GLENDALE, Ariz. — NCAA President Mark Emmert says the association’s board of governors will decide by next week whether the repeal of North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom bill” is enough to bring March Madness and other championship sporting events back to the state.

A few hours before Emmert gave his annual pre-Final Four news conference in Arizona, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill that rolled back a law that required transgender people to use public bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. It also excluded gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections.

Emmert says the NCAA delayed it site selection process for the 2018-22 cycle to allow North Carolina lawmakers as much time as possible to address HB2. The site selection committees began meeting this week.

Activists complained that the new law still denies gay and transgender people certain protections from discrimination.

The stakes are high for North Carolina. The Associated Press calculated that the state made $71.4 million from 28 neutral-site NCAA events in the five academic years ending last spring. A more lucrative slate of events may be in jeopardy in this latest round of decisions.

Cities including Raleigh and Greensboro have submitted 133 bids to host NCAA championship events in such sports as golf, swimming and basketball through the 2021-22 academic year, with a potential economic impact of about $250 million, according to the North Carolina Sports Association.

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The NCAA has already pulled seven championship events in baseball, soccer, lacrosse and other sports from North Carolina for the current academic year because of HB2. Also in jeopardy are events for the upcoming school year, including NCAA men’s basketball tournament games that were awarded to Charlotte during a previous round of selections.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, which also relocated sporting events, issued a statement that it would “reopen the discussion” about holding neutral-site championships in North Carolina because of the new legislation.

Dollars aside, the NCAA sanctions are especially painful for North Carolina, where love of college basketball is part of the state’s identity and where Duke and North Carolina are perennial powerhouses.

“No state loves its college sports more than North Carolina. It’s part of our culture, our fabric and our history,” Scott Dupree, executive director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, wrote in a February plea to lawmakers. “But sadly, at this moment, the NCAA championships that our citizens love so much are in jeopardy, on the brink of being lost for the long term.”

AP AWARDS: Frank Mason III, who led Kansas to its 13th consecutive Big 12 title, is the Associated Press Player of the Year.

The senior point guard averaged 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 48.7 percent from 3-point range.

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He received 37 votes from the 65-member media panel that selects the weekly AP Top 25.

Josh Hart of Villanova was second with 16 votes, while Caleb Swanigan of Purdue had nine and Lonzo Ball of UCLA had three.

Mason is the first Kansas player to win the award.

Mark Few, who has guided Gonzaga to a 36-1 record and its first trip to the Final Four, was chosen as Coach of Year.

Few also received 37 votes, beating out Sean Miller of Arizona (eight), Chris Collins of Northwestern (seven) and Tim Jankovich of SMU (six).

THURSDAY’S NIT CHAMPIONSHIP

TCU 88, GEORGIA TECH 56: Kenrich Williams had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Horned Frogs (24-15) routed the Yellow Jackets (21-16) in the NIT championship in New York.

TCU opened with a 20-3 run on its way to the program’s first NIT title.


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