PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The Atlantic Coast Conference is looking for a new home for its football championship game after voting Wednesday to relocate the league's championship sites from North Carolina because of a controversial state law.
Presidents from the 15 ACC schools voted in favor of moving the league's championship games from North Carolina until it repeals House Bill 2, which some argue can lead to discrimination against LGBT people.
The decision includes all championship games this academic school year, which means relocating the ACC football title game, which was scheduled to be played in Charlotte in December.
"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," the presidents said in a joint statement. "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."
The NCAA said Monday that it was relocating seven of its championships scheduled to be played in the state, including the men's basketball first- and second-round matchups scheduled for March in Greensboro.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said the 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."
"(The) 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," Swofford said in a statement. "Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships."
In addition to football, other sports that will be affected are baseball, women's basketball, men's and women's golf, women's soccer, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's tennis.
North Carolina is the epicenter of the ACC's geographic footprint and home to four of its schools -- Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
The next two ACC men's basketball championships are scheduled to be played in Brooklyn, New York. The next basketball championship scheduled to be played in North Carolina is 2019 in Charlotte.
Durham has hosted the past two ACC baseball championships and was scheduled to host the next two. The last time an ACC baseball championship was played outside of North Carolina was in 2008 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Charlotte has been home to the ACC football title game since 2010. Possible alternatives could include Jacksonville or Tampa, both of which hosted the game in its infancy (Jacksonville from 2005-07 and Tampa in 2008-09).
A decision about where to relocate the games will come at a later date.