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Dr.

BREAUX: Baltimore doesn't just host the CIAA in Baltimore, Baltimore embraces it.

MAYOR SCOTT: Most of our most famous athletes in Baltimore, with the exception of Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken, are basketball players.

We are a basketball town.

KIREEM SWINTON: I'm proud to host this tournament.

It is what I call a complete love fest.

STUDENT: It's definitely about community.

We're all a big family.

A great time just to get off campus and see your school win.

♪ NANCY: Excitement is building for the 2026 CIAA basketball tournament in Charm City.

It tips off in just three days, and we've got you covered.

Hi, everybody.

I'm Nancy Yamada.

Welcome to the MPT Sports Desk.

There's a lot of hoop action on the way, but this event is much more than just a basketball tournament.

As Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker says, the CIAA is a community, a reunion, and a family.

McWILLIAMS PARKER: Our theme this year is "Come home to Baltimore," so you will see that everywhere.

It reflects not only the tradition, but the sense of belonging and partnership we have found in the Charm City.

NANCY: The host school of the CIAA tournament is Bowie State University, the oldest HBCU in Maryland.

More now from the president of the school, Dr.

Aminta Breaux.

Dr.

BREAUX: It is far more than just about basketball.

It is a celebration of culture, of education, opportunity, and most importantly about community, because we bring that HBCU love, and you might get a hug or two while you're there.

The basketball tournament in the city is one element, a very important element, but there's so much more to come out and enjoy throughout the week.

From the CIAA community From the community experience, the steps show and much more.

Our bands are out there.

Come out and there's nothing like an HBCU band.

If you've never seen one in person, I'd invite you to come on out and join in the festivities.

NANCY: Let's take a closer look now at some of the festivities surrounding the tournament.

The financial literacy breakfast is set for Tuesday, the 24th at the Baltimore Convention Center beginning at 8 a.m.

Wednesday is High School Education Day, also at the Convention Center from 10:00 to 1 p.m., and Thursday, the career expo will take place at the Convention Center from 10:00 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

For a complete look at the schedule and everything about the tournament, go to CIAAtournament.org.

So how does the tournament land here?

Visit Baltimore, the city's official tourism organization, plays a key role in bringing the event to Baltimore.

Let's hear from interim president and CEO Kireem Swinton about the tournament that will call Baltimore home for the next three years.

SWINTON: Our current contract is through '26, but we received an extension by going down and presenting to the presidents and the board in order to extend us through 2029 to be the host of CIAA.

And I can tell you, we couldn't be happier to host this tournament and prouder to host this tournament.

It is what I call a complete love fest of people coming into the city.

Those that enjoy basketball, but also camaraderie, fellowship, and then other things like networking and also career opportunities.

So in Baltimore, the reason I really love this, Nancy, is because I've been with this tournament for a very long time as a person that attended, and the difference here in Baltimore that I've seen in other destinations, not that they did a bad job or anything, but we really also have a component that really caters to the students as well.

So for us and the importance of the HBCU presidents and all the alumni that are coming, we have career fairs, Education Day, we have youth clinics to take care of young kids.

I think there are a lot of other opportunities that they get to have by coming into Baltimore that they haven't had in other places because we try to tie basketball, HBCU excellence that they have, and community all together as a partner.

And that's the reason that Baltimore is a perfect place for this because that's what we try to do and take care of all the people that come into our city for any event, but especially for CIAA.

We're excited about it.

NANCY: Let's talk about the youth component.

I've been to some of the clinics before.

And the feeling I'm getting is, let's get them here, let's let them experience things, and the goal isn't necessarily to make sure that they're playing basketball in college, but it's a gateway to other things.

SWQINON: Oh, absolutely.

So I did not attend a CIAA school, but I am an HBCU grad.

Most HBCU students, most of them are first generation to even go through college.

And a lot of times you're trying to navigate spaces where you just don't know what to do or you don't have enough mentors in order to help you out.

Well, this gives them an opportunity to meet other people where we all know networking is education, but then also to meet alumni and talk to them about the pride that they have in their schools and also the pride of being a part of an HBCU experience.

