The clock is almost done ticking for North Carolina to save millions of dollars that could be lost as a result of no NCAA championship events being held in the state from 2018-2022. If the legislature does not repeal the controversial House Bill 2 by next week, the NCAA is making it clear the state won’t be considered.

In a statement Thursday, the NCAA said: “Last year, the NCAA Board of Governors relocated NCAA championships scheduled in North Carolina because of the cumulative impact HB2 had on local communities’ ability to assure a safe, healthy, discrimination free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in our events. Absent any change in the law, our position remains the same regarding hosting current or future events in the state. As the state knows, next week our various sports committees will begin making championships site selections for 2018-2022 based upon bids received from across the country. Once the sites are selected by the committee, those decisions are final and an announcement of all sites will be made on April 18.”

HB2 requires transgender people to use bathrooms based on their birth certificate and not by the gender in which they identify. There have been many unsuccessful attempts to repeal the bill since September when the NCAA relocated its championship events because of its inclusive initiative, which came on the heels of the NBA relocating its All-Star game from Charlotte. Despite losing millions from the removal of athletic events and concerts and despite then-Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the bill, being replaced by Democrat Roy Cooper, the GOP-controlled legislature has still not rescinded the bill.

The NCAA’s decision to relocate the events affected this year’s NCAA tournament, as the first and second round were held in Greenville, S.C., as opposed to Greensboro, N.C. Duke’s second-round game was essentially a road game playing against South Carolina, which rode a hometown crowd to pull off the biggest upset of the Dance so far.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski reaffirmed his disdain for the bill before the tournament, saying: “I’m very sad, very disappointed about the whole thing, which apparently is something that’s really, really hard to change. … (Greenville, S.C., has) the right to host it whether our state is smart enough to have it. It would be nice if our state got as smart and also would host not just basketball tournaments but concerts and other NCAA events. But maybe we’ll get there in the next century, I don’t know. We’ll see.

“Look, it’s a stupid thing. That’s my political statement. If I was president or governor I’d get rid of (HB2). And I’d back up my promises. As unusual as that might be. Anyway, I don’t want to get too political.”

The North Carolina Sports Association, which represents 27 counties across North Carolina that recruit and promote major sporting events, sent a letter to the state’s legislature saying the state could lose an estimated $250 million in economic impact based on 133 bids submitted to the NCAA by North Carolina cities, colleges and universities.

The state of Texas last voted to advance a bill similar to HB2 to the full Senate. Senate Bill 6 also requires bathroom usage according to an individual’s “biological sex” at birth. Except the bill has a workaround clause that would allow organizations like the NCAA or NFL — Super Bowl LI was in Houston and the Women’s Final Four is in Dallas — to lease stadiums and enforce their own inclusive bathroom rules.

The NCAA has no official statement on Texas’ state legislature. However, the LGBT sports group  Athlete Ally organized more than 50 members of the athletic community including Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Martina Navratilova, to sign an open letter criticizing the Texas state legislature of SB6.

MORE ON THE ISSUE:

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Texas bathroom bill on the radar of the NCAA, Big 12

LGBT groups urge ACC to reject compromise on North Carolina bathroom bill