Cary Secures 11 NCAA Championships for 2022-2026

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Cary, NC — This week it was announced that the 11 NCAA championships have been awarded to Cary for the 2022-2026 seasons.

Repairing NC’s Reputation Following HB2 Debacle

The bid awards for these events comes as wonderful news for tourism in Cary, and is a step in the direction of better relations between the NCAA and North Carolina. In 2016, the nationally known association pulled a handful of major events from their NC host cities in response to the state’s controversial “bathroom bill,” HB2.

In 2017, the NCAA even gave the state a 48-hour deadline to repeal the bill or it would continue to not award sporting events in the state through 2022. Toward the end of that window, on March 30, 2017, a bill to eliminate HB2’s bathroom regulations but retain other parts of the law was passed and signed into law.

Following the partial repeal, the NCAA got NC back on its venues list for the four year window of 2018-2022.

Cary Gets 11 Championships, Most for WakeMed Soccer Park

North Carolina FC defender Manny Perez (2) and Louisville City FC midfielder Napo Matsoso (27) during a match between North Carolina FC and Louisville City FC in Week 1 of the 2020 USL Championship regular season at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC – Saturday, March 7, 2020.

Now, the latest news is the NCAA’s selections for the 2022-2026 collegiate seasons. For this bid cycle, Cary made 23 total bids. Of these, 11 NCAA national championships were awarded to the Town of Cary across four sports.

Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park made history this time around, being awarded 7 events, more than any other venue in the United States.

“Participation in this bid cycle is essential to bringing multiple elite collegiate sporting events to Cary in future years and to maintain and grow the economic impact of Cary’s Sports Venues,” said Cary Mayor, Harold Weinbrecht.

Weinbrecht said the news came in last week Friday and it’s “an accomplishment we are all very proud of.”

The championships will include four Division II Baseball World Series, Division 1 Men and Women’s College Cup Soccer and for the first time in the area, the Division 1 Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

To date Cary has hosted a total of 26 NCAA National Championships.

Story by Ashley Kairis. Images courtesy of the Town of Cary & the CaryCitizen Archives.

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