Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

Association	NCAA
Commissioner	John Swofford (since 1997)
Sports fielded	25 men's: 12 women's: 13
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FBS
Region	South (11 schools) Northeast (3 schools) Midwest (1 school)
Official website	www.theacc.com
Locations

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States in which its fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA's) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest levels for athletic competition in US-based collegiate sports. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and historically based in the South Atlantic States, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports. It is considered one of the six collegiate power conferences, all of which enjoy automatic qualifying for their football champion into the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the ACC will be one of five conferences with a contractual tie-in to an "access bowl", the successors to the BCS.

The ACC was founded in 1953 in [Greensboro, North Carolina]] by seven universities located in the South Atlantic States. Additional members were added to the conference in 1979, 1991, 2004, and 2013. The 2004 and 2013 additions extended the conference's footprint into the northeast and midwest. It's most recent expansion in 2013 saw the additions of Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh. Also in 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC to join the Big Ten Conference. On November 28, 2012, the ACC's Council of Presidents voted unanimously to invite the University of Louisville as a full member, replacing Maryland.

ACC member institutions represent a range of well-regarded private and public universities of various enrollment sizes, all of which participate in the conference sponsored Atlantic Coast Conference Inter-institutional Academic Consortium (ACCIAC) whose purpose is to "enrich the educational missions, especially the undergraduate student experiences, of member universities".

History

Locations of Atlantic Coast Conference member institutions as of July 1, 2013. Louisville will join on July 1, 2014, replacing Maryland, which leaves for the Big Ten Conference.

Seven universities in the South Atlantic States 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, becoming the second conference formed by schools collectively withdrawing from the SoCon, after the Southeastern Conference. On December 4, 1953, officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted Virginia, a SoCon charter member that had been independent since 1937, into the conference.

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 additions of those schools marked the first expansions of the conference footprint since 1953, though both schools were still located with the rest of the ACC schools in the South Atlantic States.

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 or anywhere in the Northeastern US. 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.

On September 17, 2011, Big East Conference members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh both tendered formal written applications to the ACC to join its ranks. The two schools were accepted into the conference the following day, once again expanding the conference footprint like previous expansions. Because the Big East intended 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) was July 1, 2014. However, on July 16, 2012, the Big East and Syracuse came to an agreement that allowed Syracuse to leave the Big East on July 1, 2013. Two days later, the Big East and Pittsburgh reached an identical agreement.

On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC in all sports except football and hockey as the conference's first-ever member in the Midwestern United States. As part of the agreement, Notre Dame will play five football games each season against ACC teams beginning in 2014. On March 12, 2013, Notre Dame and the Big East announced they had reached a settlement allowing Notre Dame to join the ACC effective July 1, 2013.

On November 19, 2012, the University of Maryland's Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC to join the Big Ten Conference effective in 2014. The following week, the Big East's University of Louisville accepted the ACC's invitation to become a full member, replacing Maryland, on July 1, 2014 and bringing the ACC into the South Central United States for the first time.

The ACC's presidents announced on April 22, 2013, that all 15 schools that will be members of the conference in 2014–15 had signed a grant of media rights, effective immediately and running through the 2026–27 school year, coinciding with the duration of the conference's current TV deal with ESPN. This move essentially prevents the ACC from being a target for other conferences seeking to expand—under the grant, if a school leaves the conference during the contract period, all revenue derived from that school's media rights for home games would belong to the ACC and not the school. The move also leaves the SEC as the only one of the so-called "Power Five" FBS conferences without a grant of rights.

Commissioners

Name	Term
James H. Weaver	1954–1970
Robert James	1971–1987
Eugene F. Corrigan	1987–1997
John Swofford	1997–present

Member schools

Current members

The ACC has fifteen full member institutions. For two of the 25 ACC-administered sports, baseball and football, schools are assigned to one of two seven-team divisions named the Atlantic Division and the Coastal Division. One member, Notre Dame, plays baseball in the Atlantic Division but does not compete in ACC football, instead competing as a football independent while playing a rotating selection of five ACC football teams per season. Syracuse does not field a varsity baseball team, but competes in the Atlantic Division for football. On July 1, 2014, Maryland will depart for the Big Ten Conference and Louisville will join from the American Athletic Conference.