So for us in particular, again, Baltimore tries to tie into that because we really believe this next generation is going to be phenomenal.

I'm a dad of two HBCU students.

One will be an HBCU student next year.

One is also a CIAA student athelete right now, and there's just a pride that's instilled in them, but I always tell them that the more people you meet, the more you engage with folks, you really can set up your future in a nice way.

I think that the activities that we have allow them to do that.

Whereas, you know, in other places they were coming to games, they were going to events that were more fun based that didn't have the educational opportunities for them.

So now we have that in Baltimore.

We plan to continue it and even grow it possibly in the future.

nancy: For the visitors, what speaking, how long do they stay and are they dropping money while they're here in Baltimore?

SWINTON: Oh, absolutely.

So since we've had the tournament in 2020, we've produced about over $100 million in economic impact for the region, which is phenomenal, because when you do that, you're talking about huge job creation.

I tell the story all the time.

We have a gentleman that works at one of our hotels.

I used to work in Marriott hotels here years ago, and he was there as a bellman.

And when I was at CIAA last year, I saw him during the day with one uniform for one hotel, and then in the afternoon, the other hotel he used to work at where we worked together, he walked across the street and put on that uniform.

And that just shows the impact of what we can do for the associates that are here and the staff that are working at these properties.

So the $100-plus million is awesome.

But also in Baltimore, what's a differentiator with us is we raise scholarship funds for these students and these HBCUs that are coming here.

So I think this year our goal obviously is $1.7 million in order to raise so these HBCU students can have more opportunity because some of them just don't have the funding in order to remain in school, and we think that that's a travesty because they are the next generation leaders for us.

NANCY: For those who may not be familiar with Baltimore, what would you recommend that a visitor would see, experience while they're here?

SWINTON: Well, that's a hard because there's so much and not enough time for that to answer.

But I will say this.

I want people to know they need to come into the tournament.

They need to actually fill the seats of the games because the money that comes from the tournament actually goes back to the schools, which ultimately goes back to the HBCU students that are here, and we feel like that's very important.

So we want people to fill seats.

And then when you come in, it's not just about basketball.

Like I said before, it is something that is so special that makes you feel warm, fuzzy, but a safe space for most people that are coming in because it is what I would consider again a love fest.

So first I'll tell you to fill the seats, and then after that you need to go out and enjoy some of the other things we have to offer.

When it comes to the city, we have a wonderful dining scene, we have an awesome arts and culture scene.

If no one has seen it, Amy Sherald's exhibit is actually taking place right now at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and it is phenomenal.

Don't miss it if you can get to it while you're here.

But we have a number of attractions.

Reginald F. Lewis Museum, which is a history African American museum that we have here, B&O Railroad, which we know has been for years an institution that we love and one that we have continuous people come and join in by attending there.

And there's a huge story about B&O if you don't know it.

So I think that we have arts, culture, entertainment, but we definitely have a great food scene as well, and people need to check out the best crab cakes they'll ever have in their life.

NANCY: Swinton says while they're here, many attendees are making it a point to support Black-owned businesses.

SWINTON: For us, we see CIAA, they're very intentional and Baltimore is very intentional about putting together this BoP Pass we call it, bop down the street.

It's slang for finding places to actually go.

So we put together a black-own business directory.

That Black-owned business directory is an intentional piece for people to support our small, minority-owned businesses while they're in town so we can pump money into these small businesses as much as we can.

So we try to make sure that we're intentional about that, and I think that is something that has worked so well for us.

And then, you know, when people are coming in, they want to try to support.

We have many CIAA students that now have their own business, like Jasmine with Urban Oyster, who's phenomenal, who has a phenomenal restaurant, but she's a CIAA grad, and we want people to support her and know she's here.

But also she tells a better story than I can about what it means to be a part of CIAA because she's been part of it for years.

NANCY: And it says a lot that a lot of the students who graduate from some of the local CIAA schools, they end up staying in this area and, as you said, contributing to the economy, opening up businesses, that sort of thing.

