Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

Association	NCAA
Founded	May 8, 1953 (1953-05-08)
Commissioner	James J. Phillips (since February 1, 2021)
Sports fielded	28 men's: 13 women's: 15
Division	Division I
Subdivision	FBS
No. of teams	18
Headquarters	Charlotte, North Carolina
Region	South South Atlantic East South Central West South Central Northeast Mid-Atlantic New England Midwest East North Central West Pacific
Official website	theacc.com
Locations

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-eight sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are: Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of national championships in multiple sports throughout the conference's history. Generally, the ACC's top athletes and teams in any particular sport in a given year are considered to be among the top collegiate competitors in the nation. Additionally, the conference enjoys extensive media coverage. With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the ACC is one of the "Power Four" conferences with a contractual tie-in to a New Year's Six bowl game in the sport of football.

The ACC was founded on May 8, 1953, by seven universities located in the South Atlantic States, with the University of Virginia joining in early December 1953 to bring the membership to eight. The loss of South Carolina in 1971 dropped membership to seven, while the addition of Georgia Tech in 1979 for non-football sports and 1983 for football brought it back to eight, and Florida State's arrival in 1991 for non-football sports and 1992 for football increased the membership to nine. Since 2000, with the widespread reorganization of the NCAA, ten additional schools have joined, and one original member (Maryland) has left to bring it to the current membership of 18 schools. The additions in recent years extended the conference's footprint into the Northeast, Midwest, and West.

Member universities

Current members

The ACC has 18 member institutions from 12 states. Listed in alphabetical order, these 12 states within the ACC's geographical footprint are California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The geographic domain of the conference is predominantly within the Southern and Northeastern United States along the US Atlantic coast, but recent conference realignment has brought it to California and Texas. It stretches from Florida in the south to New York in the north and from California in the west to Massachusetts farthest east.

When Notre Dame joined the ACC, it chose to remain a football independent. However, its football team established a special scheduling arrangement with the ACC to play a rotating selection of five ACC football teams per season. For the 2020 season, due largely to the suspension of most non-conference games by other Power Five conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the ACC reached an agreement to allow Notre Dame to play a full, 10-game conference schedule and be eligible to play for the ACC championship.

Since August 2, 2024, the 18 members of the ACC are:

Institution	Location	Joined	Founded	Type	Enrollment (Fall 2023)	Endowment (billions)	Nickname	Colors
Boston College	Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	2005	1863	Private (Jesuit)	15,025	$3.461	Eagles
University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	2024	1868	Public	45,699	$2.915	Golden Bears
Clemson University	Clemson, South Carolina	1953	1889	Public	28,747	$1.027	Tigers
Duke University	Durham, North Carolina	1953	1838	Private (non-sectarian) (Methodist-founded)	16,840	$13.238	Blue Devils
Florida State University	Tallahassee, Florida	1991	1851	Public	43,701	$0.947	Seminoles
Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta, Georgia	1979	1885	Public	47,961	$2.947	Yellow Jackets
University of Louisville	Louisville, Kentucky	2014	1798	Public	23,225	$0.918	Cardinals
University of Miami	Coral Gables, Florida	2004	1925	Private (non-sectarian)	19,593	$1.366	Hurricanes
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	1953	1789	Public	32,234	$5.201	Tar Heels
North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	1953	1887	Public	37,323	$2.028	Wolfpack
University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, Indiana	2013	1842	Private (Holy Cross)	13,174	$16.617	Fighting Irish
University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	2013	1787	Public	33,771	$5.489	Panthers
Southern Methodist University	Dallas, Texas	2024	1911	Private (Methodist)	11,842	$2.041	Mustangs
Stanford University	Stanford, California	2024	1891	Private (non-sectarian)	17,529	$36.495	Cardinal
Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	2013	1870	Private (non-sectarian)	22,948	$1.897	Orange
University of Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	1953	1819	Public	25,944	$9.800	Cavaliers
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Blacksburg, Virginia	2004	1872	Public	38,294	$1.792	Hokies
Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	1953	1834	Private (non-sectarian) (Baptist-founded)	9,121	$1.900	Demon Deacons

Notes

Former members

In 1971, the University of South Carolina left the ACC to become an independent, later joining the Metro Conference in 1983 and moving to its current home, the Southeastern Conference, in 1991. On July 1, 2014, the University of Maryland departed for the Big Ten Conference.

Institution	Location	Joined	Left	Founded	Type	Nickname	Colors	Current conference
University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	1953	1971	1801	Public	Gamecocks		SEC
University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland		2014	1856	Public (land-grant)	Terrapins		Big Ten

Membership map

Atlantic Coast Conference

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Atlantic Coast Conference Members

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Boston College

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Membership timeline

Full members  Non-football members  Independent  Other Conference  Other Conference 

History

Founding and early expansion

The ACC was established on June 14, 1953, when seven members of the Southern Conference left to form their own conference. These seven universities became charter members of the ACC: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest. They left partially due to the Southern Conference's ban on post-season football play that had been initiated in 1951. (Clemson and Maryland had both defied the Southern Conference's bowl rule following the 1951 season and were banned from playing other conference teams in the 1952 season.) 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, at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. The bylaws were ratified on June 14, 1953, and the new conference was created. The conference officials indicated a desire to add an eighth member, and candidates mentioned were Virginia, VPI and West Virginia. On December 4, 1953, officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted Virginia, a former Southern Conference charter member that had been independent since 1937, into the conference. Virginia's president Colgate Darden argued fiercely against joining the ACC or any conference, while UVA athletics director Gus Tebell argued in favor. In the end, UVA's Board of Visitors approved joining the ACC by a vote of 6–3.

In 1960, the ACC implemented a minimum SAT score for incoming student-athletes of 750, the first conference to do so. This minimum was raised to 800 in 1964, but was ultimately struck down by a federal court in 1972.

On July 1, 1971, South Carolina left the ACC to become an independent.

Racial integration

Racial integration of all-white collegiate sports teams was high on the regional agenda in the 1950s and 1960s. Involved were issues of equality, racism, and the alumni demand for the top players needed to win high-profile games. The ACC took the lead. First they started to schedule integrated teams from the north. Finally ACC schools—typically under pressure from boosters and civil rights groups—integrated their teams. With an alumni base that dominated local and state politics, society and business, the ACC flagship schools were successful in their endeavor—as Pamela Grundy argues, they had learned how to win:

The widespread admiration that athletic ability inspired would help transform athletic fields from grounds of symbolic play to forces for social change, places where a wide range of citizens could publicly and at times effectively challenge the assumptions that cast them as unworthy of full participation in U.S. society. While athletic successes would not rid society of prejudice or stereotype—black athletes would continue to confront racial slurs...[—minority star players demonstrated] the discipline, intelligence, and poise to contend for position or influence in every arena of national life.

1978 and 1991 expansions

The ACC operated with seven members until the addition of Georgia Tech from the Metro Conference, announced on April 3, 1978, and taking effect on July 1, 1979, except in football, in which Tech would remain an independent until joining ACC football in 1983. The total number of member schools reached nine with the addition of Florida State, also formerly from the Metro Conference, on July 1, 1991, in non-football sports and July 1, 1992, in football. 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.

2004–2005 expansion

See also: 2005 NCAA conference realignment

The ACC added three members from the Big East Conference during the 2005 conference realignment. Initially, the conference targeted Boston College, Miami, and Syracuse. The expansion was controversial, as Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia (and, initially, Virginia Tech) filed lawsuits against the ACC, Miami, and Boston College for allegedly conspiring to weaken the Big East Conference. Then-Virginia governor Mark Warner, who feared Virginia Tech being left behind in a weakened Big East, pressured the administration of the University of Virginia to lobby on behalf of their in-state foe. Eventually Virginia Tech replaced Syracuse in the expansion lineup and ACC expansion was agreed upon. Miami and Virginia Tech joined on July 1, 2004, while Boston College joined on July 1, 2005, as the league's twelfth member and the first from the Northeast.

2010–present

2010-2022

Further information: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment

See also: 2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment and 2010–2014 Big Ten Conference realignment

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 after the Southern Conference.

On September 17, 2011, Big East Conference members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh both applied to join the ACC. 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, in July 2012, the Big East came to an agreement with Syracuse and Pitt that allowed the two schools to leave the Big East on July 1, 2013.