Institution	Location (Population)	Founded	Type (affiliation)	Undergraduate enrollment	Postgraduate enrollment	Nickname	Mascot	Joined ACC	ACC division*
Boston College	Chestnut Hill, MA (625,087)	1863	Private (Catholic)	9,088	4,818	Eagles	Baldwin the Eagle	2005	Atlantic
Clemson University	Clemson, SC (13,905)	1889	Public	16,562	4,206	Tigers	Tiger	1953	Atlantic
Duke University	Durham, NC (228,330)	1838	Private (Nonsectarian)	6,484	8,107	Blue Devils	Blue Devil	1953	Coastal
Florida State University	Tallahassee, FL (181,376)	1851	Public (SUSF)	31,851	8,486	Seminoles	Osceola and Renegade	1991	Atlantic
Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta, GA (420,003)	1885	Public (USG)	14,527	7,030	Yellow Jackets	Buzz	1979	Coastal
MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College Park	College Park, MD (30,413)	1856	Public (USM)	26,826	10,805	Terrapins	Testudo	1953	Atlantic
MiamiUniversity of Miami	Coral Gables, FL (46,780)	1925	Private (Nonsectarian)	10,368	5,289	Hurricanes	Sebastian the Ibis	2004	Coastal
North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC (57,233)	1789	Public (UNC)	18,579	10,811	Tar Heels	Rameses	1953	Coastal
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC (403,892)	1887	Public (UNC)	26,176	9,591	Wolfpack	Mr. Wuf & Mrs. Wuf	1953	Atlantic
Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame	South Bend, IN (101,168)	1842	Private (Catholic)	8,371	3,362	Fighting Irish	Leprechaun	2013	Atlantic*
PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, PA (305,704)	1787	State-related (Nonsectarian)	18,427	10,339	Panthers	Roc the Panther	2013	Coastal
Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY (145,170)	1870	Private (Nonsectarian)	14,798	6,231	Orange	Otto the Orange	2013	Atlantic*
VirginiaUniversity of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA (43,475)	1819	Public	15,822	8,085	Cavaliers	CavMan	1953	Coastal
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Blacksburg, VA (42,620)	1872	Public	23,859	7,228	Hokies	Hokie Bird	2004	Coastal
Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem, NC (238,156)	1834	Private (Nonsectarian)	4,815	2,617	Demon Deacons	The Demon Deacon	1953	Atlantic

*Division are used only for baseball and football. Notre Dame plays baseball in the Atlantic Division, but does not participate in ACC football. Syracuse does not field a baseball team, but plays football in the Atlantic Division.

Future member

Louisville will join the ACC as a full member on July 1, 2014.

Institution	Location (Population)	Founded	Type (affiliation)	Undergraduate enrollment	Postgraduate enrollment	Nickname	Mascot	Joined ACC	ACC division
LouisvilleUniversity of Louisville	Louisville, KY (741,096)	1798	Public	15,893	6,400	Cardinals	Cardinal Bird	2014	Atlantic

Former member

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Joined	Left	Current Conference	Nickname
University of South Carolina	Columbia, SC	1801	Public	1953	1971	Southeastern Conference	Gamecocks

Membership timeline

Full members Non-football members

Sports

The Atlantic Coast Conference sponsors championship competition in twelve men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Teams in Atlantic Coast Conference competition

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	14	-
Basketball	15	15
Cross Country	14	15
Field Hockey	-	7
Football	14	-
Golf	12	10
Lacrosse	6	8
Rowing	-	8
Soccer	12	14
Softball	-	11
Swimming & Diving	11/12*	11/12*
Tennis	12	15
Track and Field (Indoor)	14	15
Track and Field (Outdoor)	15	15
Volleyball	-	15
Wrestling	7	-

• * = Miami men and Clemson women compete only in diving

Men's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the 12 men's ACC sports for the 2013-14 academic year.