SWINTON: Absolutely.

I always say it starts with the visit.

I've never been to a place before and I just say, "You know what?

I think I'm just going to move there and live there."

Baltimore is definitely a place where you come and we always say you won't know until you get here.

So we like to bring in these 30-plus thousand people into the city not just to enjoy themselves during that time, but also be ambassadors so people come back.

Our ultimate goal is to get and grow our economy while creating jobs and also getting people to possibly live here because we want you to be here for the long term.

And that's why I said again focusing on next generation.

I know a number of young people that went to school with my daughter and go there now that consider moving to Baltimore.

But until they started to find spaces that were for them in downtown Baltimore and across the neighborhoods that we have, because we have over 200 neighborhoods, they're finding experiences and curating experiences to tell other people about, which is great and fantastic, but they'll be the people that live here and are Baltimoreans for years and years to come.

NANCY: What do you want people to know about Baltimore?

Because, you know, sometimes nationally you hear the stories and people have preconceived opinions about Baltimore.

But what would you like people to know about it?

SWINTON: I always say, Nancy, Baltimore is a vibe.

People will spend more money right now on experiences than they do goods for sure.

And I tell people all the time that you really won't know it until you get here.

Just phone a friend if you can.

Fifty percent of our travelers that come in phone family and friends in order to come in.

Talk to someone from Baltimore.

We need our Baltimore ambassadors to be loud and proud.

But we're a prideful place, but we're also a safe space.

I've never been in a location before where I felt like I belong there in every neighborhood I go in, and this is a place that I do feel like that.

And people always ask me about perception and safety and security, those things.

My daughter lives in downtown.

She's five minutes from my office.

I would never - this is the most precious thing to me in my life - I would never put her in a situation where I didn't feel comfortable.

So if you can tell people real-life experiences that you have, I think it resonates with them so they feel more comfortable.

Once they come here, again, when they leave, I love to say two things: One is, you won't know until you get here, and then two is I told you so.

NANCY: One week from tonight, the men and women champions will becrowned.

What's it like on championship Saturday for the teams that make it that far?

Some perspective from a former NCAA champion and the CIAA commissioner, Jacqie McWilliams Parker.

COMMISSIONER JACQIE McWILLIAMS PARKER: I get excited about every single day, but as a former athlete in the CIAA that did not win the CIAA championship and won a national championship, that Saturday championship day and crowning and giving that award to the men's and the women's team is something special, because what we know is that all the work that we did for that entire week was based on what we're doing to end the week on that Saturday.

So that excites me.

NANCY: Speaking of excitement, here's some Bowie State University students getting ready for the weeklong celebration.

STUDENT: I'm definitely excited for the CIAA tournament.

I'm in Symphony of Soul Marching Band here at Bowie State, so we get to go out to the tournament, cheer on the team, you know, and enjoy ourselves, entertain the crowd, and yeah, just commemorate the event for this CIAA tournament.

STUDENT: I'm so, so excited for the tournament.

I actually transferred here in the spring of my freshman year, and that's the first team event I went to, and it was so much fun seeing all the different schools and then seeing how competitive everyone was.

STUDENT: I do feel like CIAA brings people together, but it also allows people to make connections, network, talk to other people you don't know.

It's just not about basketball, basically.

It's about networking, being able to talk to people, getting new ideas, new views, different aspects, just all around.

It's like, like I said, like a family-orientated kind of event, so it doesn't really matter where you're from.

STUDENT: The CIAA tournament was a really great memory for me and my friends when we were here last spring semester.

It was a great time just to get off campus, just to see your school win and do great things and just to feel the community.

Even from the rival schools there still was a community.

It was never a bad time.

You get to see all the other bands and the other people.

You just get to play your music and stuff like that.

It's a really fun experience.

STUDENT: I like basketball.

I've seen our basketball team.

They do amazing things, so I'm really actually happy about the tournament.

More excited for the band.

Like, I'm not going to lie, the basketball teams have actually been doing phenomenal this season.

They've actually been on a great win streak, but I say my favorite part is always going to be the band.

