In the past few months, North Carolina has dealt with a number of collegiate athletic organizations deciding to withdraw various tournaments from the state. Locally, however, Asheville’s premier college sporting event is planning on staying put.
The Southern Conference (SoCon) has announced that they will continue to hold their men’s and women’s basketball tournament championship at the US Cellular Center from March 2-6, despite conversations over the controversial House Bill 2 (HB2) legislation.
“We want to provide the best experience for student athletes at the championships. We felt like the places in North Carolina that we had identified years ago were going to provide that experience,” said SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino.
The final decision to stay was made by the presidents and chancellors of the 10 member schools in the Southern Conference, which includes UNC-Greensboro, Western Carolina University, and Wofford.
A meeting was held in Asheville on Sept. 20, and 10 days later SoCon released a statement saying they plan to honor the commitment to host the tournament in Asheville. However they also reaffirmed their opposition in general to discriminatory legislation.
“We had the tournament until 2022; however, they can come back and revisit after the tournament if the laws are not changed,” said Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission Executive Director Demp Bradford. The board is reserving the right to reassess the situation in the future.
The meeting held in September was attended by sports commission and legislative leaders, chancellors and presidents of the member schools, and the Blue Ridge Pride, an organization for the LBGT community in Asheville.
“All of them were fully supportive of the Southern Conference keeping the basketball championship in Asheville, North Carolina. That meeting played a huge role in the president and chancellor’s decision,” Iamarino said.
According to Bradford, the meeting allowed the Southern Conference to have a different perspective that was not held by other conferences. The meeting opened the door for other conferences like the Big South to look into options of remaining in North Carolina.
Additionally, Iamarino and Bradford stated that the Asheville venues are different than other ones used in North Carolina.
“The specifics of HB2 would not be in place [because the venues we use are] privately controlled. So, it’s not a problem,” Iamarino said.
Bradford stated that according to his calculations, moving the tournament could have cost up to $3 million and vacated nearly 35,000 hotel rooms in early March, a time when the city would welcome the tourism.
“The financial hit would have been drastic. But, it also affects those working in the hotels--from the bellman, to the house keepers, to the front desk workers,” Bradford said.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and USA Swimming have all decided to pull championships from North Carolina. The National Basketball Association (NBA) moved their annual All-Star Game from Charlotte in July.
Science teacher Kevin Keen has attended the SoCon Conference in the past and plans to attend this coming year as well. He is happy that the event is staying in Asheville, but also understands why others decided to leave the state.
“[Boycotting] brings a lot of attention to the issue, which can be a positive thing because it can cause something to be done about it,” Keen said.
SoCon will continue to provide the opportunity for nearly 4000 Asheville City and Buncombe County students to watch part of the tournament for free. Teams for the SoCon also have practiced at Roberson in the past because the court is the only college-sized court at any Buncombe County school.
“Statewide the support has been really incredible. It could only happen in Asheville. Asheville is a different, diverse, open and inclusive community that supports everyone,” Bradford said.
The Southern Conference (SoCon) has announced that they will continue to hold their men’s and women’s basketball tournament championship at the US Cellular Center from March 2-6, despite conversations over the controversial House Bill 2 (HB2) legislation.
“We want to provide the best experience for student athletes at the championships. We felt like the places in North Carolina that we had identified years ago were going to provide that experience,” said SoCon Commissioner John Iamarino.
The final decision to stay was made by the presidents and chancellors of the 10 member schools in the Southern Conference, which includes UNC-Greensboro, Western Carolina University, and Wofford.
A meeting was held in Asheville on Sept. 20, and 10 days later SoCon released a statement saying they plan to honor the commitment to host the tournament in Asheville. However they also reaffirmed their opposition in general to discriminatory legislation.
“We had the tournament until 2022; however, they can come back and revisit after the tournament if the laws are not changed,” said Asheville-Buncombe Regional Sports Commission Executive Director Demp Bradford. The board is reserving the right to reassess the situation in the future.
The meeting held in September was attended by sports commission and legislative leaders, chancellors and presidents of the member schools, and the Blue Ridge Pride, an organization for the LBGT community in Asheville.
“All of them were fully supportive of the Southern Conference keeping the basketball championship in Asheville, North Carolina. That meeting played a huge role in the president and chancellor’s decision,” Iamarino said.
According to Bradford, the meeting allowed the Southern Conference to have a different perspective that was not held by other conferences. The meeting opened the door for other conferences like the Big South to look into options of remaining in North Carolina.
Additionally, Iamarino and Bradford stated that the Asheville venues are different than other ones used in North Carolina.
“The specifics of HB2 would not be in place [because the venues we use are] privately controlled. So, it’s not a problem,” Iamarino said.
Bradford stated that according to his calculations, moving the tournament could have cost up to $3 million and vacated nearly 35,000 hotel rooms in early March, a time when the city would welcome the tourism.
“The financial hit would have been drastic. But, it also affects those working in the hotels--from the bellman, to the house keepers, to the front desk workers,” Bradford said.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and USA Swimming have all decided to pull championships from North Carolina. The National Basketball Association (NBA) moved their annual All-Star Game from Charlotte in July.
Science teacher Kevin Keen has attended the SoCon Conference in the past and plans to attend this coming year as well. He is happy that the event is staying in Asheville, but also understands why others decided to leave the state.
“[Boycotting] brings a lot of attention to the issue, which can be a positive thing because it can cause something to be done about it,” Keen said.
SoCon will continue to provide the opportunity for nearly 4000 Asheville City and Buncombe County students to watch part of the tournament for free. Teams for the SoCon also have practiced at Roberson in the past because the court is the only college-sized court at any Buncombe County school.
“Statewide the support has been really incredible. It could only happen in Asheville. Asheville is a different, diverse, open and inclusive community that supports everyone,” Bradford said.