The First African American Woman to Lead the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Jacqie Carpenter was named commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which has 12 member institutions including 11 historically Black colleges and universities. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association was founded in 1912 as the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association and is the oldest African-American athletic conference in the nation.

Carpenter is the first African American woman to be named commissioner of the conference. She was an executive with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and most recently was a member of the leadership team directing the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament, one of the nation’s most popular sporting events.

Carpenter is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia, where she majored in psychology and played volleyball and basketball. She holds a master’s degree in sports management and administration from Temple University in Philadelphia.