List of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions

The list of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions includes 11 distinct teams that have won the college football championship awarded by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since its creation in 1953. Thirteen different teams have competed in the conference since that year. Just two—Miami and Boston College—have never won an ACC football championship, while one team that is no longer a member of the league—South Carolina—holds one championship.

Between 1953 and 2003, the championship was normally earned in round-robin regular-season play among all conference members, although in later years league teams did not typically play every possible ACC opponent. The league did not employ tiebreaking procedures, such as head-to-head results, to determine a single champion, and thus it was not unusual for a season to end with "co-champions." With a 2004 expansion of the league to include Miami and Virginia Tech, round-robin play became impossible due to a NCAA limit on the number of games a team may play during the season and the unwillingness of the league to hold more than eight conference games per season per team. NCAA rules also forbade a championship game due to the league having only 11 members.

A 2005 expansion that admitted Boston College gave the ACC the required 12 members needed for divisional play and a championship game. The ACC Championship Game has been held annually since that year, featuring the regular-season winners of the Atlantic and Coastal divisions in a game to determine the conference champion. During the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons, the championship game was held at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Beginning with the 2008 game, the championship will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In 2010, the venue will switch to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Early era

The charter members of the ACC were Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest. The seven ACC charter members had been aligned with the Southern Conference, but left due to the conference's ban on postseason play.Powell, Adam K. "Border Wars: The First Fifty Years of Atlantic Coast Conference Football". Scarecrow Press, 2004. "Introduction," Page xvi.] The ACC officially came into existence on June 14, 1953. [http://www.theacc.com/this-is/acc-this-is.html About the ACC] The Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com. Accessed April 25, 2008.] The 1953 college football season, the first under the new conference, saw Duke and Maryland crowned conference co-champions. Maryland later went on to be crowned national champions despite losing the 1953 Orange Bowl. [http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/football/college/collegechampionship.htm NCAA College Football Division 1A Past Champions] Accessed April 25, 2008.]

On December 4, 1953, conference officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted the University of Virginia as the eighth member of the conference. Virginia was the first non-Southern Conference member to join the new conference, as Virginia had played football with no conference affiliation since 1936. The conference operated with eight members until June 30, 1971, when the University of South Carolina left to become an independent. [http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/trads/scar-history.html Carolina history] University of South Carolina Athletics department, gamecocksonline.cstv.com. Accessed April 25, 2008.]

After South Carolina's departure, the ACC operated with seven members until April 3, 1978, when the Georgia Institute of Technology was admitted. The Atlanta, Georgia school had withdrawn from the Southeastern Conference in January 1964 and had operated as an independent before joining the ACC. [ [http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/database/georgiatech_database.htm Georgia Tech Football History Database] Nationalchamps.net. Accessed April 26, 2008.] Though the school joined the conference beginning with the 1979 season, it did not become eligible to win the ACC football championship until the 1983 season. [http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/yrbyyr.html Georgia Tech Football Year-By-Year] Georgia Tech Athletics Department, Ramblinwreck.cstv.com. Accessed April 26, 2008.] Seven years after beginning full ACC play, Georgia Tech won its first ACC football championship en route to winning the 1990 NCAA Division I football championship. [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/geot/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/05-mg-history.pdf 2006 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football media guide] (PDF) Georgia Tech Athletics Department, Ramblinwreck.cstv.com. Accessed April 26, 2008. Page 21.]

In the fall of 1982, Clemson University was put on probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. [https://goomer.ncaa.org/wdbctx/LSDBi/LSDBi.MajorInfPackage.ProcessMultipleBylaws?p_Multiple=0&p_PK=369&p_Button=View+Public+Report&p_TextTerms=ThisIsADummyPhraseThatWillNotBeDuplicated&p_TextTerms2=ThisIsADummyPhraseThatWillNotBeDuplicated&p_Division=1 Clemson University placed on NCAA probation] The NCAA, NCAA.org. November 22, 1982. Accessed April 26, 2008.] The probation forbade the team from participating in any bowl games, reduced the scholarships available to the team, and rendered the team ineligible for ACC football championship competition. Though the team still played its full slate of games during the 1983 season and finished 9–1–1, Maryland, which finished with an 8–4 record, was awarded the ACC football championship.

The ACC expanded to nine members on September 15, 1990, with the addition of Florida State. [http://www.theacc.com/this-is/institutions.html Member Institutions] The Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com. Accessed April 26, 2008.] Beginning with the 1992 football season—its first in the ACC—Florida State won or shared the ACC football championship nine consecutive times. [http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/database/floridastate_database.htm Florida State football history Database] Nationalchamps.net. Accessed April 26, 2008.] The conference expanded to 11 members on July 1, 2004, with the addition of the University of Miami and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Miami and Virginia Tech began official ACC play with the 2004 college football season, [ [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/5335884/ Miami, Virginia Tech quietly join ACC] The Associated Press, MSNBC.com. July 2, 2004. Accessed March 13, 2008.] but because the league was forbidden from hosting a championship game, the conference was forced to award a championship based on round-robin play. Virginia Tech, which had the best conference record at the conclusion of the season, was awarded the ACC's final round-robin conference championship. [ [http://www.hokiesports.com/football/recaps/1242004aaa.html Tech topples 'Canes to win ACC championship] Jimmy Robertson, "Hokiesports.com The Newspaper". Hokiesports.com. December 4, 2004. Accessed April 25, 2008.]

Championship game era

Following the admittance of Boston College into the conference beginning with the 2005-2006 season, the conference began to play an annual championship game to conclude the season. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901685.html After Ugly Breakup, BC Hopes for Fast Start in ACC] Mark Schlabach, "The Washington Post". August 10, 2005; Page E04. Accessed March 13, 2008.] The new 12-team conference was divided into two divisions, and the champion of each division (the team with the best conference record in each division) was awarded an invitation to the conference championship game. [ [http://www.theacc.com/genrel/101804aaa.html ACC Unveils Future League Seal, Divisional Names] The Atlantic Coast Conference, theacc.com. October 18, 2004. Accessed March 14, 2008.]

The first championship game was held in Jacksonville, Florida, on December 3, 2005, [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=253370259 Florida State pulls off VaTech upset, clinches BCS berth] The Associated Press, ESPN.com, December 4, 2005. Accessed December 17, 2007.] with Florida State (champions of the Atlantic Division) defeating Virginia Tech (Coastal Division champions), 27–22. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/playbyplay?gameId=253370259&period=4 4th Qtr Play-by-Play] ESPN.com, December 3, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2007.] In 2006, Wake Forest faced off against Georgia Tech for the championship. In the lowest-scoring conference championship game in Division I history, Wake defeated Georgia Tech, 9–6. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2684468 Elias Says ...] ESPN.com, December 3, 2006. Accessed March 29, 2008.] The 2007 game saw Virginia Tech return to the contest, this time facing off against Boston College. In their second ACC Championship Game, Tech defeated Boston College, 30–16. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273350103 Hokies ride Glennon's arm, Taylor's legs to ACC crown] ESPN.com, December 1, 2007. Accessed December 10, 2007.]

The 2008 ACC Championship Game will be held in Tampa, Florida, on December 6, 2008. Tampa will also host the 2009 ACC Championship Game. [http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121207aaa.html ACC Announces Future Sites for Football Championship Game] The Atlantic Coast Conference, December 12, 2007. Accessed December 12, 2007.] In 2010, the site will switch to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Champions by year

Championships by school

References

External links

* [http://www.acctampabay.com Official website of the 2008 ACC Championship Game]