Shaw University has a rich athletic history dating back from the 1900s all the way to the present. Notable alumni athletes that had gone on to play professionally are Charlie Brandon, Van Green, James Smith, Ronald Murray, and Julius Gregory. The Shaw men sports teams are known as “The Bears” and the women’s teams are known as “The Lady Bears”. Shaw University has also been a dedicated partner and co-founder of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament founded in 1912 with Shaw University President H.P. Hargreave as one of the founding leaders, which mostly consists of historically Black colleges and universities. Shaw University has won a total of sixty CIAA titles, with Men’s Tennis winning the highest overall with fourteen titles, with Women’s Basketball in second place winning a total of ten titles, including the University's’ first ever national championship title in the 2011-2012 season and have won the championship four years in a row twice (2003-2006) and (2011-2014).