On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC in all conference sports except football and men's ice hockey (as the ACC does not sponsor men's ice hockey; of all other ACC universities, only Boston College sponsors men's ice hockey) as the conference's first member in the Midwestern United States. As part of the agreement, Notre Dame committed to play five football games each season against ACC schools 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 effective July 1, 2014.

The ACC's presidents announced on April 22, 2013, that all 15 schools that would be members of the conference in 2014–15 had signed a grant of media rights (GOR), effective immediately and running through the 2026–27 school year, coinciding with the duration of the conference's then-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 left the SEC as the only one of the FBS Power Five conferences without a GOR.

In July 2016, the GOR was extended through the 2035–36 school year, coinciding with the signing of a new 20-year deal with ESPN that would transform the then-current ad hoc ACC Network into a full-fledged network. The new network launched as a digital service in the 2016–17 school year and as a linear network in August 2019.

On August 24, 2021, the ACC formed an alliance with the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences. In 2022, the ACC brought back old rivalries like the Backyard Brawl between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. A friendly rivalry between University of Pittsburgh Panthers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in memory of the 1956 Sugar Bowl and Bobby Grier, during the last game, actor Anthony Mackie appeared on field to honor Grier and the game.

2024 expansion

See also: 2021–2026 NCAA conference realignment

On September 1, 2023, the conference voted to expand and add three new members: California, SMU, and Stanford. The announcement was initially controversial, given the distance between the schools and its current members. SMU joined on July 1, 2024, from the American Athletic Conference, while Cal and Stanford joined the ACC on August 2, 2024, due to the fiscal year of the Pac-12 Conference, their former conference, being different from most athletic conferences.

Academics and ACC

Academic rankings

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

Nine ACC institutions are members of the Association of American Universities: Cal, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Stanford, and Virginia. Syracuse was a member until 2011 but voluntarily withdrew over a dispute on how to count non-federal grants.

Academics and Research

School	Endowment (in 2021 US$ billions)	AAU Member	US News US Ranking	Washington Monthly US Ranking	NTU US Ranking	CWTS Leiden US Impact Ranking	Scimago US Higher Education Ranking	URAP US Ranking	ARWU US Ranking	QS World Rankings	Major Faculty Awards(total awards)	Princeton Review Rating(scale 60–99)
Boston College	$3.83	No	39	41	138	157	174	145	118	631	6	85
California	$6.91	Yes	15	9	7	30	13	5	4	10
Clemson	$1.01	No	86	158	138	108	140	123	145	851	3	78
Duke	$12.7	Yes	7	6	14	14	17	16	22	57	30	92
Florida State	$0.89	No	53	54	91	81	112	75	62	461	9	68
Georgia Tech	$2.97	Yes	33	78	47	47	37	45	52	97	21	86
Louisville	$0.96	No	195	252	119	104	135	110	172	1001	5	69
Miami	$1.39	Yes	67	323	59	57	68	54	83	278	7	78
North Carolina	$5.17	Yes	22	17	20	23	19	21	21	132	19	77
NC State	$1.95	No	60	85	72	42	57	56	62	274	11	75
Notre Dame	$13.3	Yes	20	12	101	101	105	87	100	304	14	80
Pittsburgh	$5.65	Yes	67	124	17	18	24	19	36	222	13	80
SMU	$2.0	No	89	353		190	211	160	158	1001
Stanford	$37.8	Yes	3	2	3	4	3	2	2	5
Syracuse	$1.81	No	67	51	138	147	171	129	158	781	11	77
Virginia	$14.5	Yes	24	42	53	51	53	46	62	260	15	87
Virginia Tech	$1.69	No	47	37	95	50	64	63	62	302	10	73
Wake Forest	$1.86	No	47	48	86	106	114	88	118	701	3	94

ACCAC and ACC academic network

The members of the ACC participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Consortium (ACCAC), 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 ACCAC has expanded its scope into other domestic and international collaborations.

The stated mission of the ACCAC is to "leverage the athletic associations and identities among the 15 ACC universities in order to enrich the educational missions 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.

ACCAC academic programs

Major academic programs that have been implemented under ACCAC include:

• The annual Meeting of the Minds (MOM) undergraduate research conference.
• The annual Student Leadership Conference.
• The Creativity and Innovation Fellowship Program in which each university receives $12,500 to award between two and five undergraduate students ACCAC fellowships for research or creative projects.
• The Summer Research Scholars Program in which every ACC university will receive $5,000 to support up to two of its undergraduate students in conducting research in residence at another ACC university during a minimum 10-week period over the summer.
• The ACC Debate Championship
• The ACC Inventure Prize Competition is a Shark Tank-like innovation competition for teams of students from ACC universities.
• The Student Federal Relations Trip to Washington, D.C. is an annual trip of student delegates from ACC universities to the nation's capital.
• The Creativity Competition is planned to be an ACC-wide, team-based interdisciplinary competition emphasizing use of creative design and the arts to begin in 2017.
• The Distinguished Lecturers Program in which five ACC universities select an outstanding faculty member as The ACCAC's Distinguished Lecturer. In addition to an award stipend, the ACCAC provides financial support to enable each ACC university to sponsor a "distinguished lecture event" on their campus.
• The Executive Leadership Series is a two-day skill enhancement programs designed for Deans, Vice Provosts, and Vice Chancellors of ACC universities.
• The annual Student President Conference.
• The Coach for College Program, primarily for student-athletes and run through Duke University with support from the ACCAC, that takes 32 ACC students to Vietnam for three weeks in the summer to coach hundreds of middle school children.
• The 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.
• The Clean Energy Grant Competition that helps coordinate geographically defined clusters of ACC universities in competition for United States Department of Energy Clean Energy Grants.
• The 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. A Student Study Abroad Scholarship program that awarded two to five ACCAC scholarships for study abroad was discontinued in 2013, but is targeted for renewal in 2014–15.

The ACCAC 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. ACCAC 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.

Athletic department revenue by school

Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties.

Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance.

The following table shows institutional reporting to the United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2022–23 academic year.

Institution	2022–23 Total Revenue from Athletics	2022–23 Total Expenses on Athletics
University of Notre Dame	$224,191,928	$204,392,860
Stanford University	$179,645,688	$179,645,688
Florida State University	$170,434,508	$170,434,508
University of Miami	$159,633,958	$159,633,958
University of Louisville	$155,191,814	$152,601,594
Duke University	$152,509,818	$150,765,898
Clemson University	$152,093,316	$152,093,316
University of North Carolina	$137,918,817	$136,891,350
University of Pittsburgh	$136,704,076	$136,704,076
University of California, Berkeley	$134,872,865	$134,872,865
Virginia Tech	$129,705,818	$117,168,565
University of Virginia	$125,968,540	$125,968,540
North Carolina State University	$121,444,506	$118,653,089
Boston College	$118,430,392	$118,430,392
Georgia Tech	$115,654,077	$114,155,972
Syracuse University	$113,510,249	$111,195,329
Wake Forest University	$97,298,475	$97,298,475
Southern Methodist University	$86,044,162	$86,044,162

The following table shows Atlantic Coast Conference distributions during the fiscal year ending June 2023 as reported by ProPublica using Schedule A of the Atlantic Coast Conference tax filings

Institution	2022–23 Distribution
Clemson University	$46,549,033
University of North Carolina	$46,850,044
University of Pittsburgh	$45,677,735
Duke University	$45,485,338
Florida State University	$45,235,737
University of Louisville	$45,208,128
Syracuse University	$44,696,708
North Carolina State University	$44,693,428
Wake Forest University	$44,516,141
University of Virginia	$43,919,757
Boston College	$43,775,117
University of Miami	$43,767,525
Virginia Tech	$43,698,647
Georgia Tech	$43,294,354
University of Notre Dame	$22,104,978
Average for 14 Schools Not including University of Notre Dame	$44,811,978

