Virginia State University is crossing HBCU conference lines to give its men’s tennis program something it has been missing: a conference championship to chase.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced Friday that Virginia State men’s tennis will join the SIAC as an affiliate member beginning with the 2026-27 season.
The move takes one Virginia State program outside of its traditional home in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and into another of the nation’s historic NCAA Division II HBCU conferences.
For the Trojans, however, the move is more about opportunity than rivalry.
Virginia State finds championship home in SIAC
The CIAA does not currently sponsor men’s tennis, although it does sponsor a women’s tennis championship. The conference’s 2026-27 championship calendar includes women’s tennis April 23-24, but no men’s tennis championship.
That has left Virginia State’s men competing without a conference championship opportunity despite the university’s longstanding CIAA membership.
There is also plenty of history attached to the sport at VSU. Virginia State’s athletics records credit the Trojans with a CIAA men’s tennis championship dating back to 1931, when the sport was part of the conference’s championship structure.
Joining the SIAC changes the current landscape.
“This is a great day for the tennis program and the university,” Virginia State head coach Chavez Mabry said. “The men can now not only compete at a high level but compete for a championship as a member of a conference rather than as an independent.”
The SIAC sponsored men’s tennis in 2026, with Tuskegee defeating Spring Hill to capture the conference championship and earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament. Virginia State’s addition increases the SIAC’s men’s tennis membership to five programs.
SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman welcomed Virginia State to the league.
“We are thrilled to announce that Virginia State University’s men’s tennis team will join the SIAC as an affiliate member for the 2026-27 academic year,” Holloman said. “As one of the premier athletic conferences, the SIAC provides a unique blend of deep-rooted tradition, high-level competition and increased visibility for student-athletes.”
HBCU athletics expansion has Virginia State looking beyond CIAA
The arrangement with the SIAC is not an isolated move for Virginia State.
The HBCU has become increasingly aggressive about finding conference homes for sports that fall outside the CIAA’s championship offerings.
Virginia State supports 21 sports, creating a much broader athletics portfolio than many Division II programs. Athletic director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes has previously explained that maintaining those opportunities has required VSU to build relationships with multiple conferences and governing bodies.
Men’s lacrosse competes in the Peach Belt Conference, while women’s lacrosse has competed in the Gulf South Conference. Virginia State also moved baseball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association to create postseason and championship opportunities.
Sykes described that strategy earlier this year as an effort to “expand championship opportunities” while increasing Virginia State’s national footprint and creating new recruiting pipelines.
The SIAC now becomes another piece of that strategy.
“We are grateful to Commissioner Anthony Holloman and the SIAC Council of Presidents for welcoming Virginia State as an affiliate member in men’s tennis,” Sykes said. “Joining the SIAC enhances the student-athlete experience by providing our men’s tennis student-athletes with the opportunity to compete for conference championships while also strengthening our efforts to recruit, retain and support outstanding student-athletes.”
SIAC move gives Trojans a tangible target
Virginia State returns four players under Mabry, who enters his fifth season directing the program.
The Trojans faced a challenging 2026 schedule that included Division II programs along with Division I Norfolk State. Virginia State also faced fellow HBCUs Bluefield State and Shaw during the spring.
Now those matches can lead toward something bigger.
Virginia State will make its first appearance as an SIAC affiliate at the 2026 SIAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Fall Open, scheduled for Oct. 28-30 at the South Fulton Tennis Center in South Fulton, Georgia.
For an athletic department determined to maintain opportunities across a hefty 21-sport lineup, joining another HBCU conference gives Virginia State’s men’s tennis players something they previously did not have — a conference title to play for.
