Following the NCAA’s decision on Monday to remove upcoming tournaments from North Carolina, the ACC followed suit, removing neutral site 2016-17 tournament games from the state.
Advertisement
While the ACC’s football championship – set to be moved from Charlotte – is the most high-profile event that will now need a new home, the ACC will also be relocating championships for women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s golf, men’s golf, and baseball. The game, which was scheduled to take place in Charlotte, will have its venue announced at a later date.
Conference officials planned to hold 14 of their 21 championship events in North Carolina this academic year, with 10 of those at neutral, off-campus, sites and the other four on the campuses of Wake Forest (field hockey), Duke (fencing), North Carolina (softball) and N.C. State (wrestling).
The law’s passage sparked a political backlash which in the last week has translated into the loss of numerous championships hosted by the NCAA and ACC.
The push comes as the ACC pulls its neutral-site championships out of North Carolina.
Critics of the law point out there is no evidence that anti-discrimination ordinances in more than 100 USA cities and states have endangered the safety of women or children. Now North Carolina is trying to hold firm on the law despite losing millions of dollars in revenue from sporting events and even companies abandoning North Carolina.
“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”, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in the statement.
House Bill 2, passed earlier this year by North Carolina’s legislature and signed by Gov. And it banned local governments from passing anti-discrimination laws of their own protecting gay and lesbian people.
The ACC will now move quickly to find alternate out-of-state locations and announce the relevant details for all eight impacted championship events in order to allow member institutions to make travel arrangements accordingly.
In April, Martinez had canceled a planned speech to North Carolina Republicans due to what she described at the time as a scheduling conflict – not the uproar over the bathroom law.
Deshaun Watson #4 of the Clemson Tigers strikes the Heisman pose as he celebrates with teammates after a winning the ACC Championship at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Advertisement
Orlando is already hosting first and second round men’s basketball championship games at the Amway Center in March of 2017. “Now, we’re an NCAA championship city and we don’t host NCAA championships”, he said.
