There was no clear consensus, but there was a clear decision.

The Southern Conference announced Friday that it would honor its commitments to hold conference championships in North Carolina in the 2016-17 school year.

The state came under fire in the wake of "House Bill 2," which some believe can lead to discrimination against the LGBT community. That led to the NCAA announcing it will be moving seven postseason events out of North Carolina, which included the opening weekend of the national men's basketball tournament games that were set for March 17 and 19 in Greensboro.

A few days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced it would be moving its championship events, which included the ACC football title game in Charlotte, out of the state.

On Friday, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association decided to move eight of its 10 championship games out of North Carolina. Due to time constraints, it wasn't able to move its basketball tournaments.

SoCon commissioner John Iamarino said that while he expects some pushback for the choice to keep conference championships in men's and women's basketball (Asheville), men's soccer (Greensboro) and men's golf (Pinehurst), school administrators from all around the league ultimately felt it was the best decision.

"As we talked through it and assessed all the many moving parts associated with this issue, we realized this decision won't make everyone happy," Iamarino said on a Friday conference call. "There's a very good chance we will be criticized by some parties that won't agree."

He added that a big part of the Asheville component was a meeting he had with more than 30 civic, business, social and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members who expressed a desire for the league to keep its basketball tournaments in Asheville. He also said that with the venues for all three sports being privately controlled, any issues pertaining to the bathroom portion of the HB2 law should not be an issue.

"Asheville is as inclusive of a community as there is," Iamarino said. "They're going to fight HB2, and they think it would be harmful to the community if we don't bring the event there.

"There could be backlash, but at some point you have to take a stand."

The league is contractually obligated to remain at Pinehurst for three more years and in Asheville for five.

Due to HB2, there could be some conference institutions that choose not to participate in league tournaments. Iamarino is aware of that and said there were some concerns about it, and he emphasized that it's important for the league to communicate with its members.

"We'll do as much planning as we can, but at the end of the day we'll deal with it as best as we can," he said.

It took two lengthy conference calls — one for two hours, another for an hour — to come to the decision, and Iamarino made it clear Friday that the decision was for this year only. Chancellors, presidents and athletic directors are scheduled to meet in May, and the issue most likely will come up again.

"The presidents and chancellors want everybody to understand inclusiveness," Iamarino said. "Respecting every individual is part of our mission statement as a conference, and that's very important to all institutions. We'll honor this year and see what develops."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.