ACC counting on Duluth to deliver as women’s basketball tournament host

It sounded at least a little bit like North Carolina women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart was being dismissive.

Although, really, whoever heard of anyone from UNC being snooty?

At a postgame news conference Sunday, Banghart was asked about the ACC women’s basketball tournament being held this week in Duluth, the first time the event will be played at a neutral site outside the Carolinas.

“I don’t even know where Duluth is, I’ll be quite honest,” Banghart said.

The sound bite made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter). But in reality, it probably wasn’t the worst thing for tournament organizers in Gwinnett County. As a result of the Ivy League graduate’s stated cartographic disregard, an additional measure of people now know that one of the biggest events in women’s college basketball is being held this week in metro Atlanta, starting Wednesday at Gas South Arena.

Organizers can use all the marketing help they can get, because drawing fans could be a challenge.

Atlanta hasn’t been the most fertile ground for women’s basketball. The Dream, for example, are on their fourth ownership group in 19 seasons and have historically lagged in the WNBA in attendance.

But it’s a sport worth supporting. There is no reason the interest level developed elsewhere can’t be replicated in metro Atlanta.

It’s part of the reason why the Gwinnett Sports Commission pursued the event.

“For us, I think we just have always seen the importance of supporting women’s sports,” commission senior director Leigh Hooten told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re just excited to have this event and share it and bring it to female athletes and their families around metro Atlanta.”

The ACC tournament brings to town another chance to spark interest in the game and widen its base of support, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a Monday interview with the AJC.

“This was a really conscious decision and a thoughtful one that we did research on and felt at the end of the day, if you’re going to grow the game, this could be another way to do it, and let’s give the Atlanta area a chance to host and put forward a great event with us, to partner with us,” Phillips said.

The safer choice would have been to keep it in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the event has thrived for more than two decades. With league powers Duke, UNC and N.C. State within state borders, it makes a lot of sense to keep it there.

Further, when the SEC brought its women’s basketball tournament to Duluth four times between 2007 and 2014, attendance was unexceptional.

But the ACC wanted to take the tournament outside the Carolinas for 2026 and potentially again after it is held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2027. (Gwinnett is bidding for 2028, according to Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Stan Hall.)

“The coaches are the ones that really pushed hard on growing the game,” Phillips said. “It was a coach-driven decision, and the league supported it, and so we’re really excited about coming to the greater Atlanta area to Duluth and showcasing ACC women’s basketball.”

Duluth won out over two competitors with an effort Phillips described as “very aggressive.”

That included the bid committee’s plan for the experience provided to team members, the branding and marketing campaign, the financial package and the convenience of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In the expanded ACC, the last was not a small factor.

Among the bells and whistles is a court that has been designed and hand-painted specifically for this tournament.

And so metro Atlanta tries out a new event.

“I don’t think anyone knows for sure what to expect,” Phillips said.

It would help if Georgia Tech were more of a threat to advance deep into the tournament, but first-year coach Karen Blair’s Yellow Jackets are seeded No. 11. And it would have helped if a must-see powerhouse were in the field, but the league doesn’t have a team in the AP Top 25.

On the other hand, the top four seeds — No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 North Carolina and No. 4 N.C. State — are within driving distance. (Note to Banghart: On the northeast side of metro Atlanta, Duluth is advantageously located for Tar Heels fans driving down I-85 from North Carolina.)

And fifth-seeded Notre Dame has one of the game’s more recognizable players in do-it-all guard Hannah Hidalgo.

A fan fest will be held next door at the Gwinnett Convention Center. Ticket prices are reasonable. For example, tickets for the 5 p.m. Friday quarterfinal session could be bought online Tuesday for less than $11.

All are welcome, including Courtney Banghart, who would do well to learn the area while she’s here.

She might be back in two years.