In early April, alumni, football fans, students, parents, professors and even representatives of some other football programs filled the bleachers to watch the second annual Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Flag Football Championship.
Cheering and chants charged the air on a sunny, 80-degree Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, at Johnson C. Smith's football field. Starting with seven teams the day before, the tournament came down to Fayetteville State versus Winston-Salem State in the championship game.
In the final minutes, Fayetteville State had the opportunity to score and take the lead.
As the Broncos launched the ball downfield, Winston-Salem State sophomore Paige Bowman rose above her opponent and intercepted the pass. She ran half the field, denying Fayetteville State and sealing Winston-Salem State's second straight CIAA championship.
Paige Bowman makes the game-winning interception to give Winston-Salem State its second straight CIAA championship. (Photo by Keith Quick / Winston-Salem State)
When the buzzer sounded, the fans rushed on the field. "The crowd was ecstatic. They were cheering and just as happy as us, like they were out there winning the championship," Bowman said.
"For me, it felt like a fairy tale."
Bowman celebrates after the championship game as teammates rush onto the field. (Photo by Keith Quick / Winston-Salem State)
CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker seeks to create more of those storybook moments for student-athletes in the Division II historically Black college and university conference. With flag football recently receiving a recommendation to become an NCAA championship sport and being projected to see its first NCAA championship in 2028, conference tournaments like the CIAA's are building toward the future and excitement of the growing sport. And of course, the CIAA is doing so with its own HBCU flair.
"We do everything in culture, community, food, fun and fan. That's what we do with CIAA in HBCU culture," McWilliams Parker said.
But the CIAA tournament's impact also echoes beyond an enjoyable weekend.
"I see it as a place where Black and brown girls can play. They can see CIAA is a pathway to get their education, cultural experience and play the game in the CIAA. That's a big deal," McWilliams Parker said.
"Girls want to play. … The young women who are currently playing at our institutions, some never even thought about being able to play in college. Now they have their opportunity."
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams Parker (left) greets a flag football team at the conference tournament. (Photo by Keith Quick / Winston-Salem State)
Destiny O'Neal helped create that opportunity to play collegiate flag football for herself and others at Johnson C. Smith.
Destiny O'Neal carries the ball in a game during the inaugural year of Johnson C. Smith's flag football team in 2024-25. (Photo courtesy of Destiny O'Neal)
O'Neal never pictured herself attending college, but after falling in love with flag football in high school, she didn't want to stop playing. When she toured Johnson C. Smith's campus, she asked her guide if there was a flag football team. There wasn't, but he encouraged her to pursue creating one herself.
As a freshman in 2024-25, O'Neal set up meetings with Johnson C. Smith's athletics director and president. She set up a table at the club fair. She held tryouts and built a roster. The tour guide she had on her campus visit coached the first year. Once the team became established and part of the CIAA, O'Neal stepped away from organizational duties to focus solely on playing.
When O'Neal, who will be a junior in the fall, reflects on the journey, she has one word: unrealistic.
"It's only unrealistic because I really didn't think I would come to college. I didn't think it would actually happen and we'd actually become a sport," she said. "I came to college. I started a team. No one was expecting this. It just keeps pushing me on. It keeps motivating me."
O'Neal's teammate Jamya Covington said joining the flag football program positively shaped her college experience.
"I joined Smith's flag program because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself," said Covington, who was named the team's Most Valuable Player during the 2025-26 season. "It gave me structure, lifelong friendships and a sense of belonging on campus. It helped me grow as a leader and build confidence."
Johnson C. Smith hosted the CIAA flag football tournament. The Golden Bulls (shown here after a practice) fell in a four-overtime game in the opening round. (Photo courtesy of Anika Harris)
While these young women build toward the creation of an NCAA championship in the future, they take pride in leading flag football's growth in the present.
"Flag football becoming an NCAA sport will not only set a pathway for greatness for other individuals, but it will also show the history that we made," Winston-Salem State's Akeylah James said. "We started from the ground up. Seeing it grow past the CIAA and growing NCAA would mean a lot because future players can succeed on the path we started, and it will give them the opportunity to go further.
"We started from nothing and made it something," James added. "As an HBCU, we're leading the charge. We continue to set the groundwork, set the tone and set the space for flag football players across the country. It's just history in the making."
Winston-Salem State's Akeylah James runs the ball during a game. (Photo by Keith Quick / Winston-Salem State)