Facilities

School	Football stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Softball stadium	Capacity
Boston College	Alumni Stadium	44,500	Newton Campus Soccer Field	1,100	Conte Forum	8,606	Eddie Pellagrini Diamond	2,500	Boston College Softball Field	1,000
California	California Memorial Stadium	63,000	Edwards Stadium	22,000	Haas Pavilion	11,858	Evans Diamond	2,500	Levine-Fricke Field	1,204
Clemson	Memorial Stadium	82,500	Riggs Field	6,500	Littlejohn Coliseum	9,000	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	6,524	McWhorter Stadium	1,000
Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium	35,018	Koskinen Stadium	4,500	Cameron Indoor Stadium	9,314	Jack Coombs Field Durham Bulls Athletic Park	2,000 10,000	Duke Softball Stadium	1,300
Florida State	Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium	79,560	Seminole Soccer Complex	2,000	Donald L. Tucker Center	11,655	Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium	6,700	JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex	1,000
Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field	51,913	Non-soccer school		Hank McCamish Pavilion	8,600	Russ Chandler Stadium	4,157	Shirley Clements Mewborn Field	1,500
Louisville	L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium	60,800	Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium	5,300	KFC Yum! Center	22,090	Jim Patterson Stadium	4,000	Ulmer Stadium	2,200
Miami	Hard Rock Stadium	65,326	Cobb Stadium	500	Watsco Center	7,972	Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park	5,000	Non-softball school
North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium	50,500	Dorrance Field	4,200	Dean Smith Center (M) Carmichael Arena (W)	21,750 8,010	Boshamer Stadium	5,000	Anderson Stadium	500
NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium	57,583	Dail Soccer Field	3,000	Lenovo Center (M) Reynolds Coliseum (W)	19,722 5,500	Doak Field	3,000	Dail Softball Stadium	630
Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium	77,569	Alumni Stadium	2,500	Edmund P. Joyce Center	9,149	Frank Eck Stadium	2,500	Melissa Cook Stadium	850
Pittsburgh	Acrisure Stadium	65,500	Ambrose Urbanic Field at Petersen Sports Complex	735	Petersen Events Center	12,508	Charles L. Cost Field at Petersen Sports Complex	900	Vartabedian Field at Petersen Sports Complex	600
SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium	32,000	Washburne Stadium	2,577	Moody Coliseum	7,000	Non-baseball school		Non-softball school
Stanford	Stanford Stadium	50,424	Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium	2,000	Maples Pavilion	7,233	Klein Field at Sunken Diamond	4,000	Smith Family Stadium	1,500
Syracuse	JMA Wireless Dome	49,262	SU Soccer Stadium	1,500	JMA Wireless Dome	35,446	Non-baseball school		Softball Stadium at Skytop	650
Virginia	Scott Stadium	61,500	Klöckner Stadium	8,000	John Paul Jones Arena	14,593	Davenport Field at Disharoon Park	5,500	Palmer Park	522
Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium	65,632	Sandra D. Thompson Field	2,500	Cassell Coliseum	9,847	English Field	1,032	Tech Softball Park	1,024
Wake Forest	Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium	31,500	W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium	3,000	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum	14,407	David F. Couch Ballpark	3,823	Non-softball school

Apparel

School	Provider
Boston College	New Balance, Adidas (football only)
California	Nike
Clemson	Nike
Duke	Nike
Florida State*	Nike
Georgia Tech	Adidas
Louisville	Adidas
Miami	Adidas
North Carolina	Air Jordan (Nike)
NC State	Adidas
Notre Dame	Under Armour
Pittsburgh	Nike
SMU	Nike
Stanford	Nike
Syracuse	Nike
Virginia	Nike
Virginia Tech	Nike
Wake Forest	Nike

Sports

The Atlantic Coast Conference sponsors championship competition in thirteen men's and fifteen women's NCAA-sanctioned sports. The most recently added sports are women's gymnastics and fencing. Gymnastics was added for the 2023–24 school year with Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Pitt participating. Fencing was added for the 2014–15 school year after having been absent from the conference since 1980; Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, and Notre Dame participate in that sport.

Since all current ACC members (including non-football member Notre Dame) field FBS football teams, they are subject to the NCAA requirement that FBS schools field at least 16 teams in NCAA-recognized varsity sports. However, the ACC itself requires sponsorship of only four sports—football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and either women's soccer or women's volleyball. All ACC members sponsor all five of the named sports except Georgia Tech, which sponsors women's volleyball but not women's soccer.

Teams in ACC conference competition

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	16
Basketball	18	18
Cross country	17	18
Fencing	5	5
Field hockey		9
Football	18
Golf	15	15
Gymnastics		6
Lacrosse	5	12
Rowing		12
Soccer	15	17
Softball		15
Swimming & diving	13.5	15
Tennis	16	17
Track and field (indoor)	17	18
Track and field (outdoor)	17	18
Volleyball		18
Wrestling	7

Men's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the 13 men's ACC sports for the 2024–25 academic year.

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Fencing	Football	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Wrestling	Total ACC men's sports
Boston College	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	11
California	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	10
Clemson	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Duke	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	13
Florida State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Georgia Tech	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Louisville	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	10
Miami	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	7.5
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	13
NC State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Notre Dame	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	11
Pittsburgh	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
SMU	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	6
Stanford	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	12
Syracuse	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	8
Virginia	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	12
Virginia Tech	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Wake Forest	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	9
Totals 2024–25	16	18	17	5	18	15	5	15	13.5	16	17	17	7	179.5

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Atlantic Coast Conference which are played by ACC schools:

School	Gymnastics	Ice hockey	Rowing	Rugby	Sailing	Skiing	Squash	Volleyball	Water Polo	Total non-ACC men's sports
Boston College	no	Hockey East	no	no	NEISA	EISA	no	no	no	3
California	MPSF	no	IRA	Independent	no	no	no	no	MPSF	4
Notre Dame	no	Big Ten	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	1
Stanford	MPSF	no	IRA	no	PCCSC	no	no	MPSF	MPSF	5
Syracuse	no	no	EARC	no	no	no	no	no	no	1
Virginia	no	no	no	no	no	no	MASC	no	no	1
Totals 2024–25	2	2	3	1	2	1	1	1	2	15

Women's sponsored sports by school

Member-by-member sponsorship of the 15 women's ACC sports for the 2024–25 academic year. The ACC began sponsoring women's gymnastics in 2023–24.

School	Basketball	Cross country	Fencing	Field hockey	Golf	Gymnastics	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Volleyball	Total ACC women's sports
Boston College	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	14
California	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	14
Clemson	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	12
Duke	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	14
Florida State	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Georgia Tech	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	8
Louisville	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	13
Miami	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	15
NC State	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Notre Dame	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	13
Pittsburgh	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
SMU	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	10
Stanford	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	15
Syracuse	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Virginia	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	13
Virginia Tech	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	11
Wake Forest	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	9
Totals 2024–25	18	18	5	9	15	6	12	12	17	15	15	17	18	18	18	213

Women's varsity sports not currently sponsored by the Atlantic Coast Conference which are played by ACC schools:

School	Artistic swimming	Beach volleyball	Equestrian	Ice hockey	Sailing	Skiing	Squash	Water polo	Total non-ACC women's sports
Boston College	no	no	no	Hockey East	NEISA	EISA	no	no	3
California	no	MPSF	no	no	no	no	no	MPSF	2
Florida State	no	CCSA	no	no	no	no	no	no	1
SMU	no	no	Independent	no	no	no	no	no	1
Stanford	MPSF	MPSF	no	no	PCCSC	no	Independent	MPSF	5
Syracuse	no	no	no	AHA	no	no	no	no	1
Virginia	no	no	no	no	no	no	MASC	no	1
Totals	1	3	1	2	2	1	2	2	14

Current champions

Season	Sport	Men's champion	Women's champion
Fall 2023	Cross country	North Carolina	NC State
	Field hockey	–	North Carolina
	Football	Florida State	–
	Soccer	Clemson	Florida State
	Volleyball	–	Florida State & Pittsburgh
Winter 2023–24	Basketball	NC State	Notre Dame
	Fencing	North Carolina	Notre Dame
	Gymnastics	–	NC State
	Swimming & diving	NC State	Virginia
	Track & field (Indoor)	North Carolina	Virginia Tech
	Wrestling	NC State	–
Spring 2024	Baseball	Duke	–
	Softball	–	Duke
	Golf	North Carolina	Wake Forest
	Lacrosse	Notre Dame	Boston College
	Rowing	–	Syracuse
	Tennis	Florida State	North Carolina
	Track & field (outdoor)	Virginia	Duke

Football

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

The ACC is considered to be one of the Power Five conferences, all of which receive automatic placement of their football champions into one of the six major bowl games. Seven of its members claim football national championships in their history, with two having won the now-defunct Bowl Championship Series (BCS) during its existence between 1998 and 2014 and one having won under the current College Football Playoff (CFP) system. Five of its members are among the top 25 of college football's all-time winningest programs. Three ACC teams, Florida State, Miami, and Clemson, are listed in the top 10 of most successful football programs since 2000.