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Wrestling	Total ACC Men's Sports
Boston College	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	10
Clemson	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	9
Duke	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Florida State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	9
Georgia Tech	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	9
Maryland	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	8
Miami	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y^	Y	Y	Y	N	7.5
North Carolina	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
North Carolina State	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Notre Dame	Y	Y	Y	*	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	10
Pittsburgh	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	9
Syracuse	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	N	7
Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Virginia Tech	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Wake Forest	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	9
Totals	14	15	14	14	12	6	12	11.5	12	14	15	7	146.5
Future Member
Louisville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	10

* Notre Dame sponsors football as an Independent and although it has a commitment to play five games per year against ACC football teams. Notre Dame does not participate in the ACC football standings and thus is not eligible for the ACC football championship although it has access to the ACC's bowl lineup, not including the Orange Bowl to which it has its own arrangement for access.

^ Miami participates in diving only. For the purposes of this chart, Miami men's diving is counted as sponsoring half of the sport of men's swimming & diving.

Men's sports that are not sponsored by the ACC but are fielded as a varsity sport at ACC schools:

School	Fencing	Ice Hockey	Rifle	Rowing	Sailing	Skiing
Boston College	IFA	Hockey East	no	no	NEISA	Independent
Duke	Independent	no	no	no	no	no
North Carolina	Independent	no	no	no	no	no
North Carolina State	no	no	GARC+	no	no	no
Notre Dame	MFC	Hockey East	no	no	no	no
Syracuse	no	no	no	EARC	no	no

⁺ Mixed men's and women's rifle team

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the 13 women's ACC sports for the 2013-14 academic year.

School	Basketball	Cross Country	Field Hockey	Golf	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & Diving	Tennis	Track & Field (Indoor)	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Volleyball	Total ACC Women's Sports
Boston College	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Clemson	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y	N	Y^	Y	Y	Y	Y	8.5
Duke	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Florida State	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Georgia Tech	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Maryland	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Miami	Y	Y	N	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
North Carolina	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
North Carolina State	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Notre Dame	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	12
Pittsburgh	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Syracuse	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	11
Virginia	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13
Virginia Tech	Y	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Wake Forest	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Totals	15	15	7	10	8	8	14	11	11.5	15	15	15	15	159.5
Future Member
Louisville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	13

^ Clemson participates in diving only. For the purposes of this chart, Clemson women's diving it is counted as sponsorship of half of the sport of women's swimming & diving.

Women's sports that are not sponsored by the ACC but are fielded as a varsity sport at ACC schools:

School	Fencing	Gymnastics	Ice Hockey	Rifle	Sailing	Sand Volleyball	Skiing
Boston College	IFA	no	Hockey East	no	NEISA	no	Independent
Duke	Independent	no	no	no	no	no	no
Florida State	no	no	no	no	no	Independent	no
Maryland	no	EAGL	no	no	no	no	no
North Carolina	Independent	EAGL	no	no	no	no	no
North Carolina State	no	EAGL	no	GARC+	no	no	no
Notre Dame	MFC	no	no	no	no	no	no
Pittsburgh	no	EAGL	no	no	no	no	no
Syracuse	no	no	CHA	no	no	no	no

⁺ Mixed men's and women's rifle team

Current champions

Season	Sport	Men's champion	Women's champion
Fall 2012	Cross Country	Virginia Tech	Florida State
	Field Hockey	–	North Carolina
	Football	Florida State	–
	Soccer	Maryland	Virginia
	Volleyball	–	Florida State
Winter 2012-13	Basketball	Miami	Duke
	Swimming & Diving	Virginia	Virginia
	Track & Field (Indoor)	Virginia Tech	Clemson
	Wrestling	Virginia Tech	–
Spring 2013	Baseball	North Carolina	–
	Softball	–	NC State
	Golf	Duke	Duke
	Lacrosse	North Carolina	Maryland
	Rowing	–	Virginia
	Tennis	Virginia	Miami
	Track & Field (Outdoor)	Florida State	Clemson

Baseball

See also: Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament

ACC Baseball is divided into two divisions, the Atlantic Division and the Coastal Division, that parallel the divisions of ACC football except for the fact that Syracuse is the only ACC school that does not field a baseball team and Notre Dame is assigned to the Atlantic Division.

