"If anyone wants to know what the costs of discrimination are ... look at what's happening with the NCAA and the ACC," Clinton said. "This is where bigotry leads and we can't afford it. Not here, not anywhere."

There were varying estimates Thursday on just how many people came, ranging from 500 to 1,500.

More than 1,000 remained outside the UNCG venue, waiting to see the Democratic nominee for president, when officials deemed the hall filled and closed the door.

At one point, the line stretched about half a mile.

Clinton supporters said before her appearance they were unconcerned with her health.

"All this talk that's going around about her health — no one would have said a thing if she were a man," said Maureen O'Rourke, a volunteer with Clinton's local campaign and a lifelong Democrat. "She is clearly the most qualified candidate we have had in many, many years."

For other audience members, Clinton's appeal lay largely in the fact that she isn't Trump.

"She could lose my vote by becoming Trump," said Kyle Donaldson, a UNCG freshman who will cast his first presidential vote in November. "I feel like this election is really important and I'm just trying to hear her views."