Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is one of the major college sports conferences in the United States. It was formed in 1953 by a group of seven colleges and universities that left the Southern Conference.
Members
Starting with the 2023–24 school year, the only sport in which the conference's members are split into groups—the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions—is baseball. The Atlantic–Coastal split was also used in football before the 2023 season.
Notre Dame does not play football in the ACC; in that sport, it remains an "independent" school that does not play in a conference. However, it has agreed to play five of its 12 regular-season games each year against other ACC schools. Syracuse does not have a baseball team; Notre Dame takes its place in the Atlantic Division for that sport.
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Nickname | Joined ACC |
ACC Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | 1863 | Private (Catholic) | Eagles | 2005 | Atlantic |
| Clemson University | Clemson, South Carolina | 1889 | Public | Tigers | 1953 | Atlantic |
| Duke University | Durham, North Carolina | 1838 | Private (nonsectarian) | Blue Devils | 1953 | Coastal |
| Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida | 1851 | Public | Seminoles | 1991 | Atlantic |
| Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) | Atlanta, Georgia | 1885 | Public | Yellow Jackets | 1979 | Coastal |
| University of Louisville | Louisville, Kentucky | 1798 | Public | Cardinals | 2014 | Atlantic |
| University of Miami | Coral Gables, Florida | 1925 | Private (nonsectarian) | Hurricanes | 2004 | Coastal |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 1789 | Public | Tar Heels | 1953 | Coastal |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, North Carolina | 1887 | Public | Wolfpack | 1953 | Atlantic |
| University of Notre Dame | South Bend, Indiana | 1842 | Private (Catholic) | Fighting Irish | 2013 | Atlantic |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1787 | State-related | Panthers | 2013 | Coastal |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, New York | 1870 | Private (nonsectarian) | Orange | 2013 | N/A |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia | 1819 | Public | Cavaliers | 1953 | Coastal |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) |
Blacksburg, Virginia | 1872 | Public | Hokies | 2004 | Coastal |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | 1834 | Private (nonsectarian) | Demon Deacons | 1953 | Atlantic |
Future members
Amid a major NCAA conference realignment in the early 2020s, the ACC announced on September 1, 2023 that it would add three new members for the 2024–25 school year. Two are leaving the Pac-12 Conference, which will likely fold at the end of the 2023–24 school year, and the other is leaving the American Athletic Conference.[1]
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Joining | Current conference | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | 1868 | Public | 2024 | Pac-12 Conference | Golden Bears |
| Southern Methodist University (SMU) | Dallas, Texas[a] | 1911 | Private | 2024 | American Athletic Conference | Mustangs |
| Stanford University | Stanford, California | 1891 | Private | 2024 | Pac-12 Conference | Cardinal |
- ↑ The SMU campus is actually located in University Park, a separate city within the Dallas city limits. All locations in University Park have a Dallas mailing address.
Former members
Two schools have left the ACC:
| School | Location | Founded | Type (affiliation) |
Joined | Left | Current conference | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maryland, College Park | College Park, Maryland | 1801 | Public | 1953 | 2014 | Big Ten Conference | Terrapins |
| University of South Carolina | Columbia, South Carolina | 1801 | Public | 1953 | 1971 | Southeastern Conference | Gamecocks |
Sports
As of the 2023–24 school year, the ACC holds championships in 28 sports. Thirteen of these are men's sports and 15 are women's sports. One sport, fencing, has separate ACC men's and women's team championships, but has a single coeducational (men's and women's) NCAA team championship.
- Baseball (men only)
- Basketball (both)
- Cross country (both)
- Fencing (coeducational)
- Field hockey (women only)
- Football (men only)
- Golf (both)
- Gymnastics (women only)
- Lacrosse (both)
- Rowing (women only)
- Soccer (both)
- Softball (women only)
- Swimming and diving (both)
- Tennis (both)
- Track and field, indoor (both)
- Track and field, outdoor (both)
- Volleyball (women only)
- Wrestling (men only)
Atlantic Coast Conference Media
ACC member schools as of 2023[update]* Full members* Non-football members (Notre Dame)* Future members, joining 2024 (SMU, California, Stanford)
ACC Academic Consortium logo
References
- ↑ Atlantic Coast Conference (September 1, 2023). "The Atlantic Coast Conference Welcomes the University of California, Berkeley, Southern Methodist University and Stanford University as New Members". Press release. https://theacc.com/news/2023/9/1/general-the-atlantic-coast-conference-welcomes-the-university-of-california-berkeley-southern-methodist-university-and-stanford-university-as-new-members.aspx. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- "Atlantic Coast Conference". theacc.com. Retrieved 2014-06-29.