Could the NBA All-Star game be returning to New Orleans next year? The league wants to move out of Charlotte because of its objections to a North Carolina law that limits anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community. Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statement saying Louisiana would be proud to host the 2017 NBA All-Star Game if the opportunity presents itself. New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center is reported to be the NBA’s top choice as a replacement site. League officials say they will make an announcement on the new location of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in the coming weeks.

The NBA signing period began Thursday, and the first three free agents to sign on the dotted line for the New Orleans Pelicans were forward Solomon Hill and guards E’Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway.

The Conference USA media has chosen the Louisiana Tech football team to finish second as the C-USA West Division champs in the upcoming season. The Bulldogs are behind Southern Miss.

In the Sun Belt coaches poll, UL-Lafayette came it at number five on the rankings, and ULM NO. 11. The list was released ahead of Monday’s Sun Belt Media Day activities in New Orleans.

The McNeese baseball team has been named one of 32 Division I programs to receive the inaugural American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award. The recognition honors programs that post a grade-point average over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. McNeese was the only program in the Southland Conference as well as in Louisiana to earn the distinction.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is getting its own network channel. League officials announced Thursday that the ACC Network will launch in August 2019 as part of an extended deal with ESPN that runs through 2035-36. The ACC would become the fourth major conference with its own network, along with the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference.