ACC Basketball Tournament Returns To North Carolina In 2019, 2020

With the all-too-predictable backlash over the ACC moving its men's basketball conference tournament to New York City -- New York City!! -- it was simply a matter of when, not if, the tournament would return to its old timey Tobacco Road roots. On Thursday, commissioner John Swofford confirmed the inevitable.

The ACC men's basketball Tournament will return to North Carolina for the 2019 (Charlotte) and 2020 (Greensboro) installments.

"Some of the greatest chapters of ACC Tournament's 61-year history have been written in these two cities, and we are proud to continue that tradition in Charlotte and Greensboro," Swofford said. "Both cities are terrific hosts for our schools, fans and teams, with top-notch facilities and hospitality."

"As we look ahead, this continues to be an exciting time for our conference," Swofford said. "The variety of future locations of the ACC Tournament reflects our conference's expanded footprint and will service our teams, schools, alumni and fan bases well."

The locations for the next six ACC Men's Basketball Tournaments are now set.

2015 - Greensboro Coliseum; Greensboro, N.C.
2016 - Verizon Center; Washington, D.C.
2017 - Barclays Center; Brooklyn, N.Y.
2018 - Barclays Center; Brooklyn, N.Y.
2019 - Time Warner Cable Arena; Charlotte, N.C.
2020 - Greensboro Coliseum; Greensboro, N.C.

The conference voted unanimously to bring the event to New York ... and voted unanimously to return to North Carolina. My guess is the conference will continue to rotate the event among cities like New York, Washington D.C., Greensboro/Charlotte and Atlanta. I'd be surprised if the tournament strays any farther north than NYC, any farther south than Atlanta or any further west than a state NOT located on the Atlantic Coast.

Plus, when the New York City leg of the ACC Tournament comes back around, I have a feeling that the conference will be upgrading venues.