2016-17 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 ATHLETICS EXCELLENCE COMPETITIVE FAIRNESS INTEGRITY CAMARADERIE INCLUSION DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERSHIP SPORTSMANSHIP TOTAL PERSON COMMISSIONER’S WELCOME he Atlantic Coast Conference continued to set a high standard, both academically and through its athletic performances, during a memorable 2016-17 academic year. T The ACC’s unique blend of public and private institutions continued to lead the way academically among Power 5 conferences. This was again demonstrated in the “Best Colleges” rankings released by U.S. News & World Report, as the ACC led all peer conferences with seven schools among the top 35 and eight among the top 50. The ACC saw 88 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 89.3 percent ranked more than five points above the national average. Additionally, the league tied for the highest GSR among peer conferences in football, and a combined six ACC men’s and women’s basketball teams achieved perfect scores. Individually, our student-athletes excelled in the classroom with a record number 4,472 being named to the 2016-17 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 Clemson claiming the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship and North Carolina taking home the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship trophy in late April. It marks only the 10th time that a conference won both titles in the same academic year and the third in time in ACC history. The cumulative success of ACC teams on the playing fields was evident in late June, when six league schools ranked among the top 25 of the final Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings. It marked the 16th consecutive year in which four or more ACC institutions placed among the top 30. The ACC placed nine schools among the top 50 of this year’s standings, and 13 member institutions placed among the top 75. In 2016-17, ACC teams captured four NCAA championships, and student-athletes from league schools claimed 11 individual titles. Our conference now owns 150 NCAA team championships over the course of its 64-year history, and ACC student-athletes have claimed more than 300 individual national titles. The ACC’s strength in Olympic sports continued this past winter, when Notre Dame claimed the NCAA fencing championship in Indianapolis. The title was the first for the Irish since 2011. The spring brought another national championship celebration when the Virginia men’s tennis team captured its third consecutive NCAA title and its fourth in five years. The Cavaliers, one of six program in NCAA history to win multiple men’s tennis championships, finished the year with a sparkling 34-1 record. Clemson’s football national title capped a banner year for the ACC in which our teams set a conference record and tied an all-time NCAA Division I mark by posting a 9-3 record in postseason play. Eleven ACC teams finished with winning records, the most of any FBS league and the most in ACC history. The next highest conference finished with eight winning teams. Louisville’s sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson was named the Heisman Trophy winner for a season in which he accounted for 51 touchdowns and more than 5,100 total yards. He became the youngest player to ever receive the award and one of four ACC players to accept the Heisman. North Carolina’s NCAA Championship in men’s basketball was the eighth in the last 17 years by a current ACC program. The ACC’s 47 collective wins over the past three NCAA Tournaments leads all conferences. The ACC is the only conference to place at least one team in each of the last three Final Fours and has had at least one Final Four team in 30 of the last 41 years. With Barclays Center playing host to the ACC Tournament for the first time, the event has now been held in 12 different venues in eight different cities. This marked the first year that the ACC Tour- nament was played in the state of New York, with a return engagement set for March of 2018. 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, seven ACC teams earned bids to the NCAA Championship as Florida State, Duke, Louisville, NC State, Syracuse and Miami joined three-time conference champion Notre Dame in the field. The ACC’s seven NCAA Tournament teams matched the third most in league history. It marked the third time in four years that the ACC has placed at least seven teams in the Big Dance, and the 10th time in 13 years that at least six teams had been selected. ACC baseball placed seven teams in the NCAA Championship field. With Florida State and Louisville reaching the College World Series, the conference sent at least one team to Omaha for the 12th consecutive season and has seen 23 teams reach the CWS since 2006. As we look back on 2016-17, it’s hard not to focus on the future with great anticipation. The academic year began with last summer’s announcement that the long-anticipated ACC Network is now a reality. A 20-year 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 began last August with the launch of ACC Network Extra, which raised viewership opportunities to a new level as more than 1,500 events were live-streamed during the 2016-17 academic year. The full ACC Network linear channel takes flight in 2019. 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 D. Swofford Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner 2016-17 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / LETTER FROM THE COMMISSIONER 1 MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA REV. WILLIAM P. ROBERT BRAD JAMIE BUD REGGIE TODD JOELEEN LEAHY, S.J. TAGGART, JR. BATES SEGUIN PETERSON DESROCHES STANSBURY AKIN As of June 2017: Martin Jarmond CLEMSON TIGERS LOUISVILLE CARDINALS President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA Interim President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA JAMES P. JANIE DAN NATALIE G. GREG ELAINE TOM CHRISTINE CLEMENTS HODGE RADAKOVICH HONNEN POSTEL WISE JURICH HERRING DUKE BLUE DEVILS MIAMI HURRICANES President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA RICHARD MARTHA KEVIN JACKI JULIO MARVIN BLAKE JENNIFER BRODHEAD PUTALLAZ WHITE SILAR FRENK DAWKINS JAMES STRAWLEY FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA Chancellor Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA JOHN PAM STAN VANESSA CAROL LISSA BUBBA NICKI THRASHER PERREWÉ WILCOX FUCHS FOLT BROOME CUNNINGHAM MOORE 2 2016-17 ACC ANNUAL REPORT / MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION MEMBER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION NC STATE WOLFPACK VIRGINIA CAVALIERS Chancellor Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA RANDY ROBY DEBORAH A. MICHELLE TERESA A. CAROLYN M. CRAIG JANE WOODSON SAWYERS YOW LEE SULLIVAN CALLAHAN LITTLEPAGE MILLER NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA REV. JOHN I. TRICIA JACK MISSY TIM JOSEPH G. WHIT DESIREE JENKINS, C.S.C BELLIA SWARBRICK CONBOY SANDS TRONT BABCOCK REED-FRANCOIS PITTSBURGH PANTHERS WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS Chancellor Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA President Faculty Athletics Rep. Athletics Director SWA PATRICK SUSAN HEATHER JENNIFER NATHAN O. PETE RON BARBARA GALLAGHER ALBRECHT LYKE TUSCANO HATCH BRUBAKER WELLMAN WALKER Prior to December 2016: Scott Barnes SYRACUSE ORANGE 2016-17 OFFICERS ACC Officers Chair of the Council of Presidents .........................................................................................................James P. Clements, Clemson President ......................................................................................................................................................Lissa Broome, North Carolina Vice President ......................................................................................................................................Reggie DesRoches, Georgia Tech Secretary-Treasurer .............................................................................................................................................Marvin Dawkins, Miami Chancellor Faculty Athletics Rep.