The decision includes 10 neutral site championships this academic school year, which means relocating the conference football title game that was scheduled for Charlotte in December.
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The championships to be relocated are in women’s soccer, football, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf and baseball.
“The ACC Council of Presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount”, Swofford said in a statement after the ACC’s announcement on Wednesday.
The NCAA fallout continues in North Carolina due to its transgender bathroom law, or House Bill 2.
The ACC did not give a date for when the conference will announce the new locations. It only has a few weeks to find a new home for an upcoming women’s soccer championship, and the football championship game – which broke attendance records previous year – is scheduled to kick off on December 3.
Previously, the National Basketball Association relocated its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte to New Orleans.
Another North Carolina Republican legislator is raising the prospect of repealing a law about LGBT rights that’s caused the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference to pull championships from the state this week. North Carolina is considered the home of the ACC. “The ACC and NCAA announcements are an attempt to force the State of North Carolina to sacrifice our children’s safety on the altar of political correctness, and legislators who voted to stop this trend should think twice before they abandon our children”.
The ACC’s decision comes the same week as a similar move by the NCAA.
“We hope this action will lead to productive dialogue and actions that will enable neutral-site championships to return to the state in the future”, U.Va. athletic director Craig Littlepage said.
Malvin Williams-Tyson, while shopping for Florid State University gear at Gator, Seminole Knight Fever in Orlando, told Channel 9 she wants the ACC championship to be in Orlando.
According to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the ACC Football Championship has had an economic impact on the city of over $63 million the last two seasons, with over $32 million in direct spending.
This action by the ACC is the latest in a steady stream of public and business backlash against the law.
“Certainly, the president agrees with the values that were articulated by the leaders of both the ACC and the NCAA when they talked about their commitment to equality and justice for every American”, Earnest said.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford emphasized that while not everyone agrees with the decision, it was one the league had to make.
A statement sent from the Durham Bulls read, in part, “We understand the conference’s position, and support our partner’s decision to remove those championships from North Carolina”.
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Monday, NCAA officials said they were relocating seven championships scheduled to be played in the state, including the men’s basketball first- and second-round matchups scheduled for March in Greensboro.
