State laws could keep some NCAA teams at home

Associated Press

Teams could pull out of scheduled NCAA events this spring because of new state laws in North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee while the sport’s governing body’s demands for discrimination-free environments at the places where its events are held won’t take effect until the fall.

Though there are many potential unknowns before the measure takes effect, 27 NCAA championships are scheduled this spring and some state laws are already on the books and the decisions go beyond coaches and athletic departments.

A Minnesota state university system banned its athletic teams from traveling to tournaments in North Carolina, which passed a law that opponents say can allow discrimination against LGBT people. Most of the schools in that system are Division II or III schools; the University of Minnesota, a member of the Big Ten, is not one of them.

The decision means that one of the top baseball teams in Division II, St. Cloud State – ranked No. 3 in one of the top 25 polls – will likely stay home and forgo the opportunity to reach its first Division II World Series later this month in Cary, North Carolina.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said system leaders are in the process of reconsidering the ban, and St. Cloud State President Earl Potter is hopeful a resolution is reached.

He said in a statement Wednesday that the school will “not engage in any speculation at this point” because the NCAA “is tracking this situation and is working to determine how many teams might be affected by such bans.”

Minnesota State-Mankato, which has advanced to Cary four times since 2010, also is part of that system of schools.

“This is something that is beyond our control at this point, so you trust that the people making those decisions have made them for the right reasons,” coach Matt Magers said.

The NCAA will require sites hosting or bidding on both its predetermined and merit-based events to show how they will provide an environment that is “safe, healthy and free from discrimination.”

Spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said the NCAA is looking for the best way to implement the measure.

In adopting its measure, the NCAA said it was following the actions of legislatures in several states but did not identify them. In addition to North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee have passed similar laws.

The anti-discrimination policy seems to close a loophole in previous NCAA directives.

Though schools were not allowed to host predetermined events if their state governments flew the Confederate battle flag, schools in those states – Mississippi and South Carolina, until it took down the flag last year – were able to host to the merit-based, non-predetermined events like the FCS playoffs and baseball regionals.