It's really just like the music behind it, them showing up and them having the spirit.

NANCY: She's a WNBA legend, philanthropist, and this year's ambassador for the CIAA tournament.

Here now is Sonia Chase about her role and enthusiasm for the games.

CHASE: I am ecstatic about this opportunity.

First of all, to represent and be chosen by the CIAA and Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker as the official ambassador for the 2026 Food Lion CIAA men's and women's basketball championship tournament is beyond what I can ever imagine.

For me, the CIAA tournament represents more than just basketball.

It's really about culture, community, and really creating pathways for future leaders.

So to serve as an ambassador, an official ambassador for this tournament is deeply meaningful, not just as a former student athlete - obviously I've lived what they're going through - but also as a professional player, professional athlete that has lived this.

And certainly so many avenues.

And so for me, being someone who is committed to using sports as a vehicle for opportunity and education and lasting impact, for me to be able to pass that along as an example to these young people is something that I'm very proud of.

So I'm honored, and I want to help to celebrate the legacy, really, of the CIAA and inspire the next generation.

NANCY: What will you be doing as ambassador?

CHASE: I will be obviously attending the games because a sold ticket is extremely important, right, and that's what the commissioner - she wants to see butts in chairs - you know, the fans.

We want you all to come out, right.

But first of all to be able to attend the games and cheer on everyone, because I am not rooting for different sides.

I'm rooting for every team that's coming in the door.

It's going to be amazing.

Also I'll have to do interviews, on-court interviews.

I'll be attending some of the lunches and other events that are going to be going on.

I understand there's a nationwide women in sport event, I believe that's going on, that I'll be attending.

So I'm just excited for the whole entire week.

It's not just the games, but it's just so filled with unbelievable opportunities to be able to talk about sports and have that great camaraderie with people.

NANCY: Well, let's talk about your storied career.

You were drafted to the WNBA in 1998.

You were drafted by the Charlotte Sting.

You also played for the Minnesota Lynx and internationally in Greece, Turkey, and China.

You were also a first-round draft pick and All-Star in the National Women's Basketball League.

You've had such an amazing career, but I want to go back a little bit, a little bit before all of this.

You were just a little girl in Baltimore.

You grew up in Baltimore and went to the University of Maryland.

Now, did you always want to play professionally or how did you end up playing professionally?

CHASE: It's a great question, and I really appreciate it because, you know, as a young person coming up in the Baltimore area, first of all, Baltimore is synonymous with sports and even specifically basketball.

So if you're from the Baltimore area, you know that basketball is near and dear.

And it's also a sport that actually saved me, right.

It's a sport that kept me off the streets and in the classroom and kept me very disciplined with working and my work ethic in terms of training.

So basketball has really helped to save my life as well as now the kids that are coming behind me, because one thing that basketball does is it creates structure, right, and opportunity.

And so that's what that did for me as a little girl coming up.

And I didn't have the teams, the mini teams to play on like the girls do now.

So I started off playing in an all-boys league.

And quite honestly, I was actually bullied by some of the boys in the neighborhood because I was really, really good.

I was talented in a sport that really only saw boys and men at the forefront.

And so, rewind that and then fast forward that to 20, 25 years later, you've seen women have really turned the corner and have role models, unlike myself, have role models to look up to.

And it's just incredible to see.

NANCY: I'd love to hear your perspective on how the WNBA and support for women's basketball in general has really changed over the years.

CHASE: So, you know, I've been asked that question a lot, especially because of what's going on with the collective bargaining agreement and that I was actually a part of the first collective bargaining agreement back in 1997-98, right, in that time frame.

I was drafted during that time.

And I was a part of a historical time because at that time it was only 96 players, and I was one of 96 players in the world, because we had players from all over the world that played in the WNBA back in '98 and moving on.

But, coming up in the WNBA, I think we've seen it turn from survival mode, I'd say, to strategy mode.

When I played in the WNBA we weren't talking about revenue share or bonuses.

We were just really focused on keeping the league alive.

We were building something that you hadn't seen before that was really unprecedented.

