Southern Conference championships remaining in Tar Heel State

The Southern Conference announced Friday that it will honor its 2016-17 commitments to championships scheduled to be held in North Carolina.

The state hosts championships in men’s soccer in Greensboro, men’s and women’s basketball in Asheville and men’s golf in Pinehurst.

The conference’s release stated, “The presidents and chancellors, on behalf of their institutions and the conference, reaffirmed their resolute opposition to legislation that discriminates against any individual and agreed to monitor developments and assess the question of future championships in North Carolina in the spring.”

“This has been a thoughtful, respectful process by all parties in response to a complicated issue,” Southern Conference commissioner John Iamarino said. “Honoring our commitments for this academic year does not punish the local host communities and gives our student-athletes the best championship experience we can provide. All three playing venues will be privately controlled by the hosts, thereby giving us a high level of confidence that a safe, inclusive environment will be present. We believe any actions taken by this membership should reflect our respect for all people.”

The ACC recently pulled its championships scheduled to be held in North Carolina, while the NBA pulled its All-Star Game from the state. The NCAA also has pulled events from the state.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Southern Conference championships remaining in Tar Heel State."