20 17-18 ANNUAL REPORT
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
MISSION STATEMENT
ACC MISSION STATEMENT
To maximize the educational and athletic opportunities that shape our leaders of tomorrow — in the classroom, in competition, and in life.
ACC VISION STATEMENT
To be at the forefront in educational excellence, athletic achievement, and innovation while inspiring the development of leaders in the ACC.
ACC CORE VALUES
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
INTEGRITY
ATHLETICS EXCELLENCE
CAMARADERIE
COMPETITIVE FAIRNESS
INCLUSION
DEVELOPMENT OF TOTAL PERSON
- LEADERSHIP
- SPORTSMANSHIP
COMMISSIONER’S WELCOME
he academic and athletic standards the Atlantic Coast Conference was founded upon in 1953 continue to be a priority more than 60 years later, and the 2017-18 academic year was no exception.
Academically, the ACC’s unique blend of public and private institutions continue to lead the way among Autonomy 5 conferences. This was once again demonstrated in the annual “Best Colleges” rankings released by US News & World Report, as the ACC was the only Autonomy 5 conference
T
to place seven of its member institutions among the top 35 and eight member schools among the top 50. With an average rank of 54.2, the ACC led all FBS conferences for the 11th consecutive year. ACC institutions saw 96 combined teams receive Academic Progress Rate recognition awards from the NCAA in May, once again the most of any peer conference. In the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate report released last November, the ACC’s graduation rate of 91 percent was four points above the national average. Additionally, the league tied for the highest GSR among peer conferences in the sport of football, and a combined six ACC men’s and women’s basketball teams achieved perfect scores. Individually, a record number of ACC student-athletes (4,649) were named to the 2017-18 ACC Honor Roll for earning a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the entire academic year. The ACC also made the strongest of statements when it came to athletic competition with four national championships. Notre Dame captured the NCAA women’s basketball title for the second time in school history, and the Fighting Irish also claimed the NCAA fencing championship for the second consecutive year. The spring sports season concluded with Wake Forest men’s tennis and Florida State softball celebrating NCAA titles. In addition to the ACC’s four team NCAA championships, student-athletes from league schools claimed 14 individual titles. Our conference now owns 154 NCAA team championships over the course of its 65-year history, and ACC student-athletes have claimed close to 320 individual national titles. The cumulative success of ACC teams on the playing fields was evident in late June, when four of our schools finished among the top 15 of the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, which tied for first among all conferences. Eight ACC institutions finished among the top 30, marking the 17th consecutive year in which four or more of our schools earned that distinction. The ACC placed 10 schools among the top 50 of this year’s standings, and 12 were among the top 65. The ACC is the only conference to win national championships in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball over the last four years. In addition, our conference has won four combined football and men’s basketball national titles over the last five years, twice as many as any other conference. The ACC led all conferences in 2017-18 with 10 bowl teams, nine NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament teams and eight NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament teams. The 21 total ACC teams in football bowl games over the past two years also leads the nation, and 2017 marked the 17th consecutive year that at least six of our teams made bowl game appearances. With ACC champion Clemson again earning a spot in the College Football Playoff, a conference team reached at least the semifinal round of national championship competition for the fifth straight year. The ACC tied a league record and led all conferences with nine teams in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The ACC has combined to win an NCAA Tournament-record 59 games over the last four years, breaking its own previous mark of 53 set twice previously (2014-17 and 1990-93). Barclays Center in Brooklyn played host to the New York Life ACC Tournament for the second consecutive year, and the semifinals and finals again set arena attendance records for a college basketball event. This year’s NBA Draft featured 10 first-round selections from the ACC, the most ever for any conference in a single year. In women’s basketball, Notre Dame brought home the ACC’s third NCAA title with a pair of dramatic Final Four wins. The eight ACC teams selected to the NCAA Tournament matched a league record and marked the most of any conference this season. This was the third time in four years that the ACC placed at least seven teams in the NCAA field, and the 10th time in 13 years that at least six teams were selected. ACC baseball placed six teams in the NCAA Championship field. With North Carolina reaching the College World Series, the conference has sent at least one team to Omaha for 13 consecutive seasons and has had 24 teams reach the CWS since 2006. As we look back on 2017-18, we also look forward to the long-anticipated ACC Network, which remains on the fast track to becoming reality in the summer of 2019. The partnership between the conference and ESPN will provide ACC fans unprecedented access to live events via a comprehensive, multi-platform network. It also provides for the extension of the conference’s existing rights agreement with ESPN through the 2035-36 academic year. Expansive digital coverage of the league’s 27 sports continued over the past year via ACC Network Extra, which again raised viewership opportunities to a new level as it streamed more than 1,500 events to live viewing audiences. The ACC and its member institutions remain poised to continue a long tradition of balancing athletics, academics and integrity. As a conference, we are extremely proud of our student-athletes’ accomplishments over the past year and look forward to the year ahead.