Atlantic Division	Coastal Division
Boston College	Virginia Tech
Clemson	Georgia Tech
Florida State	Miami
Maryland	Virginia
North Carolina State	North Carolina
Notre Dame	Pittsburgh
Wake Forest	Duke

Wake 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.

College World Series / NCAA Tournament Appearances

School	College World Series Championships	College World Series Appearances	Last CWS Appearance	NCAA Tournament Appearance	Last NCAA Appearance
Boston College†		4	1967	10	2009
Clemson		12	2010	38	2013
Duke		3	1961	5	1961
Florida State†		21	2012	51	2013
Georgia Tech		3	2006	29	2013
Louisville†		2	2013	7	2013
Maryland		0	n/a	3	1971
Miami†	2001, 1999, 1985 1982	23	2008	42	2013
North Carolina		10	2013	28	2013
North Carolina State		2	2013	26	2013
Notre Dame †		2	2002	21	2006
Pittsburgh		0	n/a	3	1995
Virginia		2	2011	13	2013
Virginia Tech		0	n/a	10	2013
Wake Forest	1955	2	1955	11	2007

Syracuse does not currently field a baseball team but has one appearance in the NCAA baseball tournament prior to joining the conference.
^† 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
• Louisville: 2 appearances
• Miami: 21 appearances
• Notre Dame: 2 appearances
• Syracuse: 1 appearance

Basketball

Main article: Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball

See also: ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions, ACC Women's Basketball regular season, and ACC Women's Basketball Tournament

History

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, Roy Williams, and this coming season, Jim Boeheim.

Tournament as championship

Possibly Case's most lasting contribution was the ACC Tournament, which was created when the league started in 1954. The ACC is unique in the fact that it is the only Division I college basketball conference that does not recognize a regular season title. This is because of the fact that in the days where only one school per league made the NCAA tournament, the ACC representative was determined by the conference tournament, rather than the regular season as other leagues did. Therefore, the league eliminated the regular season title in 1961 and has chosen to recognize only the winner of the ACC tournament as the league champion ever since. Fans and media do sometimes claim a regular-season title for the team that finishes first, and the NCAA recognizes ACC regular-season titles, but any such "title" is unofficial under ACC rules and carries no reward other than the top seed in the ACC tournament. Notably, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), another Southern Conference offshoot, follows exactly the opposite policy to the ACC in this area—since the 1950–51 season, the SEC has awarded its conference championship based solely on regular-season record, with the SEC men's tournament (not held from 1953–1978) used only to award the conference's automatic NCAA berth.

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 was 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 six times, and each rotating partner four times, over a three-year period.

Beginning in the 2012–2013 season, the in-conference schedule expanded to 18 games. Beginning in the 2013–14 season, a new scheduling format will see each team paired with one "primary partner." The scheduling model will be based on a three-year cycle during which teams will play every league opponent at least once every season. "Primary partners" will play home and away every season, while the remaining conference opponents will rotate in groups of three: one year both home and away; one year at home only; and one year away only. Over the course of the three-year cycle "primary partners" will play a total of six times and all other conference opponents will play four times.

The table below lists each school's two permanent scheduling partners until expansion in July 2013, followed by the post-expansion pairings. Louisville is expected to replace Maryland in the post-expansion pairings once it enters the ACC.

School	Partner 1	Partner 2
Boston College	Notre Dame	Syracuse
Clemson	Florida State	Georgia Tech
Duke	North Carolina	Wake Forest
Florida State	Clemson	Miami
Georgia Tech	Clemson	Notre Dame
Maryland	Pittsburgh	Virginia
Miami	Florida State	Virginia Tech
North Carolina	Duke	North Carolina State
North Carolina State	North Carolina	Wake Forest
Notre Dame	Boston College	Georgia Tech
Pittsburgh	Maryland	Syracuse
Syracuse	Boston College	Pittsburgh
Virginia	Maryland	Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech	Miami	Virginia
Wake Forest	Duke	North Carolina State

National championships and Final Fours

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. Eight of the 12 members have advanced to the Final Four at least once. In addition North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse were awarded Helms Athletic Foundation national championships for seasons predating the beginning of the NCAA basketball championship in 1939.

