- Atlantic Coast Conference
-
Atlantic Coast Conference
(ACC)
Established 1953 Association NCAA Division Division I FBS Members 12 (+2 joining) Sports fielded 25[1] (men's: 12; women's: 13) Region South Atlantic (11 schools)
New England (1 school)
Mid-Atlantic (2 schools in 2014)Headquarters Greensboro, North Carolina Commissioner John Swofford (since 1997) Website theacc.com Locations 
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities. Football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the higher of two levels of Division I college football.
The ACC is considered one of the six "power conferences," and the ACC football champion receives an automatic bid to one of the Bowl Championship Series games each season.
Contents
History
Seven universities were charter members of the ACC: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest. Previously members of the Southern Conference, they left partially due to that league's ban on post-season play. After drafting a set of bylaws for the creation of a new league, the seven withdrew from the Southern Conference at the spring meeting on the morning of May 8, 1953. The bylaws were ratified on June 14, 1953, and the ACC was created. On December 4, 1953, officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted Virginia into the conference.[2]
In 1971, South Carolina left the ACC to become an independent. The ACC operated with seven members until the addition of Georgia Tech from the Metro Conference on April 3, 1978. The total number of member schools reached nine with the addition of Florida State, also formerly from the Metro Conference, on July 1, 1991.
The ACC added three members from the Big East Conference during the 2005 cycle of conference realignment: Miami and Virginia Tech joined on July 1, 2004, and Boston College joined on July 1, 2005, as the league's twelfth member and the first and only one from New England. The expansion was not without controversy, since Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia (and, initially, Virginia Tech) filed lawsuits against the ACC, Miami, and Boston College for conspiring to weaken the Big East Conference.
The ACC Hall of Champions opened on March 2, 2011, next to the Greensboro Coliseum arena, making the ACC the second college sports conference to have a hall of fame.[3][4]
On September 17, 2011, Big East Conference members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh both tendered a formal written application to the ACC to join its ranks.[5] The two schools were accepted into the conference the following day.[6] Because the Big East intends to hold Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month notice period required by league bylaws, the most likely entry date into the ACC (barring negotiations) is July 1, 2014.[7]
Commissioners
Name Term James H. Weaver 1954–1970 Robert James 1971–1987 Eugene F. Corrigan 1987–1997 John Swofford 1997–present Members
The twelve ACC schools cover seven states, each having coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. With the addition of Pitt and Syracuse, there will be fourteen ACC schools covering nine states.
^a As of July 1, 2011. In Division I FBS, football is the only sport for which the NCAA does not sponsor a championship. National championships sponsored by various third parties, such as the Bowl Championship Series and Associated Press are not included in the table (but conference football championships are). Championships in women's sports sponsored by the AIAW are also not included.
Future members
Further information: 2010–11 NCAA conference realignmentInstitution Location Founded Type Enrollment Endowment
(mil $US)[8]Nickname Joined Varsity
SportsNCAA Team
Championships[a]University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1787 Public/State-related 28,823 $2,032.8 Panthers TBA 19 0 Syracuse University Syracuse, New York 1870 Private/Non-sectarian 20,407 $849.2 Orange TBA 18 13 Former member
Institution ACC Tenure Conference Team Championships Current Conference University of South Carolina 1953–1971 4 Southeastern Conference Timeline
Facilities
Future members
School Football Stadium Capacity Basketball Arena Capacity Baseball Stadium Capacity Pittsburgh Heinz Field 65,050 Petersen Events Center 12,508 Petersen Sports Complex 900 Syracuse Carrier Dome 50,000 Carrier Dome 34,616 non-baseball school Sports
Member universities compete in the following sports:
- Baseball - Men
- Basketball - Men & Women
- Cross Country - Men & Women
- Field Hockey - Women
- Football - Men
- Golf - Men & Women
- Indoor Track and Field - Men & Women
- Lacrosse - Men & Women
- Rowing - Women
- Soccer - Men & Women
- Softball - Women
- Swimming & Diving - Men & Women
- Tennis - Men & Women
- Track & Field - Men & Women
- Volleyball - Women
- Wrestling - Men
Outside of the ACC, Boston College plays ice hockey as a member of Hockey East; and Maryland, North Carolina, and NC State are members of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League for women's gymnastics.
