NCAA: Organization pulls plug on 7 championships in NC, including D2 baseball World Series

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 14, 2016 9:57 AM

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Don't count on seeing an NCAA championship in North Carolina in 2017.

The NCAA closed all roads to the Old North State.

The collegiate sports' Board of Governors announced the decision in opposition to state law HB2 -- a bill that directly discriminates against the LGBTQ community regarding a number of issues.

Though the main premise of HB2 concerns use of public restrooms through legal gender on a birth certificate, the law also provides legal protections for government officials to refuse services to the LGBTQ community.

Local laws that protect the civil rights of LGBTQ members are invalidated by North Carolina law.

The board said the removal of national championship events from the state is a "decision consistent with the NCAA's long-standing core values of inclusion, student-athlete well-being and creating a culture of fairness."

HB2 has trickled down to the University of Mount Olive.

The Trojans and the Town of Cary have co-hosted the NCAA Division II College World Series at the USA National Baseball Training Complex in Cary. That eight-year run is over.

"We understand the NCAA's decision, but we are very disappointed to not host the baseball championship this year," said Jeff Eisen, vice president for athletics at UMO. "UMO continues its philosophy of maintaining a commitment to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination plus safeguards the dignity of every individual.

"We've had a great run of hosting eight years with rave reviews from fans and teams each year, and hope to have the opportunity to host again in the future."

Six additional championships face relocation -- Division I women's soccer, Division III men's and women's soccer, Division I men's basketball championship (first and second rounds), Division I women's golf, Division III men's and women's tennis and Division I women's lacrosse. The NCAA has not made a decision regarding the ACC football championship Dec. 3 in Charlotte.

The loss of those events are expected to cost the Triangle area and Greensboro tourism industries millions of dollars in revenue. Just the first- and second-round NCAA basketball games were projected to bring more than $30 million to North Carolina.

Less than six months ago, the NBA pulled the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte and awarded it to New Orleans when current North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed HB2 into law.

Until a year ago, the NCAA had banned all championship-sanctioned events in South Carolina until government officials conceded to take down the Conferedate Flag from the state house.

When protests against racial stereotyping began in the mid-1970s, officials from Stanford University changed the school's nickname from Indians to the Cardinal.

"The NCAA Constitution clearly states our values of inclusion and gender equity, along with the membership's expectation that we as the Board of Governors protect those values for all," said Jay Lemons, Susquehanna (PA) University president, vice chair of the Board of Governors and chair of the ad hoc community on diversity and inclusion.

"Our membership comprises many different types of schools - public, private, secular, faith-based -- and we believe this action appropriately reflects the collective will of that diverse group."

One Republican state senator said the NC legislature should consider repealing the law due to the backlash that has created too many "unintended effects."

Instead, McCrory issued a retaliatory statement saying the NCAA showed "disrespect" when it moved tournament and championship games out of the state. He added that litigation regarding HB2 should be allowed to take its course without "economic threats or political retaliation. (The NCAA) failed to do that at the expense of North Carolina student-athletes and hard-working men and women."

(Editor's note: The University of Mount Olive Media Relations Department and the Associated Press contributed to this story).