Two days after the NCAA pulled its championships out of North Carolina in protest of the state's House Bill 2 law, the ACC followed suit and announced on Wednesday it is moving the 10 neutral-site league championships that had been scheduled in the state during the 2016-17 academic year.
That includes the conference championship game in football, which had been scheduled for Dec. 3 in Charlotte. It was unclear on Wednesday where the football championship and other league events would be played.
The ACC announced the decision after its Council of Presidents concluded its meetings in Clemson, S.C. After the NCAA's announcement, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said that House Bill 2, more commonly known as HB2, would be on the agenda during the presidents' meeting.
"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.
UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor Carol Folt and N.C. State University chancellor Randy Woodson issued a joint statement in support of the move: "We appreciate the Council of Presidents' reaffirmation of the ACC's strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, as well as the decision to keep ACC championship contests on our campuses. However, we regret today's decision will negatively affect many North Carolinians, especially in the affected host communities. UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State remain steadfast in our commitment to welcoming and supporting all people."
In addition to football, the other ACC championships that are being relocated are in the sports of women's soccer, women's swimming and diving, men's diving, men's and women's tennis, women's golf, men's golf and baseball.
Three of those had been scheduled for venues in the Triangle: the women's soccer championship and men's and women's tennis championships in Cary, and the baseball tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Swofford in a statement earlier this week had called for the repeal of HB2. The law, which Gov. Pat McCrory signed last March, limits anti-discriminatory protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
A more publicized part of the law stipulates which bathrooms transgender people can use. On state property, the law mandates that people use the bathroom for the gender specified on their birth certificate.
Critics of the law, which has become a central focus of a fierce gubernatorial race between McCrory and Democratic challenger Roy Cooper, say it's discriminatory. Proponents of HB2 say it protects bathroom privacy.
"On a personal note," Swofford said in a statement earlier this week, "it's time for this bill to be repealed as it's counter to basic human rights."
