The North Carolina Bid Committee (NCBC) is comprised of individuals who helped with, supported, and lead the initiative to attract the World University Games, the world's second-largest Olympic sports event (behind only the Olympic Games), to the Raleigh-Durham-Cary-Chapel Hill-Greensboro area of North Carolina. This central area of the state we refer to as “North Carolina’s University Hub.”
As the name would suggest, the World University Games include the top collegiate athletes from across the globe, which makes North Carolina’s University Hub Region, with its 19 colleges and universities and more than 260,000 college students, an ideal host community for the Games.
The World University Games have significant positive impacts on a host city, from the in-person visits of the 10,000+ participants from more than 150 countries to the more than 3,000 hours of broadcast coverage and 400 million viewers. Demonstrated economic impacts of the Games have been measured to range between $150 million to more than $370 million.
The bid process for a global event of this stature is a monumental task! Although the Games will not be held until 2029, the bid process actually began in 2018 with initial communications between the Triangle Sports Commission (TSC) and the United States International University Sports Federation (USIUF).
After three years of work, on February 17, 2021, North Carolina was selected by the USIUSF to be their Host City Partner in America’s bid for the World University Games. That same day the USIUSF sent a formal Letter of Intent to Bid to FISU, indicating the United States’ intentions to bid on, and host, the FISU World University Games.
The international phase of the bid process for the Games began on September 1, 2021. The window for interested cities to enter the bid competition closed on January 31, 2022, and in early February, FISU announced that North Carolina/USA was confirmed as a Bid Finalists for the Games.
On January 10, 2023, in Lake Placid, New York, the FISU Executive Committee voted unanimously to award the 2029 FISU World University Games to North Carolina USA.
The Games will now be a major effort, but anyone with a strong interest in, and passion for, the cause can get involved. Support can range from volunteer assistance to financial contributions. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the WUG effort and where you can contribute best.