CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally college students, has joined with the Outsports.com today in calling for immediate action to end the Chick-fil-A Bowl and Kickoff Games as well as involvement by NCAA, ACC, SEC and ESPN and the participating colleges - University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, University of Florida, Florida State, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, University of Kentucky, Louisiana State, University of Maryland, University of Miami, Mississippi State, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh University, University of South Carolina, Syracuse University, University of Tennessee, Texas A&M University, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest University.

Campus Pride supports these specific actions:

• Atlanta Chamber of Commerce should remove the Chick-fil-A name from the Bowl and the Kickoff Games.
• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) should end their relationship with the Bowl game.
• Participating schools involved with the Bowl game should withdraw from this year’s Kickoff Games.
• ESPN should not broadcast the Chick-fil-A Bowl and Kickoff Games.
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should stop all monetary support of the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
• Bowl Championship Series (BCS) commissioners and presidents should not even accept a bid from the Chick-fil-A Bowl to host the impending college football playoff games starting in 2014.

Campus Pride issued this statement today:

2011 was a watershed year in the fight to end homophobia and transphobia in sports. We have finally reached a tipping point when anti-gay slurs, silence and discrimination are no longer the accepted norms in sports. Increasing numbers of LGBT athletes are coming out, and many more straight allies are speaking up to support them. Joining established athletics-focused groups like NCLR sports project and Outsports.com, LGBT advocacy groups like GLSEN, It Gets Better and GLAAD are widening their focus to include sports. It seems as though more new organizations are also coming forward to fight discrimination in sports every few weeks. Each organization is doing something pivotal in this fight. Many work with high school sports, college althetics or professional sports; Furthermore focus is put on legal advocacy, outreach, and media.

However, homophobia and transphobia are persistent problems in sports that have silenced gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes and coaches for much of the last century. Thanks to pioneers like former NFL player Dave Kopay, tennis great Martina Navartilova, and transgender professional tennis player Renee Richards, the climate for LGBT athletes and coaches began to shift three decades ago, unfortunately only marginally.

The current changes are riveting and reflect a shift in the culture of sports. Once dominated by discrimination and silence, a new climate of support and openness for LGBT athletes is emerging. The increasing numbers of groups focused on making sports a positive environment for everyone who wants to play or coach are catalysts in the pace of this ever-changing problem. However, our effectiveness in ending homophobia in sports has been limited because we are not working together efficiently. Despite being led by athletes and coaches whose success is built on communication and teamwork, most of these advocacy groups are not talking to one another. We all share the same goal, but we have not been playing like a team.

On June 14 in Braverton, Oregon, that will change. Thirty leaders who are actively advocating for LGBT equality in sports will come together at Nike LGBT Sports Summit. The goal of this ground-breaking event is to create a team game plan for ending homophobia and transphobia in sport that takes advantage of the strengths in each organization. The aim is to increase our ability to collaborate on bringing about the change we all are committed to.

To maximize the outcome of our collaborative efforts, we envision this summit as the first of an annual event. Our intention is to include other organizations and individuals who share our goals as we extend our network over the coming year. The 2013 summit will be open to everyone who is dedicated to the end of homophobia and transphobia in sports.

For the better part of three days, summit participants will identify and commit to completing specific action plans toward ending anti-LGBT discrimmination in sports. They will also forge inter-group relationships to carry out these action plans. The organizations involved with this inaugural summit include the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance, Athlete Ally, Br{ach the Silence, Campus Pride, ESPN, Fearless campaign, Federation of Gay Games, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), It Gets Better campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Nike, Our Group, Outsports, Standup Foundation, and You Can Play project.

Thanks to Nike's commitment to making sports a respectful and inclusive experience for LGBT athletes, we have an opportunity to make the next 12 months an even more amazing year of progress for LGBT athletes and coaches at all levels of sports. We're also blessed to have the support of online sports leader SB Nation and worldwide tech leader Microsoft. The dedication of these companies, along with the organizations involved, opens an opportunity like never before to lake equality in sports a reality for all.

We hope that pioneers of our movement will be proud to see the progress we are forging in the foundation of their courage and determination. Together, we will end homophobia and transphobia in sports. We hope you will join us in the coming year.

Compiled from release

Official Call for Nominations announced today to profile LGBT progressive NCAA or NJCA collegiate athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country

Nobody knows the score when it comes to collegiate athletic programs and where they stand on inclusion and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) players, coaches and staff. For the first-time ever, Campus Pride, in partnership with Compete Magazine, plans to find out who the winners are for LGBT-inclusiveness in college sports -- and, ultimately, whether out LGBT athletes, coaches and staff are welcome.

Today Campus Pride launches its newly formed “Out to Play Project” which is designed to address anti-LGBT slurs, bias and conduct in college sports. As part of the national project, both Compete Magazine and Campus Pride will spend from March until June reviewing nominations of colleges and universities for the “Out To Play List.” The LGBT-friendly listing will be published in a special edition of Compete Magazine and online at CampusPride.org profiling the “Best” in LGBT-inclusivity and college sports.

The official call for nominations starts today, March 1. To be eligible, the athletic program must be part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II and III, or the National Junior College Athletic Association. Former or current out LGBT and ally athletes, coaches, fans and, or campus staff are encouraged to nominate a college or university. Anyone can nominate a LGBT-friendly college athletic program online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay.

“Anti-LGBT attitudes and behaviors are prevalent, if not pervasive, in the world of sports. ’Out To Play’ can change all that – by starting in college and setting the standard. The ‘Best of the Best’ listing will highlight college athletic programs that have demonstrated LGBT-inclusion in policy and practice,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “If we know the score, everyone will be motivated to play harder – even those farthest behind.”

Windmeyer, also the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, will lead the nomination review team which will partly consist of select individuals who are current and former out LGBT athletes as well as researchers in the field of higher education. Once nominations have been received, the review team will contact college sports program to undergo a further review. The review will consist of a series of LGBT-inclusive athletic questions as well as an assessment of the entire campus community through Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org).