RALEIGH, N.C. — Shaw University's new president Clarence Newsome faces some big challenges, but he says he is ready to handle the task.

Sitting at the CIAA Tournament, he said he thinks of the people at the tournament as part of his family.

"I heard so much about it and have lived vicariously through my family because I think 99 percent of these seats are taken up by my family," he said. "The Shaw family is literally my family."

Newsome said his grandmother was on the fund-raising frontlines for Shaw University.

"I very much remember when the word came that those dorms will be built and how excited she was and how she got busy, getting me busy and others busy, selling sodas and apple pies and fish dinners to raise money for Shaw University. I'm home," he said.

The history of that home is preserved in its bricks and mortar. Historical markers stand as a tribute to the university's past. Newsome's task now is to write a new chapter, which includes growing a $12 million endowment and increasing enrollment.

"I bring the vision that we're ready. I bring that encouragement and the enthusiasm that comes with that, and I bring that kind of quiet confidence that has to do with what I call a blessed assurance that we're ready,"

Newsome said he plans to rally the Shaw faithful to start that money rolling in. He also wants to make students feel more appreciated so they will spread the word about Shaw University.

CIAA Super Saturday starts with at 8 a.m. with cheerleader exhibitions and the mens' and womens' Legends game. The CIAA fashion show will kick off at Noon. The women's basketball final starts at 5 p.m., followed by the mens' game at 8 p.m.