Current champions
Fall 2011 (2010 champions marked with *) Sport School Cross Country (M) N.C. State Cross Country (W) Florida State Field Hockey Maryland * Football Virginia Tech * Soccer (M) Maryland * Soccer (W) Wake Forest * Volleyball Duke * Winter 2010–11 Sport School Basketball (M) Duke Basketball (W) Duke Swimming & Diving (M) Virginia Swimming & Diving (W) Virginia Indoor Track & Field (M) Virginia Tech Indoor Track & Field (W) Clemson Wrestling Maryland Spring 2011 Sport School Baseball Virginia Golf (M) Georgia Tech Golf (W) North Carolina Lacrosse (M) Maryland Lacrosse (W) Maryland Rowing Virginia Softball Florida State Tennis (M) Virginia Tennis (W) North Carolina Track & Field (M) Florida State Track & Field (W) Clemson Baseball
See also: ACC Baseball TournamentWake Forest won the ACC's only national championship in 1955. Miami won its four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001) prior to joining the ACC.
National Championships School College
World
SeriesLast CWS Boston College† 4 1967 Clemson 12 2010 Duke 3 1961 Florida State† 20 2010 Georgia Tech 3 2006 Maryland 0 n/a Miami† 23 2008 North Carolina 9 2011 North Carolina State 1 1968 Virginia 2 2011 Virginia Tech 0 n/a Wake Forest 2 1955 † The count of College World Series appearances includes those made by the school prior to joining the ACC:
- Boston College: 4 appearances
- Florida State: 11 appearances
- Miami: 21 appearances
Basketball
See also: ACC Men's Basketball Tournament and List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season championsHistory
Locations of Atlantic Coast Conference member institutions, with the addition of future member institutions Syracuse and Pittsburgh
Historically, the ACC has been considered one of the most successful conferences in men's basketball. The early roots of ACC basketball began primarily thanks to two men: Everett Case and Frank McGuire.
The North Carolina State coach Everett Case had been a successful high school coach in Indiana who accepted the Wolfpack's head coaching job at a time that the school's athletic department had decided to focus on competing in football on a level with Duke, then a national power in college football. Case's North Carolina State teams dominated the early years of the ACC with a modern, fast-paced style of play. He became the fastest college basketball coach to reach many "games won" milestones.
Case eventually became known as The Father of ACC Basketball. Despite his success on the court, he may have been even a better promoter off-the-court. Case realized the need to sell his program and university. That is why he organized the funding and construction of Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina, as the new home court for his team. At the time, the Reynolds Coliseum was the largest on-campus arena in America, and it was therefore used as the host site for many Southern Conference Tournaments, ACC Tournaments, and the Dixie Classic, an annual event involving the four ACC teams from North Carolina as well as four other prominent programs from across the nation. The Dixie Classic brought in large revenues for all schools involved and soon became one of the premier sporting events in the South.
At North Carolina, Frank McGuire was hired as the men's basketball coach to counter Case's personality, as well as the dominant success of his program. McGuire began recruiting in his home area of New York. McGuire knew that basketball was the major high school athletic event of the region, unlike football in the south. Case and McGuire literally invented a rivalry. Both men realized the benefits created through a rivalry between them. It brought more national attention to both of their programs and increased fan support on both sides. For this reason, they often exchanged verbal jabs at each other in public, while maintaining a secret working relationship in private.
In 1957, when McGuire's North Carolina team won the national championship, an entrepreneur from Greensboro named Castleman D. Chesley noticed the popularity that it generated. He developed a five-station television network which began broadcasting regular season ACC games the following season. From that point on, ACC basketball gained large popularity.
