RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The NCAA has awarded men’s basketball tournament games in 2020 and 2021 along with several other championship events to North Carolina after the state repealed elements of a law that limited protections for LGBT people and put it at risk of being passed over as a host for future events.
The governing body announced decisions Tuesday for events through 2022, two weeks after the NCAA said it had “reluctantly” agreed to consider North Carolina again for hosting duties. It had stripped North Carolina of seven championship events for the past sports season — including opening-weekend men’s basketball tournament games — and said it could relocate more events if there wasn’t a change in the “bathroom bill.”
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed a compromise bill March 30 while saying it wasn’t a perfect solution. The compromise was reached days after the NCAA said the state was down to its final days to get something done about the law.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said at the Final Four that he was pleased the state had passed a new law despite “very difficult” politics. But the NCAA ultimately offered a lukewarm endorsement of the compromise measure days later, saying the new law met “minimal” requirements to allow NCAA back into consideration for future events.
It stated events already awarded to North Carolina for the 2017-18 sports season — including men’s basketball tournament games in Charlotte — would remain in place.