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 finalists were from the ACC, with Maryland defeating Duke for the title.

School	Pre-NCAA Helms Championships	NCAA Men's Championships	Men's NCAA Runner-Up	Men's NCAA Final Fours	NCAA Women's Championships	Women's NCAA Runner-Up	Women's NCAA Final Fours
Duke		4 (2010, 2001, 1992, 1991)	6 (1999, 1994, 1990, 1986, 1978, 1964)	15 (2010, 2004, 2001, 1999, 1994, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1978, 1966, 1964, 1963)		2 (2006, 1999)	4 (2006, 2003, 2002, 1999)
Florida State			1 (1972)	1 (1972)
Georgia Tech			1 (2004)	2 (2004, 1990)
Louisville		3 (1980, 1986, 2013)		10 (2013, 2012, 2005, 1986, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1975, 1972, 1959)		2 (2013, 2009)	2 (2013, 2009)
Maryland		1 (2002)		2 (2002, 2001)	1 (2006)		4 (2006, 1989, 1982, 1978)
North Carolina	1 (1924)	5 (2009, 2005, 1993, 1982, 1957)	4 (1981, 1977, 1968, 1946)	18 (2009, 2008, 2005, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1991, 1982, 1981, 1977, 1972, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1957, 1946)	1 (1994)		3 (2007, 2006, 1994)
North Carolina State		2 (1983, 1974)		3 (1983, 1974, 1950)			1 (1998)
Notre Dame	2 (1927, 1936)			1 (1978)	1 (2001)	2 (2011, 2012)	5 (2013, 2012, 2011, 2001, 1997)
Pittsburgh	2 (1928, 1930)			1 (1941)
Syracuse	2 (1918, 1926)	1 (2003)	2 (1996, 1987)	5 (2013, 2003, 1996, 1987, 1975)
Virginia			2 (1984, 1981)	2 (1984, 1981)		1 (1991)	3 (1992, 1991, 1990)
Wake Forest				1 (1962)

Italics denotes championships won before the school joined the ACC. Women's national championship tournaments prior to 1982 were run by the AIAW.

Field hockey

The ACC has won 17 of the 31 NCAA Championships in field hockey.

National Championships

School	NCAA Women's Championships
Maryland	1987, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011
North Carolina	1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009
Wake Forest	2002, 2003, 2004

Football

See also: List of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions and ACC Championship Game

Divisions

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 2012 ACC Championship Game was played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina with Florida State defeating Georgia Tech 21–15.

The ACC was the only NCAA Division I conference whose divisions were not divided geographically (North/South, East/West) until the Big Ten announced its division names after the 2010 regular season. The Big Ten will change to geographic divisions when Maryland and Rutgers join that conference in 2014, so the ACC will once again be the only Division I conference with non-geographic divisions.

The existing 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
• Four out-of-conference games.

On February 3, 2012, the ACC announced a new regular-season scheduling format which added Syracuse to the Atlantic division and Pittsburgh to the Coastal division. These new teams will be cross-divisional rivals. This change will take effect once Pitt and Syracuse join the conference in July 2013. On October 3, 2012, it was announced that the extra in-division game will result in one fewer cross-division game.

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. Upon its arrival in the ACC, Louisville is expected to replace Maryland as Virginia's permanent opponent.

Atlantic Division	Coastal Division
Boston College	Virginia Tech
Clemson	Georgia Tech
Florida State	Miami
Maryland	Virginia
North Carolina State	North Carolina
Syracuse	Pittsburgh
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. Previously the ACC Championship Game runner-up had been guaranteed the Music City Bowl with usually then the 5th pick. 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.

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.

According to ESPN, Notre Dame will "have access" to the ACC's bowl games, not including the Orange Bowl, even though the school is not joining the conference for football.

