The Associated Press reports that an increasing number of South Carolinians — and Southerners for that matter — are attending Boston College in Massachusetts rather than a school in or near the Palmetto State.

Boston College’s decision to shift its sports teams to the ACC two years ago has led to a spike in applications from the southern states that dominate the league.

Applications from high school students in the league’s six states to the south have risen 30 percent. Applications from South Carolina have doubled, increased nearly 50 percent in Virginia and climbed by one-third in North Carolina and Georgia, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday. [Associated Press]