State lawmakers want to make ACC basketball tournament Friday a North Carolina holiday

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Some state lawmakers have plans to turn an unofficial statewide holiday into an official one.

NC Sen. Sarah Crawford, who represents part of Wake and Franklin counties, along with NC Sen. Natalie Murdock, of Durham County, are sponsoring a bill to make the Friday of the ACC men's and women's basketball tournaments a state holiday.

Crawford calls the ACC tournament a "way of life," saying the day should officially be added to North Carolina calendars.

In recent years, the Friday of the men's and women's tournaments have featured the semifinals, meaning two games being played at night.

For many years, the quarterfinals of each tournament featured four games on Fridays, making for long lunch hours and distracted classrooms.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.