Divisions and scheduling

In 2005, the ACC began divisional play in football. At the time, the ACC was the only NCAA Division I conference whose divisions were not divided geographically (e.g., north–south, East/West), but rather into Atlantic and Coastal (this arrangement continues today for the sports of baseball and men's soccer). The two division leaders then competed in the ACC Championship Game to determine the conference championship, which guarantees a berth in a New Year's Six bowl game. The inaugural Championship Game was played on December 3, 2005, in Jacksonville, Florida, at the venue then known as Alltel Stadium, in which Florida State defeated Virginia Tech to capture its 12th championship since it joined the league in 1992. Notre Dame began playing several ACC teams each year in 2014, but is not considered a football member and is not eligible to play in the ACC Championship Game.

On June 28, 2022, the ACC approved a new football schedule format, set to take effect in the 2023 season. Under this format, the conference will remove divisions, and instead play a 3–5–5 format, where each team plays 3 designated rivals every year along with two separate 5-team rotations that flip every other year, such that every team will have at least one home game and one away game against every other team in a four-year cycle (the standard length of a college player's career). Participation in the ACC championship game will also no longer be determined by the winners of the two divisions; the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will play instead. The designated rivals under this system were as follows:

ACC permanent matchups (2023 only)

School	Rival 1	Rival 2	Rival 3
Boston College	Miami	Pittsburgh	Syracuse
Clemson	Florida State	Georgia Tech	NC State
Duke	North Carolina	NC State	Wake Forest
Florida State	Clemson	Miami	Syracuse
Georgia Tech	Clemson	Louisville	Wake Forest
Louisville	Georgia Tech	Miami	Virginia
Miami	Boston College	Florida State	Louisville
North Carolina	Duke	NC State	Virginia
NC State	Clemson	Duke	North Carolina
Pittsburgh	Boston College	Syracuse	Virginia Tech
Syracuse	Boston College	Florida State	Pittsburgh
Virginia	Louisville	North Carolina	Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech	Pittsburgh	Virginia	Wake Forest
Wake Forest	Duke	Georgia Tech	Virginia Tech

With the 2024 arrival of California, SMU, and Stanford, the ACC adopted a new scheduling model effective that season and running through the 2030 season. A total of 16 matchups will be protected, with 11 retained from the 2023 model, two (Miami–Virginia Tech and NC State–Wake Forest) restored from the former divisional format, and the three new members filling the remaining three slots. All teams will play each other at least twice in the cycle (once home, once away). Each of the pre-2024 members will play three times in California during the cycle, and none will travel to California in back-to-back seasons.

ACC permanent matchups (2024–present)

School	Rival 1	Rival 2	Rival 3
Boston College	Pittsburgh	Syracuse
California	SMU	Stanford
Clemson	Florida State
Duke	North Carolina	NC State	Wake Forest
Florida State	Clemson	Miami
Georgia Tech	None
Louisville	None
Miami	Florida State	Virginia Tech
North Carolina	Duke	NC State	Virginia
NC State	Duke	North Carolina	Wake Forest
Pittsburgh	Boston College	Syracuse
SMU	California	Stanford
Stanford	California	SMU
Syracuse	Pittsburgh	Boston College
Virginia	North Carolina	Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech	Miami	Virginia
Wake Forest	Duke	NC State

Additionally, this allows for each team to schedule four non-conference games. Since the 2014 season, one of the four non-conference games is against Notre Dame every two to three years, as Notre Dame plays against five ACC opponents in non-conference games each season. ACC members are also required to play at least one non-conference game each season against a team in the "Power 5" conferences since 2017. Games against Notre Dame also meet the requirement. In January 2015, the conference announced that games against another FBS independent, BYU, would also count toward the requirement. This requirement can also be met by scheduling other ACC teams in non-conference games; the first example of this was also announced in January 2015, when North Carolina and Wake Forest announced that they would play a home-and-home non-conference series in 2019 and 2021.

Prior to this, the division format was as follows:

ACC Football Divisions (2005–2022)

Atlantic	Coastal
Boston College	Virginia Tech
Clemson	Georgia Tech
Florida State	Miami
Louisville	Virginia
NC State	North Carolina
Syracuse	Pittsburgh
Wake Forest	Duke

• Six games within its division (three home, three away, 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), similar to the SEC setup.
  • The permanent cross-division matchups are as follows, with the Atlantic Division member listed first: Boston College–Virginia Tech; Clemson–Georgia Tech; Duke–Wake Forest; Florida State–Miami; Louisville–Virginia; NC State–North Carolina; Syracuse–Pittsburgh.
• One rotating game against a team in the other division, for a total of two cross-division games.
  • Non-permanent cross-division opponents face each other in the regular season twice in a span of twelve years.
  • Prior to the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh in 2013, teams played two rotating cross-division games (for a total of three cross-division games), with a total of eight conference games. The addition of one team to each division meant the loss of one cross-division game per year.

For the 2020 season, changes were made to the football schedule model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of divisions was suspended, with conference games being scheduled on a regional basis. The top two teams by winning percentage against conference opponents advanced to the ACC Championship Game. All teams played 10 conference games and were permitted to play one non-conference game of their choice as long as the game was played in-state. In addition, Notre Dame played an ACC conference schedule and was eligible to (and ultimately did) play in the ACC Championship Game.

Bowl games

Within the College Football Playoff, the Orange Bowl serves as the home of the ACC champion against Notre Dame or another team from the SEC or Big Ten. If the conference's champion is selected for the CFP, another ACC team will be chosen in its place.

The other bowls pick ACC teams in the order set by agreements between the conference and the bowls.

Beginning in 2014, Notre Dame is eligible for selection as the ACC's representative to any of its contracted bowl games. The ACC's bowl selection will no longer be bound by the rigidity of a "one-win rule" but will have a general list of criteria to emphasize regionality and quality matchups on the field. A one-win rule does apply to Notre Dame's participation in the ACC Bowl structure. Notre Dame is now eligible for ACC Bowl selection beginning with the ReliaQuest Bowl (previously named the Outback Bowl) and continuing through the league's bowl selections. However, Notre Dame must be within one win of the ACC available team which has the best overall record, in order to be chosen. In other words, if an ACC team were 9–3, a 7–5 Notre Dame team could not be chosen in its place. Notre Dame would have to be 8–4 to be chosen over a 9–3 league team. For the 2020 season only, Notre Dame competed for the ACC conference championship and was eligible for all games, including the Orange Bowl.

Order of selection for ACC bowl participants

Pick	Tier	Name	Location	Opposing Conference	Opposing Pick
1	–	Orange Bowl	Miami Gardens, Florida	SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame	–
2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9	Tier 1	ReliaQuest Bowl	Tampa, Florida	SEC	TBD
		Pop-Tarts Bowl	Orlando, Florida	Big 12	3
		Duke's Mayo Bowl	Charlotte, North Carolina	SEC or Big Ten	TBD
		Fenway Bowl	Boston, Massachusetts	The American
		Gator Bowl	Jacksonville, Florida	SEC
		Holiday Bowl	San Diego, California	Pac-12
		Military Bowl	Annapolis, Maryland	The American
		Pinstripe Bowl	The Bronx, New York	Big Ten
		Sun Bowl	El Paso, Texas	Pac-12	5
10	Tier 2
		Birmingham Bowl	Birmingham, Alabama	C-USA, MAC	TBD
		First Responder Bowl	Dallas, Texas	TBD	TBD
		Gasparilla Bowl	St. Petersburg, Florida	The American	TBD

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, from 1998 to 2013 the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) used a mathematical formula to match the top two teams at the end of the season. The winner of the BCS was contractually awarded the Coaches' Poll national championship and its AFCA National Championship Trophy as well as the MacArthur Trophy from the National Football Foundation. Maryland won one championship as a member of the ACC in 1953.

