NCAA Will Not Expand Postseason Ban To Include Confederate Flag

An NCAA committee decided Tuesday it will not expand its ban on postseason championships in South Carolina and Mississippi, where the Confederate flag is displayed on Statehouse grounds.

The Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee said the NCAA should continue its moratorium on bringing predetermined events, such as NCAA basketball regionals, to the two states. The ban will not be expanded, however, to sites awarded on merit, such as baseball tournament regionals or football playoff games.

The committee was acting on a request from the Black Coaches Association to stiffen sanctions in South Carolina and Mississippi, whose state flags contain the Confederate emblem. The flag is not displayed on any NCAA campus in either state.

Committee chairman Robert Vowels Jr. said in a statement expanding the ban would not be fair “since institutions do not have control over the placement of the Confederate flag.”

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Flag supporters say it honors the state’s Confederate heritage and those who died in the Civil War while opponents say it is a symbol of racism and hatred.