The NCAA announced it will pull all championship events from the state.
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The rationale provided by the NCAA included points describing how “the dynamic in North Carolina is different from that of other states”.
“Throughout the Commonwealth there are different regions that have facilities and infrastructure to host NCAA championship events”, Casey wrote in his letter.
That was very clear in the NCAA’s statement, which gave four reasons North Carolina was being singled out.
McQueen says, “It was basically formed in North Carolina so there’s a strong bond between the state of North Carolina and ACC basketball so the impact is going to be pretty big”. Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites.
The ACC football championship, which was to be played December 3 at Bank of America Stadium, had been expected to draw tens of thousands of fans and pour millions of dollars into Charlotte’s economy.
“We appreciate that the ACC shares our commitment to creating an inclusive atmosphere for all, but we regret that today’s decision will penalize affected host communities and fans throughout the state”, UNC-system President Margaret Spellings said in a statement.
Virginia and Virginia Tech issued statements supporting the decision.
The ACC and NCAA chose to take away championships because of House Bill 2, which in part stops local governments from passing broad ordinances protecting sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We’re interested in all of the NCAA championships as well as the ACC championships that we have facilities to house those events”, said Rick Catlett, President and CEO of the Jacksonville Sports Council. “North Carolina is resilient”.
The NCAA announced it was removing all of its neutral-site championships from the Tar Heel state Monday in response to the bill. The events were removed because of the state’s controversial House Bill 2. I was against HB2 all along due to the discrimination. The ACC is headquartered in nearby Greensboro, which is also where early rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament would have been held in March.
“Governor Pat McCrory and his allies in the legislature have repeatedly refused to listen and to learn, putting discrimination above the well-being of their state”. Events scheduled to take place on campus sites in North Carolina, whether now scheduled or not, will be allowed to remain at their location.
After months of nearly no movement from Republicans in the state legislature over any modifications to HB2 – other than restoring the right to sue for employment discrimination in state court – at least two state Senators are now calling for action.
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“The [Chamber] is disappointed to be losing the ACC baseball tournament, however we understand and respect the ACC’s hard decision to move the locations of these championships”, the organization said in a statement.