Order of selection for ACC bowl participants

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	Russell Athletic Bowl	Orlando, Florida	The American	2
4	Sun Bowl	El Paso, Texas	Pac-12	4
5	Belk Bowl	Charlotte, North Carolina	The American	3
6	Music City Bowl	Nashville, Tennessee	SEC	7/8
7	Independence Bowl	Shreveport, Louisiana	SEC	10
8	Military Bowl	Annapolis, Maryland	Army 2012, C-USA 2013	3
9**	Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl	San Francisco, California	Pac-12, 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.

National championships

Although the NCAA does not determine an official national champion for Division I FBS football, several ACC members claim national championships awarded by various "major selectors" of national championships as recognized in the official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records. Since 1936 and 1950 respectively, these include what are now the most pervasive and influential selectors, the Associated Press poll and Coaches Poll. In addition, since 1998 the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has used a mathematical formula to match the top two teams at the end of the season. The winner of the BCS is contractually awarded the Coaches' Poll national championship and its AFCA National Championship Trophy as well as the MacArthur Trophy from the National Football Foundation.

School	Claims of non-poll "major selectors"	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, 2001	1983, 1987, 1989, 2001	2001
Pittsburgh	1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936	1937, 1976	1976
Syracuse		1959	1959

• Italics denote championships won before the school joined the ACC.
• In addition, future non-football member Notre Dame claims 11 national titles. Many sources, however, credit the Fighting Irish with 13. See Notre Dame Fighting Irish football national championships for more details.

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			2007, 2006, 2005, 2002, 1999	Candy Hannemann 2001, Virada Nirapathpongporn 2002, Anna Grzebian 2005
Georgia Tech		Watts Gunn 1927, Charles Yates 1934, Troy Matteson 2002
Miami			1984	Penny Hammel 1983
North Carolina		Harvie Ward 1949, John Inman 1984
North Carolina State		Matt Hill 2009
Virginia		Dixon Brooke 1940
Wake Forest	1986, 1975, 1974	Curtis Strange 1974, Jay Haas 1975, Gary Hallberg 1979
Notre Dame	1944

• 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 13 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 two national championships . In addition, prior to the establishment of the NCAA tournament, Maryland had won nine national championships while Virginia won two. Many have speculated that the future ACC Men's Lacrosse conference, with the inclusions of Syracuse and Notre Dame, may be the best conference of any NCAA sport, despite the SEC's dominance in football.

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 14 women's national championships: Maryland has won ten, Virginia has won three and North Carolina has won one.

National Championships & Runner-Up Finishes

University	Men's NCAA Championships	Men's NCAA Runner-Up	Pre-NCAA Men's Championships	Women's NCAA Championships	Women's NCAA Runner-Up
Maryland	1975, 1973	2012, 2011, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1979, 1976, 1974, 1971	1967, 1959, 1956, 1955, 1940, 1939, 1937, 1936, 1928	2010, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1992, 1986	2013, 2011, 1994, 1991, 1990, 1985, 1984,
Virginia	2011, 2006, 2003, 1999, 1972	1996, 1994, 1986, 1980	1970, 1952	2004, 1993, 1991	2007, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1998, 1996
North Carolina	1981, 1982, 1986, 1991	1993		2013	2009
Duke	2013, 2010	2007, 2005
Syracuse	2009, 2008, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1995, 1993, 1990*, 1989, 1988, 1983	2013, 2001, 1999, 1992, 1985, 1984	1920, 1922, 1924, 1925		2012
Notre Dame		2010

Italics denotes championships before it was part of the ACC.
* Syracuse vacated its 1990 Championship due to NCAA violations.

Soccer

In men's soccer, the ACC has won 15 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 nine have been won by Maryland (3 times), Clemson (twice), North Carolina (twice), Duke, 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 21 of the 28 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 22 ACC tournaments. They lost in the final to North Carolina State in 1988 and Virginia in 2004, both times by penalty kicks. The 2010 tournament was the first in which they failed to make the championship game, falling to eventual champion Wake Forest in the semi-finals. The 2012 ACC tournament saw North Carolina's first-ever quarterfinal loss, to eventual champion Virginia; however, the Tar Heels went on to win the national title that season. Future ACC member Notre Dame has won three NCAA titles.

