Sports

Despite the many ACC headlines and news articles online on this page, there are still many facts that you may not be aware of regarding the ACC football conference. Below are a few interesting facts for you to learn.

Only Eleven Distinct Teams Have Titles

There are only 11 distinct teams that have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference football champions from ever since the league began in 1953. The total number of teams that have ever competed in the league is 16. Five teams that have never won an ACC football championship are Boston College, Miami, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Syracuse.

South Carolina Was Among the Charter Members

The ACC was founded in the year 1953 near Greensboro, North Carolina. Originally the University of South Carolina was one of its members. A seven-school group, which included the Gamecocks, withdrew from the Southern conference to make a league of their own. In 1971, South Carolina withdrew from the league and stayed independent for a while before joining the Southern Conference.

The Championship Used to Be Earned Through the Round-Robin System Before 2003

From 1953 when the league started to 2003, each team had to play against all the other conference members to earn the championship. There were no procedures for tie-breaking that were set to determine the champion, which resulted in some seasons ending with co-champions. After Virginia Tech and Miami were included in the league in 2004, round-robin became impossible because of the NCAA limit on the total number of conference games that any team was allowed to play within a season.

The First Budget of the ACC Conference Was $200

The initial expense, which was spread among the first seven original members, was only $200. It is the same league that now has television contracts that are delivering millions of dollars. $200, however, was not so much of a small number back then as it is in current times.

The Youngest School in the League Is Miami

The Home of the Hurricanes of the University of Miami was established in the year 1925, which makes it the youngest school in ACC out of the 15. One year later, the Coral Gables school began classes, enrolling 372 students to the maiden class of the university. The Wake Forest University, which is in Winston-Salem, is ranked the smallest ACC member in terms of the number of students enrolled. It has less than 10,000 students, which includes both graduates and undergraduates. The largest school is Florida State University.…