The ACC has been the home of many prominent basketball coaches, including Terry Holland, Everett Case, Frank McGuire, Vic Bubas, Press Maravich, Dean Smith, Norm Sloan, Bones McKinney, Lefty Driesell, Jim Valvano, Mike Krzyzewski, Bobby Cremins, Gary Williams, and Roy Williams.
Present day schedule
With the expansion to 12 teams by the 2005-2006 season, the ACC schedule could no longer accommodate a home-and-away series between every pair of teams each season. In the new scheduling format that was agreed to, each team is assigned two permanent partners and nine rotating partners over a three-year period. Teams play their permanent partners in a home-and-away series each year. The rotating partners are split into three groups: three teams who are played in a home-and-away series, three teams who are played at home, and three teams who are played on the road. The rotating partner groups are rotated so that a team will play each permanent partner 6 times, and each rotating partner 4 times over a three-year period.
The table below lists each school's two permanent scheduling partners.
School Partner 1 Partner 2 Boston College Miami Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Florida State Duke North Carolina Maryland Florida State Miami Clemson Georgia Tech Clemson Wake Forest Maryland Duke Virginia Miami Boston College Florida State North Carolina Duke North Carolina State North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Virginia Virginia Tech Maryland Virginia Tech Virginia Boston College Wake Forest North Carolina State Georgia Tech Over the course of its existence, ACC schools have captured 12 NCAA men's basketball championships. North Carolina has won five, Duke has won four, NC State has won two, and Maryland has won one. In addition, 8 of the 12 members have advanced to the Final Four at least once. (note: UNC also hangs a banner for a 1924 National Championship which was awarded by Helms Foundation in the 1940s. This championship is not recognized by the NCAA.)
In women's basketball, the ACC has won two national championships, North Carolina in 1994 and Maryland in 2006. In 2006, Duke, Maryland, and North Carolina all advanced to the Final Four, the first time a conference placed three teams in the women's Final Four. Both 2006 NCAA women's finalists were from the ACC, with Maryland defeating Duke for the title.
National Championships
School Men's NCAA Women's NCAA Duke 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 Maryland 2002 2006 North Carolina 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 1994 NC State 1974, 1983 Field hockey
The ACC has won 16 of the 30 NCAA Championships in field hockey. The conference is assured of a 17th national title in 2011, as Maryland and North Carolina will play in the final on November 20.
National Championships School NCAA Maryland 1987, 1993, 1999,
2005, 2006, 2008,
2010North Carolina 1989, 1995, 1996,
1997, 2007, 2009Wake Forest 2002, 2003, 2004 Football
See also: ACC Championship GameDivisions
In 2005, the ACC began divisional play in football. Division leaders compete in a playoff game to determine the ACC championship. The inaugural Championship Game was played on December 3, 2005, in Jacksonville, Florida, at the stadium then known as Alltel Stadium, in which Florida State defeated Virginia Tech to capture its 12th championship since it joined the league in 1992. The 2010 ACC Championship Game was played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina with Virginia Tech defeating Florida State 44–33.
The ACC was the only NCAA Division I conferences whose divisions are not divided geographically (North/South, East/West)[9] until the Big Ten announced its division names after the 2010 regular season.[10]
This division structure leads to each team playing the following games:
- Five games within its division (one against each opponent)
- One game against a designated permanent rival from the other division (not necessarily the school's closest traditional rival, even within the conference); this is similar to the SEC setup
- Two rotating games (one home, one away) against teams in the other division
In the table below, each column represents one division. Each team's designated permanent rival is listed in the same row in the opposing column.[11]
Atlantic Division Coastal Division Boston College Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Florida State Miami Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke Bowl games
Within the Bowl Championship Series, the Orange Bowl serves as the home of the ACC champion against another BCS at-large selection unless the conference's champion is selected for the national championship game.