School	Claims of non-poll "major selectors"	Associated Press	Coaches Poll	Bowl Championship Series	College Football Playoff
California	1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937
Clemson		1981, 2016, 2018	1981, 2016, 2018		2016, 2018
Duke	1936
Florida State		1993, 1999, 2013	1993, 1999, 2013	1999, 2013
Georgia Tech	1917, 1928, 1952		1990
Miami		1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001	1983, 1987, 1989, 2001	2001
Pittsburgh	1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936	1937, 1976	1976
SMU	1935, 1981, 1982
Stanford	1926, 1940
Syracuse		1959	1959

• Italics denote championships won before the school joined the ACC.
• In addition, 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.

Intra-conference football rivalries

The members of the ACC have longstanding rivalries with each other, especially on the football field. The following is a list of active rivalries and protected annual matchups in the ACC with totals & records through the completion of the 2023 season.

Teams		Rivalry name	Trophy	Meetings	Record	Series leader	Current streak
Boston College	Clemson	Boston College–Clemson football rivalry	O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy	31	21–9–2	Clemson	Clemson won 12
	Pittsburgh	Boston College–Pittsburgh football rivalry	None	33	18–15	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh won 1
	Syracuse	Boston College–Syracuse football rivalry		57	34–23	Syracuse	Boston College won 1
	Virginia Tech	Boston College–Virginia Tech football rivalry		32	21–11	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech won 2
California	SMU	California–SMU football rivalry		1	0–1	SMU	SMU won 1
	Stanford	Big Game	Stanford Axe	126	65–50–11	Stanford	California won 3
Clemson	Boston College	Boston College–Clemson football rivalry	O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy	31	21–9–2	Clemson	Clemson won 12
	Florida State	Clemson–Florida State football rivalry	None	36	21–15	Florida State	Florida State won 1
	Georgia Tech	Clemson–Georgia Tech football rivalry		89	50–36–2	Georgia Tech	Clemson won 9
	NC State	Textile Bowl	Textile Bowl	91	60–30–1	Clemson	NC State won 1
Duke	North Carolina	Duke–North Carolina football rivalry	Victory Bell	107	65–38–4	North Carolina	North Carolina won 5
	NC State	Tobacco Road	None	84	42–37–5	Duke	Duke won 1
	Wake Forest	Tobacco Road		101	59–40–2	Duke	Duke won 2
Florida State	Clemson	Clemson–Florida State football rivalry		36	21–15	Florida State	Florida State won 1
	Miami	Florida State–Miami football rivalry	Florida Cup	68	35–33	Miami	Florida State won 3
	Virginia	Florida State-Virginia football rivalry	Jefferson-Eppes Trophy	19	15–4	Florida State	Virginia won 1
Georgia Tech	Clemson	Clemson–Georgia Tech football rivalry	None	88	50–36–2	Georgia Tech	Clemson won 9
	Virginia Tech	Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech football rivalry		19	11–8	Virginia Tech	Georgia Tech won 1
Louisville	Miami	Louisville–Miami football rivalry	Schnellenberger Trophy	16	11–4–1	Miami	Louisville won 1
Miami	Florida State	Florida State–Miami football rivalry	Florida Cup	68	35–33	Miami	Florida State won 3
	Louisville	Louisville–Miami football rivalry	Schnellenberger Trophy	16	11–4–1	Miami	Louisville won 1
	Virginia Tech	Miami–Virginia Tech football rivalry	None	40	25–15	Miami	Miami won 3
North Carolina	Duke	Duke–North Carolina football rivalry	Victory Bell	107	65–38–4	North Carolina	North Carolina won 5
	NC State	North Carolina–NC State football rivalry	None	113	68–39–6	North Carolina	NC State won 3
	Virginia	South's Oldest Rivalry		128	65–60–4	North Carolina	Virginia won 1
	Wake Forest	North Carolina–Wake Forest rivalry		110	72–36–2	North Carolina	North Carolina won 3
NC State	Clemson	Textile Bowl	Textile Bowl	91	60–30–1	Clemson	NC State won 1
	Duke	Tobacco Road	None	84	37–42–5	Duke	Duke won 1
	North Carolina	North Carolina–NC State football rivalry		113	68–39–6	North Carolina	NC State won 3
	Wake Forest	NC State–Wake Forest rivalry		117	69–42–6	NC State	NC State won 2
Pittsburgh	Boston College	Boston College-Pittsburgh football rivalry		33	18–15	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh won 1
	Syracuse	Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry		79	43–33–3	Pittsburgh	Syracuse won 1
SMU	California	California–SMU football rivalry		1	1–0	SMU	SMU won 1
	Stanford	SMU–Stanford football rivalry		1	0–1	Stanford	Stanford won 1
Stanford	California	Big Game	Stanford Axe	126	65–50–11	Stanford	California won 3
	SMU	SMU–Stanford football rivalry	None	1	1–0	Stanford	Stanford won 1
Syracuse	Boston College	Boston College–Syracuse football rivalry		57	34–23	Syracuse	Boston College won 1
	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry		79	43–33–3	Pittsburgh	Syracuse won 1
Virginia	Florida State	Florida State-Virginia football rivalry	Jefferson-Eppes Trophy	19	15–4	Florida State	Virginia won 1
	North Carolina	South's Oldest Rivalry	None	128	65–60–4	North Carolina	Virginia won 1
	Virginia Tech	Commonwealth Clash	Commonwealth Cup	104	61–38–5	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech won 3
Virginia Tech	Boston College	Boston College–Virginia Tech football rivalry	None	32	21–11	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech won 2
	Georgia Tech	Georgia Tech–Virginia Tech football rivalry		19	11–8	Virginia Tech	Georgia Tech won 1
	Miami	Miami–Virginia Tech football rivalry		40	25–15	Miami	Miami won 3
	Virginia	Commonwealth Clash	Commonwealth Cup	104	61–38–5	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech won 3
Wake Forest	Duke	Tobacco Road	None	101	59–40–2	Duke	Duke won 2
	North Carolina	North Carolina–Wake Forest rivalry		110	72–36–2	North Carolina	North Carolina won 3
	NC State	NC State–Wake Forest rivalry		117	69–42–6	NC State	NC State won 2

Interconference football rivalries

Notre Dame is a non-football member of the ACC, but has several rivalries with ACC members.

