Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball

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The Atlantic Coast Conference (founded in 1953) is one of the premier college basketball conferences in NCAA Division I. The current ACC champions are the [[Duke men's basketball

Contents

Members

InstitutionNicknameLocationFoundedYears in the ACCSchool TypeEnrollment
Boston College Eagles Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 18632005presentPrivate/Catholic (Jesuit)14,500
Clemson Tigers Clemson, South Carolina 18891953presentPublic24,951
Duke Blue Devils Durham, North Carolina 18381953presentPrivate/Nonsectarian15,892
Florida State Seminoles Tallahassee, Florida 18511991presentPublic (State University System of Florida)38,886
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Atlanta, Georgia 18851978presentPublic (University System of Georgia)32,718
Louisville Cardinals Louisville, Kentucky 17982014presentPublic23,262
Miami Hurricanes Coral Gables, Florida 19252004presentPrivate/Nonsectarian15,520
North Carolina Tar Heels Chapel Hill, North Carolina 17891953presentPublic (University of North Carolina)26,878
NC State Wolfpack Raleigh, North Carolina 18871953presentPublic (University of North Carolina)29,957
Notre Dame Fighting Irish South Bend, Indiana 18422013–presentPrivate/Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross)11,733
Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 17872013–present State-related/Nonsectarian28,664
Syracuse Orange Syracuse, New York 18702013–presentPrivate/Nonsectarian22,850
Virginia Cavaliers Charlottesville, Virginia 18191953presentPublic20,399
Virginia Tech Hokies Blacksburg, Virginia 18722004presentPublic28,000
Wake Forest Demon Deacons Winston-Salem, North Carolina 18341953presentPrivate/Nonsectarian8,116

[1] [2]

History

The early roots of ACC basketball began primarily thanks to two men: Everett Case and Frank McGuire. Case had been a successful high school coach in Indiana who accepted the head coaching job at North Carolina State 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. State had originally started construction on Reynolds Coliseum in 1941, but stopped construction during the war. It was originally slated to seat 10,000 people, but Case persuaded school officials to expand the arena to 12,400 people. It opened as the new home court for his team in 1949; at the time, it was the largest on-campus arena in the South. As such, it was 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.

Partly to counter Case's personality, as well as the dominant success of his program, North Carolina convinced St. John's head coach Frank McGuire to come to Chapel Hill in 1952. McGuire knew that largely due to Case's influence, basketball was now the major high school athletic event of the region, unlike football in the South. He not only tapped the growing market of high school talent in North Carolina, but also brought several recruits from his home territory in New York City as well. 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.

After State was slapped with crippling NCAA sanctions before the 1956–57 season, McGuire's North Carolina team stepped into the breach and delivered the ACC its first national championship. During the Tar Heels' championship run, Greensboro entrepreneur Castleman D. Chesley noticed the popularity that it generated. He hastily cobbled together a five-station television network to broadcast the Final Four. That network began broadcasting regular season ACC games the following season. From that point on, ACC basketball gained large popularity. Chesley's network continued until Metrosports took it over in 1981, handing it to Raycom Sports took it over in 1982; it was the direct ancestor of today's ACC Network.

Scheduling partners

The table below lists each school's permanent men's basketball only scheduling partners after expansion in 2013 and the replacement of Maryland by Louisville in 2014.

SchoolPartner 1 [3] Partner 2 [3]
Boston CollegeNotre DameSyracuse
ClemsonFlorida StateGeorgia Tech
DukeNorth CarolinaWake Forest
Florida StateClemsonMiami
Georgia TechClemsonNotre Dame
LouisvillePittsburghVirginia
MiamiFlorida StateVirginia Tech
North CarolinaDukeNorth Carolina State
North Carolina StateNorth CarolinaWake Forest
Notre DameBoston CollegeGeorgia Tech
PittsburghLouisvilleSyracuse
SyracuseBoston CollegePittsburgh
VirginiaLouisvilleVirginia Tech
Virginia TechMiamiVirginia
Wake ForestDukeNorth Carolina State

Men's basketball titles by school

As explained in the main article about the league, the ACC does not recognize any team other than the conference tournament winner as the champion for a given season. Accordingly, this table sorts the schools primarily by number of tournament wins, using first-place regular season finishes and NCAA championships as tiebreakers where needed.

Team Regular season first-place finishes ACC tournament championships NCAA Championships
Duke 20225
North Carolina 32186
NC State 7112
Wake Forest 440
Georgia Tech 240
Virginia 1131
Maryland 531
Miami 210
Florida State 110
South Carolina 110
Notre Dame 010
Virginia Tech 010
Clemson 100
Louisville 003 [a]
Syracuse 001
Boston College 000
Pittsburgh 000
  1. The third national title, in 2013, was ordered vacated by the NCAA due to sanctions stemming from an NCAA decision.

References

  1. Official Website of the Atlantic Coast Conference
  2. Archived 2010-03-04 at the Wayback Machine About the University of South Carolina
  3. 1 2 "ACC Announces Future Scheduling Formats and Policies - the Official Athletic Site of the Atlantic Coast Conference". Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2015.