The ACC Championship Game has been held in Charlotte, NC every year since 2010, but the league will move the event from the city over the state's controversial HB2 law, the ACC Council of Presidents announced.
“As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC Championships at campus sites. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year. All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office.”
ACC Commissioner John Swofford also released a statement:
“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. Today’s decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected. Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships.”
The move comes just one day after the NCAA pulled all of their championship events for the academic year out of the state as well. Both are following the NBA's actions, as they pulled the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte and relocated it to New Orleans.
The HB2 law excludes LGBT people from anti-discrimination protections, blocked local governments from expanding those protections, and banned workplace discrimination lawsuits of any kind.
The ACC has not said where they will move the football championship game this December, but it has previously been played in Jacksonville (2005-07) and Tampa (2008-2009).
Back to the ACC Newsfeed