If Queens can still host tourney despite HB2, why can’t other NC schools?

This weekend, South Atlantic Conference champion Queens in Charlotte will host Wingate and Pfeiffer in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament – a seemingly confusing scenario since the NCAA last September pulled championship events from North Carolina over House Bill 2.

It begs the question: If Queens can host early round games, does that open the door for other NC schools to still host events this year, despite the fact that lawmakers remain at a standstill on HB2?

The answer? Sort of, but it depends on the sport.

The NCAA says that NC schools can still host on non-predetermined tournament sites this academic year, or “when student-athletes earn the opportunity to play on their own campus,” NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said. That excludes the Division I basketball tournament, since all rounds are at predetermined, neutral sites.

It means any other sports without pre-determined championship sites could still host at their own school. UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, could still host a baseball regional theoretically.

“The Board of Governors said this decision to allow these championships – called non-predetermined sites – to be played in North Carolina is consistent with the NCAA’s commitment to student-athletes,” Dent said.

When the NCAA pulled its events from North Carolina last year, the association said HB2 would preclude NC cities from guaranteeing an “inclusive atmosphere” for all. The law limits legal protections for LGBT individuals, and requires that transgender people use the restroom in public facilities that corresponds to the gender on their birth certificates.

Before the move, the Greensboro Coliseum was supposed to have hosted the first and second rounds of the men’s Division I basketball tournament on March 17 and 19. Those games will now take place in Greenville, SC. Raleigh News & Observer writer Andrew Carter contributed.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "If Queens can still host tourney despite HB2, why can’t other NC schools?."