And the foundation really mattered because that's what we're standing on today, that foundation.

So today's conversation about pay equity - and pay equity is not just players versus the league - it's about growth alignment.

And I've been preaching that same song and dance to everyone that it's how can both sides come together so that the greater good and we can see the women back on the floor in a timely fashion here for the W. NANCY: What advice do you have for student athletes, these athletes who will be playing in the tournament?

I mean, it's a lot of pressure, and on top of that they're juggling schoolwork and trying to figure out what's next for them, right?

CHASE: I always go back to my four Ds.

I have something called my four Ds that I actually use in my foundation now and Chase Your Dreams Academy to the young people that we serve.

So my four Ds are called desire, dedication, determination, and discipline.

First, you have to have the desire to want to achieve a goal, whatever that goal is, and I always tell student athletes write your goals down, see it, make it come to fruition by writing it down and seeing it.

Once you have the desire you have to be dedicated to the task at hand because there's going to be things that try to get in your way.

There's going to be pressure from other folks that don't understand what they're going through.

And once you have the desire and you're dedicated, you have to be determined to never, ever stop because, again, obstacles are going to come their way and they have to remain focused.

The first three Ds don't matter - desire, dedication, or determination - unless you are disciplined.

And that is the structure that I'm talking about.

That is the alignment that you have to understand - the coach and the system - and buy into what they're trying to get the young student athletes to do both on and off the court.

And I always say it's not just what you do on the court, it's also what you do off the court.

It should mirror yourself.

It shouldn't be that you're one way off the court and one way on the court.

So the four Ds is what I would really share with not just the student athletes but really anyone that's in sports.

It really can help you.

NANCY: Absolutely.

Now, besides your skills on the court, you are known for your extensive volunteer work.

Tell us a little bit more about Chase Your Dreams Incorporated and Chase Your Dreams Academy.

I know that's important to you.

CHASE: Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for asking.

Now you guys get to see me get really excited.

If you thought I was excited, you're going to really see me jump out of my chair.

So Chase Your Dreams Academy was born 16 years ago in 2009.

Very quickly, it is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

And so the mission is very simple.

We harness the unifying force of sports to catalyze positive change within low-income and underserved communities.

And we do that by using sports - basketball - as the hook to get the kids' attention.

Once we have their attention, then we get them in the door.

We teach them financial literacy.

We teach them conflict resolution.

We teach them about nutrition.

So it goes beyond just being on the basketball courts.

We have different workshops that we teach them when they come to the summer camp, and these are summer camps that run year-round.

My organization has been really honored to partner with Nike and other organizations in the community to help bring these camps to fruition.

So we've been doing this for 16 years.

We've helped over 133,000 students, student athletes that have come through the program, and we just continue to grow the camps each and every year.

So, yes, I am very proud about that because guess what - someone helped me, and so now it's my time to help young people find and chase their dreams.

NANCY: Sonia Chase, thank you so much for your time.

We look forward to seeing everything you'll be doing during the CIAA tournament, and beyond.

CHASE: And if I could say one more thing, please.

SONIA for For $50 off weekend General Admission tickets.

SONIA is the special code, SONIA.

You do have to go to CIAAtournament.org and put that code in and you'll get $50 off for the weekend.

I look forward to seeing everyone, and thank you so much for your time today.

I really appreciate it.

NANCY: Thanks for watching the MPT Sports Desk.

If you're looking for information on the CIAA tournament or the events surrounding the tournament, GO to CIAAtournament.org.

Now, a final word from some excited Bowie State students.

Enjoy the game.

There's definitely about community.

Like we're all a big family here and it's so important to see all your different - even your classmates, like people who you have class with - come out and support, and it's so crazy to see everybody there.

STUDENT: I'm happy to experience it for my first time.

I'm happy to see the things that happen in it, and I'm really happy to go and just participate in it.

STUDENT: The energy's unreal.

Like it's from the marching bands playing to the exciting games, just from alumni showing up, seeing their school, supporting their school and seeing their players or reconnecting with each other.

There's like a big reunion for everybody.

♪ ♪