Abraham Mitchell, better known as ‘Mr. CIAA’ passes away at 95
The CIAA mainstay, who has been attending the weeklong basketball tournament since 1970, passed away at his home in Virginia.
It isn’t often that a fan and attendee of a college basketball tournament gets inducted into that organization’s Hall of Fame, but Abraham Mitchell was no ordinary fan. Dubbed “Mr. CIAA” for both his continued attendance and his flashy suits that matched the teams playing particular games, Mr. Mitchell passed away at his home in Suffolk, Virginia, on Jan. 7, 2025.
Beginning in 1970 when his nephew attended Norfolk State University, in Norfolk, Va., Mitchell has been an attendee of the annual basketball tournament (when his health permitted) of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association — the oldest African-American athletic conference in America — played at various locations but is most known for being centered in Charlotte, where it was played from 2006 to 2020 before moving to Baltimore since 2021.
The CIAA, which inducted Mr. Mitchell into their Hall of Fame in 2016, released this statement through their Instagram account:
“It is difficult to put into words the depth of our loss with the passing of Mr. Mitchell. Since 2018, his absence at the tournament has been profoundly felt. Mr. Mitchell will forever hold a cherished place in the CIAA family, having created countless beautiful memories for our fans, students, and partners over the span of more than four decades. As a distinguished member of the CIAA Hall of Fame, Class of 2016, his remarkable legacy will endure for generations to come. During this time of honoring and celebrating his extraordinary life, we extend our heartfelt prayers for comfort and peace to the Mitchell family.”
The news of Mitchell’s passing led to an outpouring of messages paying tribute to the CIAA legend, his personality and his suits. Sean Anderson, a sports anchor for Richmond, Virginia’s WTVR CBS 6, shared photos on X of Mitchell in various suits and suggested the CIAA could set up a shrine for the legend.
“Just received word that Mr. CIAA, Abraham Mitchell, has passed away at the age of 95!
If you attended a CIAA Tournament, you know who Mr. Mitchell. He would walk around the arenas, wearing custom made suits in the colors of all the schools in the conference! Maybe the @CIAAForLife will set up a Shrine, with his many suits, for fans to see at future CIAA Tournaments!”
One search of “MrCIAA” on either Instagram or X would return hundreds of tweets and photos of Mr. Mitchell over the years.
“RIP to a true legend. Mr.CIAA was the true king of the tourney every year.” wrote one user.
RIP to Mr. CIAA.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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