The Atlantic Coast Conference is one of eleven leagues that plays Division I-A level college football. The league has been in existence since 1953, but only recently has gained national acclaim as an elite six conference. There are currently twelve teams in the league, and they split into two evenly distributed divisions: the Atlantic Division and the Coastal Division.
Fast Facts:
- Commissioner: John Swofford
- Established: 1953
- Members: 12
- 2007 league champion: Virginia Tech
- Home Office: Greensboro, North Carolina
- 2008 championship game: December 6, 2008 - Tampa
- In addition to being a member of the BCS, the ACC has 7 other automatic bowl tie-ins
- Last national champion: Florida State in 1999
History
Five of the schools have won national championships, but only four of the five have won national titles as members of the league. While Miami is the last member institution to win the national title in 2001, they were still members of the Big East Conference. The last school to win the national championship as a member of the ACC was Florida State in 1999. The Seminoles also won the crown in 1993. Georgia Tech won a share of the national title in 1990, Clemson won it outright in 1981 and Maryland won the national title in the league's first full season of 1953.
Atlantic Division Members
Coastal Division Members
Raiding the Big East
The league began with eight teams in 1953, but lost South Carolina in 1971. Georgia Tech joined the league in 1978. The ACC was primarily looked upon as a 'basketball-first' league until they admitted Florida State, one of the nation's most dominant football programs, in 1991. Then, in 2004 and 2005, the ACC boldly boosted their football profile by admitting three schools from the rival Big East Conference: Boston College and national powers Miami and Virginia Tech.
ACC Football Members
- Atlantic Division:
- Coastal Division:
