North Carolina was among the nation’s leaders in attracting NCAA championship sporting events in the latest round of site selections, announced last week. North Carolina was among the top 5 states, receiving 29 site selections.
For Division I, the 2015 Women’s Swim & Dive National Championship will be at the Greensboro Aquatic Center; Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem will have the 2018 Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships. Regional championships include the 2015 Women’s Basketball at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, and the 2018 Women’s Gymnastics will be at N.C. State University in Raleigh. Cary has the 2014 Men’s Soccer College Cup and the 2015 Women’s Soccer College Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park.
In Division II, Cary has the Baseball National Championship in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at the USA Baseball Training Complex. The 2018 Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive National Championships will be at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Regional championships include the 2015 Men’s Wresting at UNC-Pembroke, and the 2018 Men’s Golf at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover. The 2015 and 2017 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Southeast Regionals will be held at Wingate University.
In Division III, the 2015 Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Championships will be in Winston-Salem at the JDL Fast Track. The 2016 Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive National Championships will be at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The 2016 and 2017 Men’s and Women’s Soccer National Championships will be at UNC-Greensboro. The 2017 Men’s and Women’s Tennis National Championships will be at the Cary Tennis Park. The 2018 Men’s Golf National Championship will be held at Grandover Resort in Greensboro.
From amateur events to international championships, North Carolina provides the perfect location for any sporting event. The state is home to world-class venues, world champion professional sports, superior amateur sports and the best collegiate sports in America. The Division strives to act as facilitator, catalyst, coordinator, salesperson, cheerleader or any other role that might be helpful or necessary to assist various tourism partners and sports-related organizations in North Carolina in attracting events, revenue, athlete development opportunities, and positive exposure to the state. SportsNC continues to play a vital coordinating role in the national sports community. An umbrella sports organization such as SportsNC allows North Carolina to brand and position itself in the global sports marketplace very effectively. In the last fiscal year, the 38-member N.C. Sports Association estimates that $230 million of economic impact was generated in local communities from sporting tournaments and events. Research also shows that sports are the #1 or #2 market segments for many of the NCSA members, including the cities of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh.
N.C. Sports Association members consistently do an incredible job promoting their destinations to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). The Division teams with the NCSA on sports event marketing efforts to maximize the promotional efforts for the state. For more information on the Division’s sports marketing program, contact Group Travel Manager Kristi Driver at (919) 733-7413.