National Championships & Runner-Up Finishes

School	Men's NCAA Championships	Men's NCAA Runner-Up	Women's NCAA Championships	Women's NCAA Runner-Up	AIAW
Clemson	1987, 1984	1979
Duke	1986	1995, 1982,		2011, 1992
Florida State				2007
Louisville		2010
Maryland	2008, 2005, 1968	1962, 1960
North Carolina	2011, 2001	2008	2012, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2003, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1984, 1983, 1982	2001, 1998, 1985	1981
N. C. State				1988
Notre Dame			1995, 2004, 2010	1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008
Virginia	2009, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1989	1997
Wake Forest	2007

• Italics denote championships before the school was part of the ACC.

Facilities

School	Football Stadium	Capacity	Basketball Arena	Capacity	Baseball Stadium	Capacity
Boston College	Alumni Stadium	44,500	Conte Forum	8,606	Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at John Shea Field	1,000
Clemson	Memorial Stadium	81,500	Littlejohn Coliseum	10,000	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	4,500 (Seats) 6,217
Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium	33,941	Cameron Indoor Stadium	9,314	Jack Coombs Field Durham Bulls Athletic Park	2,000 10,000
Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium	82,300	Donald L. Tucker Center	13,800	Dick Howser Stadium	6,700
Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium	55,000	Hank McCamish Pavilion	8,600	Russ Chandler Stadium	4,157
Louisville	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium	55,000	KFC Yum! Center	22,090	Jim Patterson Stadium	4,000
Maryland	Byrd Stadium	54,000	Comcast Center	17,950	Shipley Field	2,500
Miami	Sun Life Stadium	76,500	BankUnited Center	7,972	Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park	5,000
North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium	62,980	Dean Smith Center (M) Carmichael Arena (W)	21,750 8,010	Boshamer Stadium	4,100 (Seats) 5,000
North Carolina State	Carter–Finley Stadium	57,583	PNC Arena (M) Reynolds Coliseum (W)	19,557 9,500	Doak Field	2,500 (Seats) 3,000
Notre Dame	Plays football as an FBS independent		Edmund P. Joyce Center	9,149	Frank Eck Stadium	2,500
Pittsburgh	Heinz Field	65,050	Petersen Events Center	12,508	Charles L. Cost Field at Petersen Sports Complex	900
Syracuse	Carrier Dome	49,262	Carrier Dome	35,012	Non-baseball school
Virginia	Scott Stadium	61,500	John Paul Jones Arena	14,593	Davenport Field	5,074
Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium	66,233	Cassell Coliseum	9,847	English Field	1,033 (Seats) 3,000+
Wake Forest	BB&T Field	31,500	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum	14,407	Wake Forest Baseball Park	6,280

Note: Future members in grey; departing member in pink.

Academics

Atlantic Coast Conference Inter-institutional Academic Collaborative

Among the major NCAA athletic conferences that sponsor NCAA Division 1 FBS football, including the BCS "power conferences", the ACC has been regarding as having the highest academically ranked collection of members based on U.S. News & World Report and by the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.

The members of the ACC also participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference Inter-institutional Academic Collaborative (ACCIAC), a consortium that provides a vehicle for inter-institutional academic and administrative collaboration between member universities. Growing out of a conference-wide doctoral student-exchange program that was established in 1999, the ACCIAC has expanded its scope into other domestic and international collaborations.

The stated mission of the ACCIAC is to "enrich the educational missions, especially the undergraduate student experiences, of member universities." To that end, the collaborative helps organize various academic initiatives, including fellowship and scholarship programs, global research initiatives, leadership conferences, and extensive study abroad programs. Funding for its operations, 90% of which is spent on direct student support, is derived from a portion of the income generated by the ACC Football Championship Game and by supplemental allocations by individual universities and various grants.

