA, McWilliams-Parker has dedicated 31 years to intercollegiate athletics. She spent nearly ten years in championships at the National Collegiate Athletics Association, including the men’s and women’s Division I Basketball Tournaments. 

Her career with the CIAA began as a two-sport athlete at Hampton University, where she’s been inducted in the university’s hall of fame twice. She was a member of their 1988 NCAA Division II women’s basketball championship team. McWilliams-Parker also held various coaching and administrative roles with Virginia Union University, Norfolk State University and Morgan State University.

While working intently with the CIAA Board and membership universities to sustain the conference’s short- and long-term goals, McWilliams-Parker’s advocacy for access and opportunities for college sports, HBCUs, women, girls and boys extends beyond the CIAA. She continues to serve on numerous committees and boards that fuel her passion to make a difference, like the NCAA Gender Equity Task Force and DII Strategic Plan Committee for the Conference Commissioners Association.

The Spring 2024 Commencement doors open to guests and the general public at 7:30 a.m. Graduates and guests can park in any of the general parking areas of the Crown Complex. For more information about the commencement ceremony, visit the FSU commencement website at www.uncfsu.edu/commencement.