The other bowls pick ACC teams in the order set by agreements between the conference and the bowls. The ACC Championship Game runner-up is guaranteed to fall no lower than the Sun Bowl, the 4th pick, in the conference bowl hierarchy.[12] Previously the ACC Championship Game runner-up had been guaranteed the Music City Bowl with usually then the 5th pick.[13] The other rule change that will be in effect for the next four years is that the ACC has eliminated the clause in the contract that states if a bowl team has already selected the runner-up, it doesn't have to choose it again.[12]
Moreover, a bowl game can bypass a team in the selection process only if the two teams in question are within one game of each other in the overall ACC standings. This rule was instituted in response to concerns over the 2005 bowl season, in which Atlantic Division co-champion Boston College fell to the ACC's then-last remaining bowl slot, the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Order of selection for ACC bowl participants[14] Pick Name Location Opposing Conference Opposing Pick 1* Orange Bowl Miami Gardens, Florida BCS - 2 Chick-fil-A Bowl Atlanta, Georgia SEC 3/4/5 3 Champs Sports Bowl Orlando, Florida Big East 2 4 Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas Pac-12 4 5 Belk Bowl Charlotte, North Carolina Big East 3 6 Music City Bowl Nashville, Tennessee SEC 7/8 7 Independence Bowl Shreveport, Louisiana MWC 3 8 Military Bowl Washington, D.C. C-USA 2010, Navy 2011,
Army 2012, Big 12 2013- 9** Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl San Francisco, California Pac-12, WAC, Army, or Navy - * Unless the ACC champion is ranked #1 or #2 in the BCS poll, in which case the ACC champion will play in the national championship game, and the Orange Bowl will select one of the other BCS teams.
** The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl has a conditional arrangement with the ACC: if its primary partners are not bowl eligible, and if the ACC has nine bowl-eligible teams, then the bowl takes the ninth selection of ACC teams.[14]
National championships
Though the NCAA does not determine an official national champion for Division I FBS football, several ACC members have achieved a national championship through the Associated Press, the Coaches Poll, or the Bowl Championship Series.
School Helms Athletic Foundation Associated Press Coaches Poll Bowl Championship Series Clemson 1981 1981 Florida State 1993, 1999 1993, 1999 1999 Georgia Tech 1917, 1928, 1952 1990 Maryland 1953 1953 Miami 1983, 1987, 1989,
1991, 20011983, 1987, 1989,
20012001 - Italics denote championships won before the school joined the ACC.
Golf
National Championships School Men's Team NCAA Men's Individual NCAA Women's Team NCAA Women's Individual NCAA Clemson 2003 Charles Warren 1997 Duke 1999, 2002, 2005,
2006, 2007Candy Hannemann 2001,
Virada Nirapathpongporn 2002,
Anna Grzebian 2005Georgia Tech Watts Gunn 1927,
Charles Yates 1934,
Troy Matteson 2002Miami 1984 Penny Hammel 1983 North Carolina Harvie Ward 1949,
John Inman 1984North Carolina State Matt Hill 2009 Virginia Dixon Brooke 1940 Wake Forest 1974, 1975, 1986 Curtis Strange 1974,
Jay Haas 1975,
Gary Hallberg 1979- Italics denote championships won before the school joined the ACC.
Lacrosse
Since 1971, when the first men's national champion was determined by the NCAA, the ACC has won 11 national championships, more than any other conference in college lacrosse, including at least one by every team currently playing in the ACC. Virginia has won five national championships, North Carolina has won four national championships, Maryland has won two national championships and Duke has won one national championship . In addition, prior to the establishment of the NCAA tournament, Maryland had won nine national championships while Virginia won two.
Women's lacrosse has only awarded a national championship since 1982, and the ACC has won more titles than any other conference. In all, the ACC has won 13 women's national championships: Maryland has won ten and Virginia has won three.
National Championships School Men's NCAA Women's NCAA Pre-NCAA (Men) Maryland 1973, 1975 1986, 1992, 1995,
1996, 1997, 1998,
1999, 2000, 2001,
20101928, 1936, 1937,
1939, 1940, 1955,
1956, 1959, 1967Virginia 1972, 1999, 2003,
2006, 20111991, 1993, 2004 1952, 1970 North Carolina 1981, 1982, 1986,
1991Duke 2010 - Italics denote championships before the sport was part of the ACC.
