In 2001, the NCAA passed a rule prohibiting Mississippi and South Carolina, the states that include the Confederate battle flag as part of its state flag or fly it at its state capitol, from hosting most championship events.

The ban has remained in place ever since, but only applies to events at predetermined sites like football bowl games and Division I men’s basketball regionals. It did not apply to host sites determined by on-the-field success like baseball regionals, and as such has had little effect on Mississippi and its college sports teams.

The state had never played host to an NCAA basketball tournament regional before the ban, but has had plenty of other high-stakes games played within its borders since then.

Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss have combined to host nine baseball regionals and four super regionals since 2001. The Ole Miss and Mississippi State tennis programs have also hosted first-round NCAA matches that are awarded based on team success during a particular season.

In Division II, Delta State has hosted seven football playoff games, four women’s basketball regionals, one men’s basketball regional and six baseball regionals.

The ban also does not apply to conference tournaments. Southern Miss has hosted the Conference USA baseball tournament five times since 2005, including twice at Trustmark Park in Pearl, and Mississippi State was the site of the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships this year. Southaven and Tupelo have been frequent sites of the Division II Gulf South Conference basketball tournaments.

For fans, the net result has been a steady stream of championship-caliber college sports despite the longstanding ban.

“It hasn’t affected us. I just don’t think Mississippi has a venue to host a Final Four or an event like that,” said Mark Buys, a Vicksburg native who graduated from Ole Miss in 1980. His son, Talbot, is currently an offensive lineman on Ole Miss’ football team and he and his family attend a number of football and baseball games each season in Oxford. “I don’t think the ban has kept our universities from competing for championships at a high level.”

Vicksburg resident Blake Teller, a 1988 graduate of Ole Miss, agreed.

“I had forgotten about it, frankly,” Teller said of the ban. “Even then, I didn’t think it would have an impact, and I’m not for the flag being used by the university.”

Both Teller and Buys added that, when it comes to sports, the flag has often been a non-issue among fans and alumni.

“It never comes up. It’s never mentioned,” Buys said. “I don’t think the NCAA ruling has affected the alumni at all from that standpoint.”

The other state that flies the Confederate flag, South Carolina, was hit a bit harder than Mississippi.

Greenville, South Carolina, was a regular host of first-round games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but has not hosted since 2002. Columbia, where the University of South Carolina has a modern 18,000-seat arena, also has not been able to put in a bid.

Like Mississippi, however, the state of South Carolina has hosted a number of baseball regionals in Columbia, Clemson and Myrtle Beach. The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team was also allowed to host an NCAA Tournament regional this past march when that sport’s selection process was changed from predetermined sites to a merit-based system like baseball uses.

There have been several pushes to change the NCAA’s rule. The organization’s Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee made a presentation to the NCAA executive committee in July 2014 to extend the rule to all championship events. No action was taken, however, as the executive committee opted to hear more feedback on the issue before making a decision.