Teams		Rivalry name	Trophy	Meetings	Record	Series leader	Current streak
Boston College	Boston University	Green Line Rivalry	None	32	27–4–1	Boston College	Boston College won 3
	Holy Cross	Boston College–Holy Cross football rivalry		84	50–31–3	Boston College	Boston College won 10
	Notre Dame	Holy War		27	17–9	Notre Dame	Notre Dame won 8
	UMass	Boston College–UMass football rivalry		27	22–5	Boston College	Boston College won 11
California	UCLA	California–UCLA football rivalry		94	57–35–1	UCLA	California won 1
Clemson	Alabama	Alabama–Clemson football rivalry		19	14–5	Alabama	Clemson won 1
	Auburn	Auburn–Clemson football rivalry		51	34–15–2	Auburn	Clemson won 4
	Georgia	Clemson–Georgia football rivalry		66	43–18–4	Georgia	Georgia won 2
	South Carolina	Clemson–South Carolina football rivalry	Palmetto Trophy	118	73–43–4	Clemson	Clemson won 1
Florida State	Florida	Florida–Florida State football rivalry	Makala Trophy	67	37–28–7	Florida	Florida State won 2
Georgia Tech	Alabama	Alabama–Georgia Tech football rivalry	None	52	28–21–3	Alabama	Georgia Tech won 1
	Auburn	Auburn–Georgia Tech football rivalry		92	47–41–4	Auburn	Georgia Tech won 2
	Georgia	Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate		117	71–41–5	Georgia	Georgia won 6
	Tennessee	Georgia Tech–Tennessee football rivalry		44	25–17–2	Tennessee	Tennessee won 2
	Vanderbilt	Georgia Tech–Vanderbilt football rivalry		38	20–15–3	Georgia Tech	Georgia Tech won 6
Louisville	Cincinnati	Cincinnati–Louisville football rivalry	The Keg of Nails	54	30–23–1	Cincinnati	Louisville won 1
	Kentucky	Kentucky–Louisville football rivalry	Governor's Cup	36	19–15	Kentucky	Kentucky won 2
	Memphis	Louisville–Memphis football rivalry	None	43	24–19	Louisville	Louisville won 4
Miami	Florida	Florida–Miami football rivalry	Seminole War Canoe Trophy	56	29–27	Miami	Florida won 1
	Nebraska	Miami–Nebraska football rivalry	None	12	6–6	Tied	Miami won 1
North Carolina	South Carolina	North Carolina–South Carolina football rivalry		60	36–20–4	North Carolina	North Carolina won 1
NC State	East Carolina	East Carolina–NC State football rivalry	Victory Barrel	32	19–13	NC State	NC State won 3
Pittsburgh	Duquesne	City Game	None	8	5–3	Pittsburgh	Duquesne won 1
	Notre Dame	Notre Dame–Pittsburgh football rivalry		73	50–21–1	Notre Dame	Notre Dame won 4
	Penn State	Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry		100	53–43–4	Penn State	Penn State won 3
	West Virginia	Backyard Brawl		106	62–41–3	Pittsburgh	West Virginia won 1
SMU	Houston	Houston–SMU football rivalry		37	22–14–1	Houston	SMU won 1
	Navy	Navy–SMU football rivalry	Gansz Trophy	25	13–12	Navy	SMU won 4
	North Texas	Safeway Bowl	None	43	36–6–1	SMU	SMU won 5
	Rice	Rice–SMU football rivalry	Mayor's Cup	91	49–41–1	SMU	SMU won 1
	TCU	SMU–TCU football rivalry	Iron Skillet	102	53–42–7	TCU	TCU won 2
Stanford	Notre Dame	Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry	Legends Trophy	37	22–14	Notre Dame	Notre Dame won 1
	San Jose State	Bill Walsh Legacy Game	None	67	52–14–1	Stanford	Notre Dame won 1
	USC	Stanford–USC football rivalry		103	65–34–3	USC	USC won 2
Syracuse	Colgate	Colgate–Syracuse football rivalry		68	32–31–5	Syracuse	Syracuse won 17
	Penn State	Penn State–Syracuse football rivalry		71	43–23–5	Penn State	Penn State won 5
	UConn	Syracuse–UConn football rivalry		12	6–4	UConn	Syracuse won 4
	West Virginia	Syracuse–West Virginia football rivalry		61	34–27	Syracuse	Syracuse won 4
Virginia	Maryland	Maryland–Virginia football rivalry		80	46–32–5	Maryland	Maryland won 4
Virginia Tech	VMI	VMI–Virginia Tech football rivalry		79	49–25–5	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech won 3
	West Virginia	Virginia Tech–West Virginia football rivalry	Black Diamond Trophy	54	30–23–1	West Virginia	West Virginia won 2

Basketball

Main article: Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball

History

The early roots of ACC basketball began primarily thanks to two men: Everett Case and Frank McGuire. Case accepted the head coaching job at North Carolina State. 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 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 started construction on Reynolds Coliseum in 1941. 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. 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 success, North Carolina convinced 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. 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.

After State was slapped with crippling NCAA sanctions before the 1956–57 season, McGuire's North Carolina team 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 cobbled together a five-station television network to broadcast the Final Four. That network began broadcasting regular season ACC games the following season—the ancestor of the television package from Raycom Sports. From that point on, ACC basketball gained large popularity.

The ACC has been the home of many prominent basketball coaches besides Case and McGuire, including Terry Holland and Tony Bennett of Virginia; Vic Bubas and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke; Press Maravich, Norm Sloan and Jim Valvano of North Carolina State; Dean Smith and Roy Williams of North Carolina; Bones McKinney and Dave Odom of Wake Forest; Lefty Driesell and Gary Williams of Maryland; Bobby Cremins of Georgia Tech; Jim Boeheim of Syracuse; Jim Larrañaga of Miami; and Rick Pitino of Louisville.

Tournament as championship

Main articles: ACC men's basketball tournament, ACC women's basketball tournament, and List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions

Possibly Case's most lasting contribution is the ACC tournament, which was first played in 1954 and decides the winner of the ACC title. The ACC is unique in that it is the only Division I college basketball conference that does not recognize a regular season champion. This started when only one school per conference made the NCAA tournament. The ACC representative was determined by conference tournament rather than the regular season result. Therefore, the league eliminated the regular season title in 1961, choosing to recognize only the winner of the ACC tournament as conference champion. Fans and media do claim a regular-season title for the team that finishes first, and the NCAA recognizes a regular-season title winner in order to maintain its system of choosing NIT and NCAA tournament berths based on regular season placement. For the ACC, recognition of a regular season champion is insignificant as a 1975 NCAA rule change allowed more than one team per conference to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. As a result, the team finishing atop the ACC regular-season standings has invariably been invited to the NCAA tournament even if it did not win the ACC Tournament. Even so, any claim to a regular season "title" remains unofficial and carries no reward other than top seed in the ACC tournament.

Historically, the ACC has been dominated by the four teams from Tobacco Road in North Carolina—North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. Between them, they have won 50 tournament titles. They have also won or shared 59 regular season titles, including all but four since 1981. The Virginia Cavaliers, however, won the regular season titles in 2014 and 2015, becoming the first ACC team besides Duke or North Carolina to solely win back-to-back regular season titles since NC State was undefeated in conference play in 1972–73 and 1973–74. NC State also was undefeated in the ACC Tournament during those two seasons.

Present-day schedule

See also: ACC–Big Ten Challenge

For 53 years, the ACC employed a double round-robin schedule in the regular season, in which each team played the others twice a season. With the expansion to 12 members by the 2005–2006 season, the ACC schedule could no longer accommodate this format. 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 played their permanent partners in a home-and-away series each year. The rotating partners were split into three groups: three teams played in a home-and-away series, three teams played at home, and three teams played on the road. The rotating partner groups were rotated so that a team would play each permanent partner six times, and each rotating partner four times, over a three-year period.

For the 2012–13 season, the 12-team in-conference schedule expanded to 18. Originally for the 2013–14 season, the expanded 14-team, 18-game schedule was to consist of a home and away game with a "primary partner" while the remaining conference opponents would have rotated in groups of three: one year both home and away, one year at home only, and one year away only. However, when Notre Dame was also added for the 2013–14 season, the now 15-team, 18-game schedule was modified so each school played two "Partners" home and away annually, two home and away, five home, and the other five away. In 2013–14, after 1 year at 18 games, women's basketball went back to a 16-game schedule where each team only plays 2 teams twice, rotating opponents each year over seven years and has no permanent partners. In 2019–2020, with the launch of the ACC Network, the men's schedule expanded to 20 games and the women's schedule expanded to 18 games.

The ACC and the Big Ten Conference have held the ACC–Big Ten Challenge each season since 1999. The competition is a series of regular-season games pitting ACC and Big Ten teams against each other. Each team typically plays one Challenge game each season, except for a few teams from the larger conference that are left out due to unequal conference sizes. The first ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge was played in 2007, and has the same format as the men's Challenge.

National championships and Final Fours

Over the course of its existence, ACC schools have captured 15 NCAA men's basketball championships while members of the conference. North Carolina has won six, Duke has won five, NC State has won two, and Maryland and Virginia have each won one. Four more national titles were won by current ACC members while in other conferences—three by 2014 arrival Louisville and one by 2013 arrival Syracuse; Louisville was forced to vacate the third national title due to NCAA sanctions. Seven of the 12 pre-2013 members have advanced to the Final Four at least once while members of the ACC. Another pre-2013 member, Florida State, made the Final Four once before joining the ACC. All three schools that entered the ACC in 2013, as well as Louisville, advanced to the Final Four at least once before joining the conference. Two of the three schools that joined in 2024, Bay Area rivals California and Stanford, have each won one NCAA title.

Also notable are earlier national championships from historical eras prior to the dominance of the NCAA-administered championship. The ACC is often credited with forcing the NCAA tournament to expand to allow more than one team per conference, creating the at-large NCAA field common today. The Helms Athletic Foundation selected national champions for seasons predating the beginning of the NCAA tournament (1939), including North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pitt, Stanford, and Syracuse. Prior to the at-large era (1975), the National Invitation Tournament championship had prestige comparable to the NCAA championship, and Louisville, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia Tech won titles during this period (later NIT titles are not considered consensus national championships).

