Mississippi Valley State athletic director Alecia Shields-Gadson is set to be inducted into the Alcorn State University A-Club Hall of Fame, the university said.
Shields-Gadson led Alcorn’s men’s and women’s track and field programs during the 1990s. She guided the Braves to the school’s first track and field conference championship and coached numerous Southwestern Athletic Conference champions, earning multiple SWAC Coach of the Year honors, according to Mississippi Valley State.
She later coached at Coppin State, where her athletes included NCAA championship qualifiers and All-Americans. One of her athletes, triple jumper Christina Epps, became a USA national champion and represented the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Shields-Gadson also held athletic administration positions at Alcorn State, Coppin State and Delaware State. As Delaware State’s athletic director, she led initiatives to expand opportunities for women, including the establishment of what the university described as the nation’s first NCAA Division I women’s varsity wrestling program.
Her national service included a seat on the NCAA Division I Council and chairing NCAA committees focused on championship administration, diversity and student-athlete opportunities.
Mississippi Valley State named Shields-Gadson its athletic director in July 2025. She is the second woman to hold the position in the university’s history, the school said. The university said her priorities include student-athlete development, competitive success and institutional growth.
A New Orleans native, Shields-Gadson competed in track and field at Southern University and was a SWAC champion. She earned a master’s degree from Alcorn State and a doctorate in educational leadership from Delaware State.