Major academic programs of the ACCIAC include:

• An annual Meeting of the Minds (MOM) undergraduate research conference.
• An annual Student Leadership Conference
• Creativity and Innovation Fellowship program in which each university receives $12,500 to award between two to five undergraduate students ACCIAC fellowships for research or creative projects.
• Student Study Abroad Scholarship program that awards two to five ACCIAC scholarships for study abroad.
• Coach for College program, primarily for student-athletes and run through Duke University with support from the ACCIAC, that takes 32 ACC students to Vietnam for three weeks in the summer to coach hundreds of middle school children.
• Traveling Scholars program which allows PhD candidates from one ACC campus to access courses, laboratories, library, or other resources at any one of the other ACC member institution campuses.
• Clean Energy Grant Competition that helps coordinate geographically defined clusters of ACC universities in competition for United States Department of Energy Clean Energy Grants.
• Study Abroad Program collaborative which allows cross registration in study abroad programs enroll in programs sponsored by an ACC university other than their “home” university.

The ACCIAC also supports periodic meetings among faculty, administration, and staff who pursue similar interests and responsibilities at the member universities either by face-to-face conferences, video conferences, or telephone conferences. ACCIAC affinity groups include those for International Affairs Officers, Study Abroad Directors, Teaching-Learning Center Directors, Chief Information Officers, Chief Procurement Officers, Undergraduate Research Conference Coordinators, Student Affairs Vice Presidents, Student Leadership Conference Coordinators, and Faculty Athletic Representatives To the ACC.

Academics and Research

School	Median CR+M SAT Scores	Endowment (in billions)	Total R&D Expenditures (in millions)	Major Faculty Awards	TPR Academic Rating (scale of 60–99)	US News National Ranking	Forbes America's Top Colleges	Washington Monthly National Rankings	ARWU US National Ranking	HEEACT Performance Ranking - US	Leiden Impact Ranking - US	SIR World Report Country Rank	URAP US Ranking	US News/QS World Rankings	THE World University Ranking
Boston College	1355	$1.646	$52.3	3	86	30	26	146	138	135	n/r	228	153	329	150
Clemson	1235	$0.483	$166.4	6	81	68	218	158	110	144	118	138	120	601	n/r
Duke	1455	$5.555	$1,022.2	26	92	8	24	26	28	13	25	22	14	20	23
Florida State	1200	$0.498	$230.4	9	74	86	193	97	70	100	76	101	80	401	n/r
Georgia Tech	1360	$1.608	$655.4	21	75	36	135	10	54	61	28	101	47	88	25
Louisville	1135	$0.726	$197.4	6	n/r	160	541	61	138	102	105	128	102	n/r	n/r
Maryland	1300	$0.225	$495.4	22	78	58	168	105	29	39	39	41	36	117	97
Miami	1325	$0.679	$323.5	4	83	44	132	217	68	60	83	70	48	231	193
North Carolina	1300	$2.179	$767.5	32	82	30	47	4	30	18	32	30	20	57	42
North Carolina State	1185	$0.635	$378.2	11	81	106	235	42	68	84	87	54	60	291	301
Notre Dame	1430	$6.330	$134.4	11	84	17	12	16	86	101	66	129	94	235	94
Pittsburgh	1255	$2.618	$889.4	26	80	58	265	111	39	19	46	15	17	98	76
Syracuse	1160	$0.940	$83.7	9	76	58	154	31	100	139	n/r	183	146	451	n/r
Virginia	1360	$4.789	$292.1	11	83	24	36	48	54	53	59	51	46	123	118
Virginia Tech	1210	$0.595	$450.1	11	78	72	127	44	68	107	92	55	73	337	118
Wake Forest	1330	$1.000	$209.1	4	92	27	53	103	110	81	88	119	87	317	190

See also

• ACC Athlete of the Year
• Atlantic Coast Conference 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 women's basketball regular season champions
• ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
• ACC Women's Basketball Tournament
• List of current ACC football announcers
• List of current ACC basketball announcers
• Atlantic Coast Rugby League

Further reading

• J. Samuel Walker, ACC Basketball: The Story of the Rivalries, Traditions, and Scandals of the First Two Decades of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.

External links

• Official website
• ACC Hall of Champions
• Official website of the ACCIAC