North Carolina pledges $15 million if ACC moves its headquarters to Charlotte

The state of North Carolina would give the ACC $15 million to move its headquarters from Greensboro to Charlotte, according to a Republican budget proposal released Tuesday evening. The legislation is a compromise between House and Senate lawmakers and must still pass each chamber and be signed by Gov. Roy Cooper.

The ACC headquarters have been located in Greensboro since the conference was founded in 1953, but have been considering a move for several months. Orlando is also a candidate for relocation in addition to Charlotte. Staying in North Carolina makes sense as four of the league’s 15 members are located in there (Duke, NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest). Florida, by comparison, has just two (Florida State and Miami).

Charlotte is in the middle of the conference’s geographic footprint and has also been the longtime host of the ACC football championship game. The city has hosted the ACC men’s basketball tournament several times. Charlotte hosts ACC football and basketball media events and there is an ESPN studio in Charlotte as well.

To qualify for the $15 million from the state Department of Commerce, the league would have to remain in the state for 15 years, stage an additional four men’s basketball tournaments in the state (including two in Greensboro), an additional four women’s basketball tournaments in the state, an additional four baseball postseason tournaments and 20 other postseason tournaments. Those events are in addition to several already scheduled for North Carolina.

The legislation does not name the ACC specifically, instead referring to a “qualifying collegiate sports employer” as an entity with four charter members that are institutions of higher education in the state. The nonrecurring funds would be granted to an entity that is “procuring and upfitting a new headquarters located in the State,” according to the proposed legislation.

ACC announces elimination of divisions, new scheduling format

The ACC is eliminating its divisional format starting with the 2023 season, the conference announced Tuesday. Instead, the league will move to a 3-5-5 format, meaning teams will face three “primary opponents” every year and the other 10 teams twice in a four-year cycle. The top two teams at the end of the regular season — based on conference win percentage — will compete in the ACC Championship game on the first Saturday of December.

“The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference, with the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement. “We appreciate the thoughtful discussions within our membership, including the head football coaches and athletic directors. In the end, it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time.”

The move came after the NCAA relaxed its requirements for conference championship games. Some other leagues, including the Pac-12 and Mountain West, also moved to eliminate devisions as a result. But others such as the Big Ten and the SEC haven’t announced decisions as they work out media rights deals and, in the SEC’s case, deal with realignment down the road.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.