In women's basketball, ACC members have won three national championships while in the conference, North Carolina in 1994, Maryland in 2006, and Notre Dame in 2018. Notre Dame, which joined in 2013, also previously won the national title in 2001. 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. One of the newest members, Stanford, won three national titles before joining the ACC (1990, 1992, 2021).

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
California		1 (1959)	1 (1960)	3 (1946, 1959, 1960)			1 (2013)
Duke		5 (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015)	6	17		2 (1999, 2006)	4 (1999, 2002, 2003, 2006)
Florida State			1 (1972)	1 (1972)
Georgia Tech			1 (2004)	2 (1990, 2004)
Louisville		2 (1980, 1986)		8		2 (2009, 2013)	4 (2009, 2013, 2018, 2022)
North Carolina	1 (1924)	6	6 (1946, 1968, 1977, 1981, 2016, 2022)	21	1 (1994)		3 (1994, 2006, 2007)
NC State		2 (1974, 1983)		4 (1950, 1974, 1983, 2024)			2 (1998, 2024)
Notre Dame	2 (1927, 1936)			1 (1978)	2 (2001, 2018)	5 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)	7
Pittsburgh	2 (1928, 1930)			1 (1941)
SMU				1 (1956)
Stanford	1 (1939)	1 (1942)		2 (1942, 1998)	3 (1990, 1992, 2021)	2 (2008, 2010)	15
Syracuse	2 (1918, 1926)	1 (2003)	2 (1987, 1996)	6		1 (2016)	1 (2016)
Virginia		1 (2019)		3 (1981, 1984, 2019)		1 (1991)	3 (1990, 1991, 1992)
Wake Forest				1 (1962)

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

Baseball

See also: Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament

With the ACC having abandoned football divisions in 2023, baseball is one of only two ACC-sponsored sports with a divisional split (Atlantic and Coastal), with men's soccer being the other. The alignment is shown below:

ACC Baseball Divisions

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

These divisions paralleled the former divisions of ACC football with the exception of Notre Dame replacing Syracuse, the only ACC school which does not field a baseball team, within the Atlantic Division, giving both divisions seven teams. Louisville replaced Maryland in the Atlantic Division beginning with the 2015 season.

Eight ACC teams were selected to play in the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, with North Carolina, Florida State, NC State and Virginia advancing to the Men's College World Series. The ACC has won the Men's College World Series twice: by Virginia in 2015 and Wake Forest in 1955. In addition, Miami won four titles before joining the ACC, and South Carolina has won two titles since leaving the league. Current member schools have appeared in the Men's College World Series a combined total of 97 times (including appearances before joining the conference). In 2008 and 2016, the ACC was ranked as the top baseball conference by Rating Percentage Index (RPI); the conference has ranked among the top three by this measure each of the past 14 years.

Men's College World Series / NCAA Tournament History

School	Men's College World Series Championships	Men's College World Series Appearances	Last MCWS Appearance	NCAA tournament Appearances	Last NCAA Appearance
Miami †	1982, 1985, 1999, 2001	25	2016	49	2023
Stanford †	1987, 1988	19	2023	37	2023
California †	1947, 1957	6	2011	14	2019
Virginia	2015	6	2024	21	2024
Wake Forest	1955	2	1955	17	2024
Florida State †		24	2024	60	2024
Clemson		12	2010	46	2024
North Carolina		12	2024	36	2024
Louisville †		5	2019	14	2022
Boston College †		4	1967	9	2023
Georgia Tech		3	2006	34	2022
Duke		3	1961	11	2024
NC State		4	2024	34	2024
Notre Dame †		3	2022	24	2022
Virginia Tech		0	n/a	11	2022
Pittsburgh		0	n/a	3	1995

^ 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 Men's College World Series appearances includes those made by the school prior to joining the ACC:

• Boston College: 4 appearances
• California: 6 appearances
• Florida State: 11 appearances
• Louisville: 3 appearances
• Miami: 21 appearances
• Notre Dame: 2 appearances
• Stanford: 19 appearances
• Syracuse: 1 appearance

Field hockey

The ACC has won 22 of the 42 NCAA Championships in field hockey. Maryland won 8 as a member of the ACC.

National Championships

School	Total	NCAA Women's Championships
North Carolina	11	1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Wake Forest	3	2002, 2003, 2004
Syracuse	1	2015

Golf

Of the current ACC members, 14 sponsor both men's and women's golf, Georgia Tech sponsors only men's golf, Miami sponsors only women's golf, and Pitt and Syracuse do not sponsor the sport at all. Four team national championships in men's golf and seven national titles in women's golf have been won by ACC members while in the conference, led by the Duke women's team that has won seven national titles since 1999. In addition, 14 more team national titles, 11 in men's golf and 3 in women's golf, have been won by current ACC members before they joined the conference, led by Stanford (8 men's, 2 women's).

National Championships

School	Men's Team NCAA	Men's Individual NCAA	Women's Team NCAA	Women's Individual NCAA
California	2004	Max Homa 2013		Sarah Huarte 2004
Clemson	2003	Charles Warren 1997 Turk Pettit 2021
Duke			7	Candy Hannemann 2001, Virada Nirapathpongporn 2002, Anna Grzebian 2005, Virginia Elana Carta 2016
Georgia Tech		Watts Gunn 1927, Charles Yates 1934, Troy Matteson 2002, Hiroshi Tai 2024
Miami			1984	Penny Hammel 1983
North Carolina		Harvie Ward 1949, John Inman 1984
NC State		Matt Hill 2009
Notre Dame	1944
SMU	1954	Bryson DeChambeau 2015
Stanford	8	Frank Tatum 1942, Tiger Woods 1996, Cameron Wilson 2014	2015, 2022	Rachel Heck 2021, Rose Zhang 2022, 2023
Virginia		Dixon Brooke 1940
Wake Forest	1986, 1975, 1974	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 19 NCAA championships, more than any other conference in college lacrosse. Virginia has won seven NCAA Championships, North Carolina has won five, Duke has won three, and Notre Dame has won the past two. Former ACC member Maryland won two NCAA Championships as an ACC member. In addition, prior to the establishment of the NCAA tournament, Maryland had won nine national championships while Virginia won two. Syracuse, which joined the ACC in 2013, won ten NCAA-sponsored national championships, the most ever by any Division I lacrosse program, before joining the conference. Since 1987, the only years in which the national championship game did not feature a current ACC member were 2015, 2017, and 2022.

Women's lacrosse has 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 since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 1997: former ACC member Maryland won seven, North Carolina has won three, Boston College has won two, and Virginia has one one. Additionally, Maryland won four (plus one AIAW title in 1981) and Virginia two before 1997.

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	Pre-NCAA Women's Championships
Boston College				2024, 2021	2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2017
Duke	2014, 2013, 2010	2023, 2018, 2007, 2005
Maryland	1975, 1973	2012, 2011, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1979, 1976, 1974, 1971	1967, 1959, 1956, 1959, 1940, 1939, 1937, 1936, 1928	2014, 2010, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1992, 1986	2013, 2011, 1994, 1991, 1990, 1985, 1984	1981
North Carolina	2016, 1991, 1986, 1982, 1981	1993		2022, 2016, 2013	2009
Notre Dame	2023, 2024	2014, 2010
Syracuse	2009, 2008, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1995, 1993, 1990*, 1989, 1988, 1983	2013, 2001, 1999, 1992, 1985, 1984	1925, 1924, 1922, 1920		2021, 2014, 2012
Virginia	2021, 2019, 2011, 2006, 2003, 1999, 1972	1996, 1994, 1986, 1980	1970, 1952	2004, 1993, 1991	2007, 2005, 2003, 1999, 1998, 1996

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

Soccer

See also: ACC men's soccer tournament

Before the 2024 arrival of California, SMU, and Stanford, all of which sponsor men's soccer, that sport was one of the two ACC sports split into divisions. The divisional split was eliminated for 2024 and beyond. The final divisional setup was:

ACC Men's Soccer Divisions

Atlantic	Coastal
Boston College	Duke
Clemson	Notre Dame
Louisville	North Carolina
NC State	Pittsburgh
Syracuse	Virginia
Wake Forest	Virginia Tech

Fifteen of the 18 ACC schools sponsor men's soccer — a higher proportion than any of the other Power Four conferences. Only Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Miami do not sponsor soccer. Virginia has won 7 NCAA titles, and more since 1990 than any other university in the country. The ACC overall has won 19 national championships, including 16 of the 31 seasons between 1984 and 2014. Seven of the championships were won by Virginia, with the remaining nine by: Maryland (three times while they were in the ACC), Clemson (four times), North Carolina (twice), Duke, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. Stanford, which joined in 2024, won three national titles before joining the ACC.

