Goodbye, CIAA

The Rams basketball team will compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) conference in 2009-2010, Chico Caldwell, the university’s athletic director, confirmed in a recent interview.”Not only will student athletes gain more national exposure but WSSU will also receive nationwide coverage,” Caldwell said. “And also I think that the student body will take more interest in the games being played, which will result in more student support in the athletic activities here on campus. I also think that it may also help our music department with the marching band.” Caldwell said the overall process will take five years. Starting with the application process in December 2004/ January 2005. The exploratory year within the Divison-1-AA process, will begin fall of 2005.Although the Rams are in the process of changing conferences it will not affect their chances of competing in the CIAA championships during the current academic year or the academic year of 2005-2006. Caldwell said the change will be beneficial to everyone involved with the athletic department, as well as the student body. The change from the CIAA conference to the MEAC conference is more than just about playing the game, but also about the financial status of the athletic programs. By changing over to a Division 1-AA conference, the school will gain more financial support, which will result in more recruitment of talented athletes. “Yes, there will be student increases in fees, however if I am able to bring in more money for one game then its not as much strain put on student fees,” Caldwell said. Caldwell keeps records on game revenue, and figures are based on how many people attend a game and how many actually spent money. The operational cost for games increases 3 percent to 5 percent every year, but the revenue from the athletic games have not increased. So the switch to MEAC not only promises to boost revenues, but also to attract more student athletes, as well as help current athletes achieve their full potential. Senior Nicole Eason, a member of the Lady Rams basketball team, supports the switch. “I think that the switch will help the school gain more students and national recognition,” she said. “I think it will also help expand the department through finances which will also help in the long run with recruitment.”