TRIBUTE TO MR. ABRAHAM MITCHELL aka Mr. CIAA
Born on Sept. 24, 1929, in Suffolk, Vir- ginia, Abraham Mitchell was originally a mortician. He began attending CIAA tournaments in the 1970s to support his nephew, Peter Mitchell, who played for Norfolk State University. Mitch- ell’s legacy as an HBCU sports legend excelled along with the growth of the CIAA tournament, which is the nation’s oldest HBCU athletic conference.
In 2016, Mr. CIAA was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame, solidifying his devotion to the reputable tradition as well as to the long-standing confer- ence itself. “So far, as long as I’ve been coming, I’ve never seen anybody wear what I wore,” Mitchell told QCity Met- ro in 2016, crediting his mother – a seamstress – as his inspiration for why he “started designing myself for CIAA,
something different each time I come.” “His fash- ion sense was extraor- dinary,” his great niece Tina Mitchell said. “He had a room for every- thing. He had a room for suits, a room for hats, a room for jewelry.” In his 2016 interview with QCity Metro,
Mitchell estimated that his home held between 300 and 400 suits, many of them self-made. Oth- ers, he said, he merely designed. Some of his suits he had given away at the urging of a nephew, he said. “Farewell to Mr. CIAA, Abraham Mitchell. This man was an iconic fig- ure of the CIAA. The sharp outfits of school’s colors during the #CIAATour- nament was impeccable. He took pic- tures with fans at games every year for over 40 years until his failing health prevented him from traveling. Mr. Mitchell passed away on January 7, 2025 in Suffolk, VA. #MrCIAA.
Abraham Mitchell (left) poses with Bowie State University President Aminta H. Breaux (photo. QCity Metro)
According to HBCU GameDay, Mr. Mitchell would change his clothes at half-time to sport both team’s colors, which eventually led to his standard status quo of wearing the school colors of all of the conference teams. Aside from the creative aspect of an all-inclu- sive wardrobe, Mitchell’s meticulously planned outfits were just as unique as they were flashy, decked down in cus- tom-made, bright suits that he some- how managed to never repeat in the years following.
Source: Washington Informer, QCityMetro.com, HBCU Sports
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