In women's soccer, North Carolina has won 21 of the 39 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 22 of the 33 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 quarterfinal loss, to the eventual champion Virginia; however, the Tar Heels went on to win the national title that season. In 2014, Florida State became the first school other than North Carolina to win the national championship as an ACC member. Notre Dame won three NCAA titles before it joined the ACC in 2013. The 2020 NCAA tournament, in which Florida State was national runner-up, was delayed until the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is listed as 2020 to distinguish it from the 2021 season, which was played on the sport's traditional fall schedule. Stanford has won three women's national 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	1984, 1987, 2021, 2023	1979, 2015
Duke	1986	1982, 1995		1992, 2011
North Carolina	2001, 2011	2008	21	1985, 1998, 2001	1981
Florida State			2014, 2018, 2021, 2023	2007, 2013, 2020
Louisville		2010
NC State				1988
Notre Dame	2013		1995, 2004, 2010,	1994, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008
Stanford	2015, 2016, 2017	1998, 2002	2011, 2017, 2019	2009, 2010, 2023
Syracuse	2022
Virginia	1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014	1997, 2019		2014
Wake Forest	2007	2016

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

Commissioners

Former Commissioner John Swofford

Name	Term
Jim Weaver	1954–1970
Bob James	1971–1987
Gene Corrigan	1987–1997
John Swofford	1997–2021
James J. Phillips	2021–present

NCAA team championships

See also: List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships, List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships, NCAA Division I § Conferences, and NCAA Division I FBS Conferences

The North Carolina Tar Heels have the most overall NCAA titles, 47, with 34 of those by women's teams; the Virginia Cavaliers lead the ACC in men's NCAA championships with 23. Excluded from these totals and list are any national titles earned outside the scope of NCAA competition, including Division I FBS football titles, women's AIAW championships, equestrian titles, and retroactive Helms Athletic Foundation titles. Unofficial NCAA boxing championships are also excluded, though they were earned inside the scope of NCAA competition.

School	Total	Men	Women	Co-ed	Nickname	Most successful sport (titles)
North Carolina	50	13	37	0	Tar Heels	Women's soccer (21)
Virginia	34	23	11	0	Cavaliers	Men's soccer, Men's lacrosse (7)
Notre Dame	19	7	6	6	Fighting Irish	Fencing (6)
Duke	17	9	8	0	Blue Devils	Women's golf (7)
Syracuse	15	14	1	0	Orange	Men's lacrosse (10)
Wake Forest	10	6	4	0	Demon Deacons	Field hockey, Men's golf (3)
Florida State	9	4	5	0	Seminoles	Men's gymnastics, Men's outdoor track (2)
Boston College	6	5	1	0	Eagles	Men's ice hockey (5)
Miami	5	4	1	0	Hurricanes	Baseball (4)
Clemson	8	8	0	0	Tigers	Men's soccer (4)
NC State	5	2	3	0	Wolfpack	Men's basketball (2), Women's cross country (3)
Louisville	2	2	0	0	Cardinals	Men's basketball (2)
Georgia Tech	1	0	1	0	Yellow Jackets	Women's tennis (1)
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	Panthers	N/A
Virginia Tech	0	0	0	0	Hokies	N/A
Total	172	93	73	6

Capital One Cup standings

The Capital One Cup is an award given annually to the best men's and women's Division I college athletics programs in the United States. Points are earned throughout the year based on final standings of NCAA Championships and final coaches' poll rankings.

Notre Dame (2014, 2022, 2024) has finished first three times, and Virginia (2015 and 2019) has finished first twice for men's sports. North Carolina (2013) has once finished first on the women's side.

The following table displays ACC top 25 finishes in the Capital One Cup, counting teams that participated in the ACC during that ranking year. T = tie.

School Year	Men	Women
2010–11	Virginia Cavaliers (2nd place) North Carolina Tar Heels (11th place) Florida State Seminoles (12th place) Duke Blue Devils (13th place) Maryland Terrapins (21st place)	North Carolina Tar Heels (9th place) Maryland Terrapins (12th place) Duke Blue Devils (16th place) Virginia Cavaliers (21st place) Florida State Seminoles (25th place)
2011–12	North Carolina Tar Heels (5th place) Florida State Seminoles (14th place) Maryland Terrapins (T19th place)	Duke Blue Devils (5th place) Florida State Seminoles (T14th place) Virginia Cavaliers (16th place)
2012–13	Duke Blue Devils (5th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (T9th place)	North Carolina Tar Heels (1st place) Duke Blue Devils (11th place) Maryland Terrapins (20th place)
2013–14	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1st place) Virginia Cavaliers (4th place) Florida State Seminoles (5th place) Duke Blue Devils (8th place) Maryland Terrapins (T9th place)	Maryland Terrapins (4th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (10th place) Virginia Cavaliers (12th place) Duke Blue Devils (13th place) Florida State Seminoles (T14th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (19th place) Syracuse Orange (21st place)
2014–15	Virginia Cavaliers (1st place) Duke Blue Devils (6th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (T9th place) Syracuse Orange (21st place)	Florida State Seminoles (4th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (7th place) Virginia Cavaliers (11th place) Syracuse Orange (17th place) Duke Blue Devils (T18th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (T18th place)
2015–16	North Carolina Tar Heels (2nd place) Clemson Tigers (5th place) Syracuse Orange (11th place) Virginia Cavaliers (15th place)	North Carolina Tar Heels (T4th place) Syracuse Orange (T4th place) Florida State Seminoles (10th place) Duke Blue Devils (13th place) Virginia Cavaliers (T17th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (T24th place)
2016–17	North Carolina Tar Heels (3rd place) Clemson Tigers (6th place) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11th place)	North Carolina Tar Heels (9th place) Boston College Eagles (12th place)
2017–18	Duke Blue Devils (3rd place) North Carolina Tar Heels (13th place) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (20th place)	Florida State Seminoles (5th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7th place) Duke Blue Devils (10th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (15th place) Boston College Eagles (17th place)
2018–19	Virginia Cavaliers (1st place) Clemson Tigers (T6th place) Duke Blue Devils (14th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17th place) Louisville Cardinals (T20th place) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (T23rd place)	North Carolina Tar Heels (3rd place) Florida State Seminoles (4th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (T10th place) Boston College Eagles (16th place) Duke Blue Devils (17th place)
2020–21	Virginia Cavaliers (T4th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (6th place) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7th place) North Carolina State Wolfpack (17th place) Clemson Tigers (T19th place)	Florida State Seminoles (5th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (6th place) Boston College Eagles (11th place) Virginia Cavaliers (16th place) North Carolina State Wolfpack (18th place) Duke Blue Devils (T21st place) Syracuse Orange (T23rd place)
2021–22	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1st place) Clemson Tigers (T5th place) Virginia Cavaliers (T17th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (T17th place)	Florida State Seminoles (5th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (6th place) Louisville Cardinals (9th place) North Carolina State Wolfpack (14th place) Virginia Cavaliers (T17th place) Boston College Eagles (T20th place)
2023–24	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1st place) Clemson Tigers (T3rd place) North Carolina Tar Heels (9th place) Virginia Cavaliers (11th place)	Florida State Seminoles (6th place) Boston College Eagles (T7th place) North Carolina State Wolfpack (14th place) Pittsburgh Panthers (T17th place) Clemson Tigers (T20th place) Virginia Cavaliers (T20th place) North Carolina Tar Heels (23rd place)

Media

Former

• Raycom Sports (1982–2019)
• ACC Network (syndication package) (1982–2019)
• ACC on Regional Sports Networks (2011–2023)

Current

• ESPN
• ACC Network (Launched in 2019)
• ACC on The CW (Started 2023; signed through spring 2027)

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 business schools
• List of NCAA conferences
• ACC Women's Basketball regular season
• Atlantic Coast Rugby League

Further reading

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

External links

• Media related to Atlantic Coast Conference at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• ACC Academic Consortium