Sincerely,
John Swofford ACC Commissioner
20 17-18 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / LETTER FROM THE COMMISSIONER
1
MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
President
REV. WILLIAM P. LEAHY, S.J.
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
JOELEEN AKIN
ROBERT G. MURPHY
MARTIN JARMOND
JOCELYN GATES
BUD PETERSON
CHARLES ISBELL
TODD STANSBURY
- LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
- CLEMSON TIGERS
President
JAMES P. CLEMENTS
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. Interim President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
CHRISTINE HERRING
- JANIE
- DAN
- STEPHANIE
- GREG
- ELAINE
WISE
VINCE
- TYRA
- HODGE
- RADAKOVICH
- ELLISON-JOHNSON
- POSTEL
As of May 2018, Neeli Bendapudi
- DUKE BLUE DEVILS
- MIAMI HURRICANES
President
VINCENT PRICE
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
JENNIFER STRAWLEY
- MARTHA
- KEVIN
WHITE
JACKI SILAR
JULIO FRENK
- MARVIN
- BLAKE
- JAMES
- PUTALLAZ
- DAWKINS
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
President
JOHN THRASHER
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. Chancellor
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
NICKI MOORE
- PAM
- STAN
- VANESSA
FUCHS
CAROL FOLT
- LISSA
- BUBBA
- PERREWÉ
- WILCOX
- BROOME
- CUNNINGHAM
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20 17-18 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
NC STATE WOLFPACK
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS
Chancellor
RANDY WOODSON
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
JANE MILLER
- JOEL
- DEBORAH A.
YOW
MICHELLE LEE
TERESA A. SULLIVAN
- CARRIE
- CARLA
- PAWLAK
- HEILMAN
- WILLIAMS
- Prior to January 2018, Roby Sawyers
- Prior to January 2018, Carolyn Callahan
Prior to December 2017, Craig Lit tlepage
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES
President
REV. JOHN I. JENKINS, C.S.C
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
REYNA GILBERT-LOWRY
TRICIA BELLIA
JACK SWARBRICK
- MISSY
- TIM
- JOSEPH G.
TRONT
WHIT
- BABCOCK
- CONBOY
- SANDS
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
Chancellor
PATRICK GALLAGHER
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin. President
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
BARBARA WALKER
- SHEILA
- HEATHER
LYKE
JENNIFER TUSCANO
NATHAN O. HATCH
- PETE
- RON
- VÉLEZ MARTÍNEZ
- BRUBAKER
- WELLMAN
Prior to February 2018, Susan Albrecht
20 17-18 OFFICERS
SYRACUSE ORANGE
ACC Officers
Chair of the Council of Presidents...........................................................................................................Nathan Hatch, Wake Forest President.................................................................................................................................................................Marvin Dawkins, Miami Vice President .......................................................................................................................................................... Janie Hodge, Clemson Secretary-Treasurer.............................................................................................................................................. Joe Tront, Virginia Tech
Chancellor
KENT
- Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director
- Senior Woman Admin.
- KIMBERLY
- RICK
- JOHN
- SYVERUD
- BURTON
- WILDHACK
- KEENAN-KIRKPATRICK
20 17-18 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
3
Consistency. It is the mark of true excellence in any endeavor.
In today’s intercollegiate athletics, competition is so balanced and so competitive that it is virtually impossible to maintain a high level of consistency. Yet the Atlantic Coast Conference has defied the odds Established in 1953, the ACC has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. And that is not mere conjecture, the numbers support it. Through its first 65 years of competition, ACC schools captured 154 NCAA team championships, including 76 in men’s sports, 76 in women’s competition and two in fencing. In addition, NCAA individual titles went to ACC student-athletes 180 times in men’s competition and 137 times in women’s action.
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20 17-18 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
2017-18 ACC CHAMPIONS
20 17-18 IN REVIEW
The 2017-18 academic year saw the ACC capture four more national team titles. The ACC has averaged more than four national titles per year over the past two-plus decades (85 in 21 years) and has claimed multiple NCAA titles in 35 of the past 37 years.
