Jacqie McWilliams became the first female commissioner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 2012. As the first African American female commissioner in the NCAA, McWilliams is a sought after speaker and is recognized on a local, regional, and national level. She has served on numerous boards, and currently sits on Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards, John B. McLendon Foundation Board, NCAA Board of Governor’s Cultural Diversity Committee, Hampton Nation Advisory Board, M&F Advisory Board and the Black Enterprise Charlotte Convention Steering Committee.  She is active in her church community and chairs the HBCU initiative committee for the Crown Jewel’s LINKS of Charlotte, of which she is a member.

The CIAA conference, based in Charlotte, N.C., consists of 13 Division II institutions. Twelve of those schools are historically black colleges and universities. The annual CIAA basketball tournament, the largest of 16 CIAA championships in a variety of sports, features 22 men’s and women’s games in the same week. It generates more than $55 million in economic impact for the host city. McWilliams earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Hampton University, where she played basketball and volleyball. She earned a master’s in sports management and administration from Temple University and went on to work as a college coach and administrator for the NCAA.