BALTIMORE — The 2026 CIAA Tournament has officially tipped off in Baltimore, and the action at CFG Bank Arena is just the beginning of what the city has to offer during the annual event.
Beyond the basketball, the tournament is generating more than $27 million for Baltimore and bringing with it a slate of community-focused events, including tech and financial summits, career expos and Black Restaurant Week.
Kireem Swinton, interim president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, helped bring the tournament back to the city for another year. He said the energy surrounding the event is something special.
The 2026 CIAA Tournament is generating more than $27 million for Baltimore while creating real career opportunities for HBCU student ambassadors. Here's how the city is making the most of it:
"It feels like a big family reunion," Swinton said.
He said the variety of things to do during the tournament is a welcome challenge for visitors.
"I think that many people come here and there's so much to do, they can't figure out where to go and what to do in that short amount of time. That's a good problem to have, man, and we want that because we want you to continue to come back for future years," Swinton said.
This year, the tournament is also giving HBCU student ambassadors a key role in the event. Lexi C., a Morgan State University student and intern at WEAA 88.9 FM, is one of those ambassadors and said she plans to use the opportunity to help launch her career.
"I take so much pride in it because this is actually something I really wanna do in life. I want to be an ambassador for many other companies like as I go on," Lexi C. said.
She is also using her role to spread awareness about the tournament among students at Morgan State, which is not a CIAA school.
"When I was like informing people about CIAA, since Morgan State specifically isn't a CIAA school, they're just like what is that? So I hope like if they see me down there, see me having a good time, everyone else will also see and also wanna have a good time as well," Lexi C. said.
The tournament runs through February 28.
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