CIAA will stay in Charlotte despite state's LGBT law

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association says it won't move its headquarters, its basketball tournament or other conference championships from North Carolina, despite the state's controversial new LGBT law.

The CIAA said in a statement Thursday that it will instead partner with the NCAA to educate its members on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues as it does on other issues, like graduation rates and concussion management.

Below is the full statement:

The CIAA is committed to provide an inclusive culture for its 12 members institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes daily.  No matter one's race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or physical disability, we have a responsibility to educate and eliminate biases that exclude or marginalize any human being.

Annually the CIAA is focused on educating its membership on important issues and topics that impact its membership and student athletes, to include but not limited to, graduation rates, student retention, concussion management, sportsmanship, Title IX and sexual harassment.  This Spring the CIAA will partner with the NCAA to educate its membership regarding LGBTQ and develop programming to implement in 2016-17 to educate its student-athletes.

As members of the NCAA, we see value in having open dialogue regarding national and local issues that impact our membership and student-athletes to support creating a safe environment and a culture that values respect, diversity and inclusion on our campuses and at our championships.  We will remain sensitive to our diverse membership of public, private, and religious affiliated member institutions, and we will continue to work closely with the NCAA, CIAA Board or Directors and administrators, to address as a Conference. Additionally, we will continue to monitor the issues alongside with our CRVA partners.

The CIAA does not anticipate moving its headquarters from Charlotte, NC; nor do we anticipate moving our basketball tournament or any other conference championships from the state of North Carolina in which 8 of our 12 member schools reside.

Whatever the outcome, we will continue to do our part in being informed, and educating our membership while creating a respectful and inclusive culture for our membership, alumni, sponsors and fans.

The CIAA, the oldest African-American sports conference in the U.S., has hosted its annual basketball tournament in Charlotte since 2006 and announced it was moving its headquarters to Charlotte from Virginia in 2015.

The CIAA said Thursday that it will continue to "monitor the issues," as it has since House Bill 2 passed.

Cox Media Group