- Men’s Champions
- Women’s Champions
Cross Country............................................................Syracuse Soccer ................................................................... Wake Forest Football.........................................................................Clemson Fencing................................................................................Duke Swimming & Diving.................................................. NC State Indoor Track & Field..........................................Florida State Wrestling ............................................................ Virginia Tech Basketball..................................................................... Virginia Golf........................................................................ Georgia Tech Tennis.................................................................... Wake Forest Lacrosse.................................................................Notre Dame Outdoor Track & Field.......................................Florida State Baseball................................................................Florida State
Cross Country............................................................. NC State Field Hockey....................................................North Carolina Soccer ...............................................................North Carolina Volleyball .......................................................Pitt & Louisville Fencing.............................................................North Carolina Swimming & Diving................................................... Virginia Indoor Track & Field..........................................Florida State Basketball..................................................................Louisville Golf........................................................................................Duke Tennis................................................................North Carolina Lacrosse...........................................................North Carolina Outdoor Track & Field................................................... Miami Softball..................................................................Florida State Rowing........................................................................... Virginia
Academically, the member institutions of the ACC again led the way among Power 5 conferences in the latest “Best Colleges” rankings released by US News & World Report. ACC member institutions combined for an average rank of 54.2, marking the 11th straight year that the ACC led all Power 5 conferences.
20 17-18 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fencing • Notre Dame Women’s Basketball • Notre Dame Men’s Tennis • Wake Forest Softball • Florida State
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The conference will conduct championship competition in 27 sports during the 2018-19 academic year — 13 for men and 14 for women. The first ACC championship was held in swimming at North Carolina State University on February 25, 1954. The 13 sports for men include football, cross country, soccer, basketball, fencing, swimming & diving, indoor and outdoor track & field, wrestling, baseball, tennis, golf and lacrosse. Women’s sports were initiated in 1977 with the first championship meet held in tennis October 6-8 at Wake hockey, soccer, basketball, fencing, swimming & diving, indoor and outdoor track & field, tennis,
- Forest University. Championships for women are currently conducted in cross country, field
- golf, lacrosse, softball and rowing, with volleyball deciding its champion by regular-season play.
A HISTORY
On December 4, 1953, conference officials met again at Sedgefield and officially admitted
The Atlantic Coast Conference was founded on May 8, 1953, at the Sedgefield Inn near Virginia as the league’s eighth member. The first withdrawal of a school from the ACC came
- Greensboro, North Carolina, with seven charter members
- —
- Clemson, Duke, Maryland,
- on June 30, 1971, when South Carolina tendered its resignation. The ACC operated with seven
North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest — drawing up the members until April 3, 1978, when Georgia Tech was admitted. The Atlanta school had withdrawn
- conference bylaws.
- from the Southeastern Conference in January 1964.
The withdrawal of seven schools from the Southern Conference came early on the morning of May 8, 1953, during the Southern Conference’s annual spring meeting. On June 14, 1953, the seven members met in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a set of bylaws was adopted and the name officially became the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The ACC expanded to nine members on July 1, 1991, with the addition of Florida State. The conference expanded to 11 members on July 1, 2004, with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech. On October 17, 2003, Boston College accepted an invitation to become the league’s 12th member starting July 1, 2005.
Suggestions from fans for the name of the new conference appeared in the region’s newspapers prior to the meeting in Raleigh. Some of the names suggested were: Dixie, Mid-South,
The ACC added its 13th and 14th members on September 18, 2011, when Pittsburgh and Syracuse accepted invitations to join the conference. The two schools officially joined the ACC on July 1, 2013.
Mid-Atlantic, East Coast, Seaboard, Colonial, Tobacco, Blue-Gray, Piedmont, Southern Seven and Notre Dame also officially joined the ACC on July 1, 2013, after announcing on September 12, 2012 its
- the Shoreline.
- intention to enter the league for competition in all sports but football, bringing the membership of
the conference to 15. The Fighting Irish play five games with ACC schools each year. On July 1, 2014, Louisville entered the ACC on the same day Maryland withdrew, keeping the conference’s membership at 15 institutions.
Duke’s Eddie Cameron recommended that the name of the conference be the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the motion was passed unanimously. The meeting concluded with each member institution assessed $200 to pay for conference expenses.