Soccer
In men's soccer, the ACC has won 14 national championships, including 13 in the 26 seasons between 1984 and 2009. Six have been won by Virginia - including 2009 against the previously undefeated Akron Zips. The remaining eight have been won by Maryland (3 times), Clemson (twice), Duke, North Carolina, and Wake Forest. During the 2007 season, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest advanced to the College Cup, the final four of men's soccer. The 2008 season saw two ACC teams, Maryland and North Carolina, meet in the championship game with Maryland winning by a score of 1-0.
In women's soccer, North Carolina has won 20 of the 27 NCAA titles since the NCAA crowned its first champion, as well as the only Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) soccer championship in 1981. The Tar Heels have also won 18 of the 21 ACC tournaments, losing to North Carolina State in 1988 and Virginia in 2004, both times by penalty kicks. In 2010 for the first time they failed to make the championship game, falling to eventual champion Wake Forest in the semi-finals.
National Championships School Men's NCAA Women's NCAA AIAW Clemson 1984, 1987 Duke 1986 Maryland 1968, 2005, 2008 North Carolina 2001 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987,
1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992,
1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999,
2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 20091981 Virginia 1989, 1991, 1992,
1993, 1994, 2009Wake Forest 2007 - Italics denote championships before the sport was part of the ACC.
See also
- ACC Athlete of the Year
- ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament champions
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference rivalries
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball regular season champions
- List of Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball tournament champions
- List of current ACC football announcers
- List of current ACC basketball announcers
References
- ^ "This Is the ACC". TheACC.com. http://www.theacc.com/this-is/tradition.html. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "ACC Hall of Champions Debuts". SlamOnline.com. Source Interlink Magazines, LLC. March 2, 2011. http://www.slamonline.com/online/college-hs/college/2011/03/acc-hall-of-champions-debuts/. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
- ^ The Southern Conference Hall of Fame opened in 2009. "Southern Conference Announces Inaugural Hall of Fame Class". Southern Conference. 2009-01-28. http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=3655202. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (September 17, 2011). "Big East Exit Is Said to Begin for Syracuse and Pittsburgh". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/sports/big-east-exit-is-said-to-begin-for-syracuse-and-pittsburgh.html. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ^ Clarke, Liz (September 18, 2011). "ACC expands to 14 with addition of Syracuse, Pittsburgh". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/acc-expands-to-14-with-addition-of-syracuse-pittsburgh/2011/09/18/gIQAL4aOcK_story.html. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ Taylor, John (September 20, 2011). "Big East to force Pitt, Syracuse to stay until 2014". College Football Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61zndMVvG. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
- ^ a b As of June 30, 2010. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2010 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2009 to FY 2010" (PDF). 2010 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2010NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values_Final.pdf. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
- ^ NCAA College Football Standings Accessed March 3, 2010
- ^ Greenstein, Teddy (December 13, 2010). "Big Ten division names: Legends and Leaders". Chicago Breaking Sports (Chicago Tribune). http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/12/big-ten-division-names-legends-and-leaders.html. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ "ACC Unveils Future League Seal, Divisional Names". Atlantic Coast Conference. October 18, 2004. http://www.theacc.com/genrel/101804aaa.html. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ a b http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/7643/new-acc-bowl-selection-process-in-effect-for-2010
- ^ http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112508aaa.html
- ^ a b "ACC Announces Bowl Lineup for 2010-13 Seasons". TheACC.com. November 5, 2009. http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110509aaa.html. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
External links
Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division Coastal Division Future members Pittsburgh Panthers (TBA) • Syracuse Orange (TBA)
Championships & awards Conference champions • National championships • Athlete of the Year
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences BCS Automatic Qualifier Atlantic Coast Conference • Big 12 Conference • Big East Conference • Big Ten Conference • Pacific-12 Conference • Southeastern Conference
Non-Automatic Qualifier Future Categories:- Atlantic Coast Conference
- Organizations established in 1953
- Sports in the Southern United States
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